A Case Of The Mondays

ESPN will receive more NFL highlights for shows like "Monday Night Countdown"

ESPN and the NFL have signed an eight-year extension to their media rights agreement that is worth $1.9B per year, a whopping 63% increase over the average price of the current deal. A formal announcement of the deal, which was first reported in January , came earlier this morning. The deal will keep “MNF” on ESPN through the ‘21 season. It also gives ESPN a wide swath of digital rights that will allow the network to stream live games via broadband and tablets, as part of the cable industry’s “TV Everywhere” initiative. In terms of mobile phones, only Verizon will be allowed to stream “MNF,” as the league is protecting Verizon’s four-year, $720M sponsorship deal that it signed last ...