ESPN has had one of its most-viewed starts to the NBA regular season since it started to carry games in 2002. According to the network and Nielsen, ESPN averaged 2.6 million viewers in its first 21 games through Christmas, a 35% increase from last season and the second most-watched in a full season. The numbers for this season only trail 2010-11.
Microsoft is sponsoring a college football bowl game, with the first-ever "Xbox Bowl" taking place on Thursday, December 18 with Missouri State taking on Arkansas State. The Xbox Bowl is the replacement for the Bahamas Bowl, which will not happen this year. In a press statement, broadcaster ESPN--which is carrying the event--said there will be "fun, Xbox-themed moments and in-venue activations designed specifically for the bow." The event is taking place in Frisco, Texas at the Ford Center.
The first round of the 12-team College Football Playoff will start at 8 p.m. ET on Dec. 19 on ABC and ESPN, followed by a tripleheader Dec. 20 that starts at noon, the CFP, ESPN and TNT announced Tuesday. ESPN, which has owned the exclusive rights to the playoff since its inception in 2015, is in the second year of its current expanded package, which includes all four games of the CFP first round with two of the games sublicensed to TNT Sports.
On October 31, YouTube TV subscribers experienced a blackout of ESPN and other Disney-owned channels, such as ABC. Due to a recent licensing deal disconnect, YouTube TV lost its rights to carry Disney programming. The channels went off the air before an action-packed sports weekend, which includes Oklahoma at Tennessee and Vanderbilt at Texas in matchup of ranked teams, the Dallas Cowboys hosting the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football and so much more.
ESPN's streaming services generated an estimated 2.1 million subscribers in the US from August 21 through September, subscription data firm Antenna said on Monday. About 1.2 million, or 57%, of those signups were for the full version of ESPN, which the sports network made available outside of the pay-TV bundle for the first time ever for $30 a month. The rest were for ESPN Select ( formerly ESPN+), which has a smaller subset of live sports, some original shows.
"Ben, I know you've got an opinion on this: Panthers three-peat this year? What do you think?" Brown inquired. "If you say so. I mean, good luck to 'em," McDonald replied. "Are you asking if I'm going to be watching?" "No, you'll be watching, of course, because you work for ESPN, and you'll be watching," Brown said, attempting to steer McDonald back to a network-friendly dialogue. "There is zero chance I'll be watching," McDonald said starkly. "I'm just going to be honest with you."
NLL Faceoff Weekend will include a matchup pitting the Toronto Rock against the newly relocated Oshawa FireWolves on Nov. 28 at 7:30 p.m. ET. This game will feature 2025 No. 1 overall pick CJ Kirst of the Rock taking on the reigning NLL Rookie of the Year Dyson Williams in the FireWolves' first home game at Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa.
For decades, Monday Night Football has been the signature finale to each week of the NFL season. As the dust settles from Sunday's games, two teams are placed in the primetime spotlight to battle under the bright lights. The 2025 Monday Night Football (MNF) schedule is packed with high-stakes matchups, playoff hopefuls, and division rivals, all designed to keep fans glued to their screens until the last whistle.
Fans across the world will be able to watch the 2025/26 LaLiga live as Barcelona defend the title they won by four points ahead of Real Madrid last season. The league's rights packages include a new deal in the UK and Ireland as part of a multi-year agreement allowing fans to watch the likes of England forwards Jude Bellingham, of Madrid, and Barca's Marcus Rashford. In the US, supporters will be looking forward to watching USMNT midfielder Johnny Cardoso, who joined Atletico Madrid from Real Betis for a fee of $34.8 million (£25.5m) during the summer.
"That thing fell apart a year ago," Lee, 68, told Business Insider in an interview on Tuesday while promoting his latest movie, "Highest 2 Lowest." "No one had ever asked me about it. I was on a red carpet and a guy asked me the question, I wasn't going to lie."
It has been a blast being here tonight; but listen, we all know there should be someone else right here in this chair next to me right there as he was for my seven years in the role he referred to as my TV wife, and that's my dear, late friend Stuart Scott, who is indeed looking over my shoulder tonight.
