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ESPN acquires NFL Network: Who gets custody of Scott Hanson?

Chris Graham
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Photo: © HTGanzo/stock.adobe.com

It’s official: ESPN is acquiring the NFL Network, which, most importantly, to me, means, it’s getting the RedZone channel – please, please, for the love of god, please, don’t replace Scott Hanson with Stephen A. Smith or Pat McAfee.

“For those wondering: yes, I will still be hosting RedZone,” Hanson posted on the interwebs as the news leaked out on Wednesday.

So, phew!

Actually, still worried that ESPN is going to try to shove one or both of the Stephen A./McAfee idiot combo onto RedZone sooner rather than later.

The deal gives the NFL a 10 percent equity stake in ESPN, which ought to be fun, just in terms of the journalistic integrity of having ESPN covering a business that has a 10 percent ownership stake in it.

Though, I mean, really, as if ESPN has done any serious journalism in forever, right?

(No, Adam Schefter telling us about a trade two minutes before the press release goes out doesn’t count as serious journalism.)

NFL Network will continue on, for some reason – actually, for a good reason: 168 additional hours a week for the ESPN salespeople to sell ads to the likes of BlueChew and Endurance.

The big news here: Scott Hanson is still our guy for seven hours of commercial-free football on Sundays 18 times a year.

One other plea to the dolts at ESPN: keep RedZone commercial-free, or we riot.

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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].