The NFL is closing in on plans to weave a fundraising element into all three days of the telecastESPN IMAGES
It appears ESPN and NFL Network will “combine to do one telecast” of the NFL Draft later this month “instead of the two football rivals doing info-warring separate telecasts,” according to sources cited by Peter King of NBCSPORTS.com. The combined broadcast will originate from ESPN’s Bristol studios “with NFL Network talent either co-hosting or being major contributors to the coverage.” It is likely that the NFL’s studios in New Jersey and California “will remain closed by state decrees, while the ESPN facility is allowed to remain open on a limited basis.” How the broadcast will look has yet to be determined, though at least NFL Network’s Rich Eisen and Daniel Jeremiah are likely to have “prime roles in the show.” While this “isn’t final … it seems to be the way the league and networks are leaning right now.” This “likely would not affect the scheduled ABC draft show,” as the plans for that broadcast to do “less of a hard-core football telecast with different anchors and talent” are still on. Meanwhile, the NFL is “closing in on plans to weave a fundraising element into all three days of the telecast, complete with celebrity players and former players and coaches urging viewers to donate to coronavirus-related causes” (NBCSPORTS.com, 4/6).
