ESPN Chief Jimmy Pitaro Bracing to Fight Silicon Valley for NFL Rights

Since taking control in March of 2018, ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro has done a lot to repair the network’s “fraying” relationship with the National Football league.

The strength of that relationship will be tested when ESPN’s contract to carry Monday Night Football is up following the 2021 season and other heavy hitters coming calling.

Though other networks such as Turner Sports are expected to bid on the next MNF deal, Pitaro expects the biggest competition to come from new media companies such as Netflix, Amazon, Google, Facebook, DAZN, Hulu and YouTube, according to The Associated Press.

“I have no idea if they’re going to be interested specifically in Monday Night Football, but I do believe that several new media companies are going to be interested in acquiring more NFL rights,” Pitaro said during a talk at the Paley Center for Media.

Pitaro is justified in feeling concern as the NFL already has deals with Amazon Prime (which airs some Thursday Fight Football games), Twitter, Snapchat and YouTube, and just announced a partnership with Facebook on Thursday.

“We’re navigating through a very complicated world right now where new competitors … are popping up every single day,” Pitaro said. “When we sit down with the NFL, yes, we bring a cable channel, but we also bring a broadcast channel (ABC). We bring the power of the theme parks, for example. We just opened up an NBA experience in Orlando. How many of our competitors can bring the theme parks to the table?”

If theme parks are what the NFL is looking for, Pitaro and ESPN are all set. But if the NFL is looking to attract younger fans who’ve cut the cord on traditional cable, then the threat of losing out to Silicon Valley media companies looms large.

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Evan Bleier

Evan is a senior editor with InsideHook who earned a master’s degree in journalism from NYU and has called Brooklyn home since 2006. A fan of Boston sports, Nashville hot chicken and Kentucky bourbon, Evan has had his work published in publications including “Maxim,” Bleacher Report and “The Daily Mail.”