Skip to Content
Newsletter Facebook Twitter YouTube
Jobs
ESPN+ ESPN

Disney Rolling out ‘Manningcast’-Style Alternative Broadcasts for UFC, Golf, and College Football

– Ben Bowman

In today’s earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced that the “Manningcast” phenomenon is about to extend to other sports, specifically UFC, golf, and college football games. This means you’re likely to see alternate commentators with different graphics. College football could have “homers” who actively root for one side or the other - that’s unheard of on national broadcasts.

Today, Disney announced it is extending its agreement with Peyton Manning’s Omaha productions company through the 2024 NFL season.

Speaking to Sports Business Daily, Manning said, “We were real happy that ESPN kind of wanted to do something different. Eli and I thought they were joking, like, ‘Wait a minute, you’re going to pay us to watch football with my brother from our house? This sounds like a lot of fun and a pretty good deal.’ We get to be home on the weekends with our kids and coach their sports and still stay close to the game of football, talking about it in a fun way. We had some great guests on this year, all people that love football.”

While the Manningcast thrilled some fans, the numbers didn’t always back up the hype. The Manningcast edition of the Cardinals-Rams playoff game only accounted for 6.1 percent of the game’s televised audience — most fans watched the flagship ESPN broadcast. The alternate broadcast never reached the 2 million viewer mark.

As sports literally account for 95% of the top-rated TV shows every year, services that offer sports have an incentive to monetize those games as aggressively as possible. A quirky, secondary broadcast offers that option, even if the viewership is smaller.

Presumably, people watching the Manningcast are football die-hards, willing to listen to Peyton and Eli talk at length about “Cover 2” defense. The technical issues are also rampant, as the guests frequently have audio/internet problems, and the cross-talk is drowned out because of the delay. After this first year’s experiment, it would make sense for Disney to invest a bit more in their remote production capabilities. Perhaps after the pandemic, Peyton and Eli can be in the same room with a guest.

Regardless of what is to come, more choice for sports fans is always a good thing. After all, many fans would rather endure a root canal than have to listen to Joe Buck or Cris Collinsworth.

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit

DIRECTV STREAM Cash Back

Let us know your e-mail address to send your $50 Amazon Gift Card when you sign up for DIRECTV STREAM.

You will receive it ~2 weeks after you complete your first month of service.

Offer Terms

  • Only valid for new DIRECTV STREAM subscribers.
  • Only valid once per household.
  • You must pay and maintain service for at least one month to be eligible.
  • Purchase must be completed on the DIRECTV STREAM website.
  • You’ll receive gift card 4-6 weeks after purchase (~2 weeks after your first month).
  • Cannot be combined with any other promotion and won’t be eligible if you try to use a coupon code or cash back from another site.

Sling TV Cash Back

Let us know your e-mail address to send your $25 Uber Eats Gift Card when you sign up for Sling TV.

You will receive it ~2 weeks after you complete your first month of service.

Offer Terms

  • Only valid for new Sling TV subscribers to Sling Orange, Blue, or Sling Orange + Blue.
  • Only valid once per household.
  • You must pay and maintain service for at least one month to be eligible.
  • You must click from The Streamable and complete your purchase on the Sling TV website.
  • You’ll receive gift card 4-6 weeks after purchase (~2 weeks after your first month).
  • Cannot be combined with any other promotion and won’t be eligible if you try to use a coupon code or cash back from another site.

Hulu Live TV Cash Back

Let us know your e-mail address to send your $35 Amazon Gift Card when you sign up for Hulu Live TV.

You will receive it ~2 weeks after you complete your first month of service.

Offer Terms

  • Only valid for new Hulu Live TV subscribers.
  • Only valid once per household.
  • You must pay and maintain service for at least one month to be eligible.
  • You must click from The Streamable and complete your purchase on the Hulu Live TV website.
  • You’ll receive gift card 4-6 weeks after purchase (~2 weeks after your first month).
  • Cannot be combined with any other promotion and won’t be eligible if you try to use a coupon code or cash back from another site.