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.. and then?
ESPN gets MNF, NBC gets SNF
NEW YORK (April 18, 2005) -- The NFL's Monday Night Football, a staple on ABC for the past 35 seasons, will move to ESPN starting with the 2006 season.
And NBC is returning to the NFL after six years away by taking the Sunday night broadcast previously on ESPN.
The Monday night move from network TV to basic cable, hinted at continually by commissioner Paul Tagliabue, was confirmed by two sources familiar with the deals who spoke to The Associated Press under condition of anonymity. The sources said the deals is for eight years.
NBC will get the Sunday night package for six years, according to the sources. The network will also get the Super Bowl in 2009 and 2012 as part of the deal, one of the sources said.
The moves leave ABC -- which originated Monday Night Football in 1970 -- as the only major network without NFL football.
ABC and ESPN are both subsidiaries of the Walt Disney Co. The deal with ESPN, which currently carries games every Sunday night and sometimes on Thursday, was first reported by The Wall Street Journal....