This release came from ESPN today:
NFL Matchup, ESPN’s popular 30-minute weekly X’s and O’s preview and analysis show that uses team-supplied coaching footage to discuss NFL strategy and tactics, will continue on the network this fall thanks to a new, multiyear agreement with NFL Films. One of the few programs that offers an “inside the film room” perspective, Matchup has been popular among football fans since it debuted on ESPN in 1994.
ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio will continue to host with Monday Night Football analyst Ron Jaworski and studio analyst Merril Hoge. The show will continue to be produced by NFL Films, under the direction of longtime producer Greg Cosell. It will originate from the NFL Films headquarters in Mount Laurel, N.J., and ESPN will now oversee selling sponsorship of the program.
NFL Matchup will air at 3 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. on NFL Sundays, beginning with the regular-season kickoff weekend Sept. 12 and will continue through Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 6, 2011. Beginning in Week 17, the show will add a re-air most Sundays at 8:30 a.m. on ESPN2, and during the 2011 NFL season it will move to this time on a week-by-week basis.
The show, which used to be run by NFL Films, was at risk for being canceled after the NFL cut back on its spending this year, feeling the recession. ESPN basically is coming in and saving the show.
