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ESPN Is Reportedly 'Progressing' On Major Acquisition

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Jun 3, 2025 6:17 PM ET

Perhaps we have a clue as to what ESPN's real plan is with the timeslot they canceled Around The Horn for.

According to sports media insider Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, ESPN has made new progress on a deal to acquire NFL Media. Per the report, while the team has been scuttled in the past, there is "optimism on both sides" that the deal could finally get over the finish line.

Marchand pointed out that the acquisition could be huge for ESPN thanks to their direct-to-consumer infrastructure. He mused that from a marketing standpoint, ESPN could market itself as "the official home of fantasy football" - which would let it stand out from other fantasy football companies.

“There is optimism on both sides,” Marchand said on Marchand Sports Media Podcasts. “Nothing is completed as of yet. If you’re ESPN, you want to do that deal because you have your direct-to-consumer. Fantasy is a big aspect of it. They could be the official home of fantasy football, which you can put that NFL logo on everything, and that helps you.”

NEW POD Is outhttps://t.co/XHTIW1nXCp
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) June 3, 2025

From the NFL's perspective, it would be a win-win for them too. The league owners would get to offload the expensive production costs of NFL Media and get a nice cash injection as part of the bargain.

“The NFL owners, they want to do this,” Marchand explained. “They’ve been trying to unload NFL Media for a while it feels like a good thing for ESPN to have that further relationship with the NFL going forward.”

As for the price tag, Marchand has estimated that it may wind up costing ESPN around $2 billion. But the value of having more official NFL properties under their umbrella would theoretically make up for the price over time.

ESPN has been at a bit of a disadvantage as far as NFL content goes compared to CBS, NBC and FOX for a long time. Whereas CBS and FOX have handfuls of games on Sunday, while NBC has Sunday Night Football, ESPN doesn't even have a game on Sunday.

Their partner company ABC has not hosted the Super Bowl since 2006 and won't host one again until 2027.

This could be a move that helps alter the balance of power in NFL broadcast media.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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