For the second straight year, ESPN and ABC will televise a National Football League Wild Card playoff game during the 2016-17 season. The game – as well as the Postseason NFL Countdown pregame show – will air on both networks during the NFL Wild Card Weekend (January 7-8, 2017).
In January, ESPN and ABC televised the Kansas City Chiefs’ 30-0 victory over the Houston Texans, which averaged a combined 14.7 household US rating and 25,171,000 viewers across both networks – the third most-watched Saturday afternoon NFL Wild Card game among total viewers in 17 years. It was ABC’s first NFL telecast in 10 years.
ESPN’s new MNF team of Sean McDonough, Jon Gruden and sideline reporter Lisa Salters will call the 2017 Wild Card game. ESPN Deportes, ESPN’s 24-hour Spanish-language sports network, will also continue to offer a Spanish-language production.
ESPN’s Wild Card telecast will also be available to stream live on tablets, computers and connected devices via WatchESPN and the ESPN app. WatchESPN is accessible in more than 93 million households nationwide to fans who receive ESPN’s networks as part of their video subscription.
In addition to the NFL Wild Card, ESPN produces Saturday night college football, NBA games and other sports events on ABC.