Pat McAfee announced on Friday that he will have his own alternate cast of Super Bowl LXI in February through ESPN, mirroring his “Field Pass” style telecasts from college football.
In Plain English: The Clinical Takeaway
- Broadcasting Shift: ESPN is expanding alternate viewing formats into its NFL championship coverage, bringing non-traditional commentary styles directly to the Super Bowl.
- Multi-Platform Reach: The Walt Disney Company announced that Disney+ will stream the broadcast, marking the seventh consecutive year the game is available on a streaming service.
- Broadcast Rotation: The game arrives as part of the NFL’s media rights deal that brought ESPN into the broadcast rotation alongside Fox, CBS, and NBC.
Pat McAfee to Have Alternate Cast for Super Bowl LXI
The Super Bowl will receive the Pat McAfee treatment when Super Bowl LXI kicks off on Valentine’s Day. The former punter-turned-media mogul announced his plans on Friday to run his own alternate cast for the February championship through ESPN.
The announcement follows a broader expansion of McAfee’s footprint across the network this season. Alongside his full-time role on “College GameDay,” McAfee joined the “Monday Night Countdown” pregame show and is slated to host similar alternate broadcasts for select “Monday Night Football” games throughout the season.
Disney+ Streaming and the ESPN Broadcast Rotation
The alternate broadcast news arrived two days after the Walt Disney Company confirmed that Disney+ will stream ESPN and ABC’s coverage of the big game. This streaming rollout marks the seventh consecutive year a Super Bowl will be accessible on a streaming platform, a trend that began with Super Bowl LV.
ESPN secured rights to this season’s championship game back in 2021 as part of a sweeping NFL media rights agreement that added the network back into the existing broadcast rotation alongside Fox, CBS, and NBC. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are set to return to the booth for the NFL championship game, marking their first time calling the league’s marquee event since 2020, when the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers for Fox.
| Broadcast Element | Details for Super Bowl LXI |
|---|---|
| Primary Network | ESPN / ABC |
| Alternate Cast Host | Pat McAfee (“Field Pass” style) |
| Streaming Platform | Disney+ |
| Booth Announcers | Joe Buck and Troy Aikman |
| Game Date | Valentine’s Day |
