ESPN\u2019s Burke Magnus is in no rush to fold NFL Network into the mothership, at least when it comes to the NFL Draft.<\/p>\n
In a conversation<\/a> with John Ourand, Magnus \u2014 who now oversees NFL Network as part of ESPN\u2019s acquisition of the channel<\/a> that closed on April 1 \u2014 laid out how the two networks will approach shared programming going forward. The short answer is that it depends on the event.<\/p>\n The NFL schedule release show, which aired as a simulcast on ESPN and NFL Network for the first time in May<\/a>, was an easy call for Magnus, given the show\u2019s relatively modest footprint. The NFL Draft is a different conversation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe draft is such an enormous thing,\u201d Magnus said. \u201cWe\u2019re already doing multiple shows on ESPN and ABC. I would argue it\u2019s an easy decision in that case to have NFL Network do its own draft coverage, as they have before \u2014 in their voice and with their talent and from their perspective. It\u2019s very likely you\u2019ll see that continue.\u201d<\/p>\n When ESPN formally took over the channel<\/a> in early April, the prevailing question<\/a> was how much ESPN would let NFL Network be NFL Network, or whether the acquisition would gradually hollow it out. The 2026 draft was the first produced under unified ownership, and it featured four distinct broadcast<\/a>s across ESPN, ABC, NFL Network, and The Pat McAfee Show. Kyle Brandt\u2019s appearance at the ESPN desk on Day 3<\/a> alongside Rece Davis, Mel Kiper Jr., Louis Riddick, and Field Yates offered the first glimpse of what cross-network integration might look like. Joel Klatt, under contract with Fox, suggested afterward that it may have been his last time<\/a> at the NFL Network draft desk.<\/p>\n Magnus did point to one area where combining forces makes sense: the third day of the draft, when rounds four through seven move quickly and the broadcast can feel like a long slog.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s an opportunity for us to maybe combine forces and create a combined ESPN and NFL Network show that would air in both places,\u201d he said. \u201cWe haven\u2019t made that decision yet, but to me, that\u2019s low-hanging fruit.\u201d<\/p>\n