June 27, 2025 The Best Source of News, Culture, Lifestyle for Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms and West Los Angeles

ESPN to Televise its First NFL Playoff Game

ESPN
Paul Brown Stadium (left) in Cincinnati was home to an NFL wild card playoff game earlier this year. ESPN announced April 22 it would televise a wild card game for the first time in the network’s history. (Thinkstock)

The National Football League (NFL), currently the nation’s most popular sport, has been absent from Los Angeles since 1995 and has never had one of its playoff games televised on ESPN since the network launched in 1979.

At least one of those things will change next year. Unfortunately, seats at professional football-ready stadiums in the Los Angeles region will continue to remain empty.

In a move to get in on the ratings bonanza of NFL playoff games, ESPN announced April 22 it would televise a live wild-card game in January 2015. It will be the first time in ESPN’s history a postseason game is televised on the network.

The “wild card” games take place during the first weekend of NFL’s postseason play; there are four wild card playoff games televised each postseason.

Also to be televised on ESPN will be the Pro Bowl, the NFL’s annual all-star game featuring the league’s top players in an exhibition game.

ESPN already televises Monday Night Football games during the regular season.

Televising the playoff game is part of a new rights agreement between ESPN and the NFL.

The network also announced the broadcast team covering Monday Night Football will also cover both the wild card game and the Pro Bowl. That broadcast team consists of Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden and sideline reporter Lisa Salters.

University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., will host the 2015 Pro Bowl. The stadium is also the site of Super Bowl XLIX, which will be played Feb. 1, 2015 and aired on NBC.

NFL playoff games have been televised on the major networks – ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC – over the course of the four-rounds of postseason play. ESPN and ABC are both part of the Disney Media Network. NBC, which reportedly televised two wild card playoff games last season, also announced on April 22 it would air a wild card playoff game on Jan. 3 as well as a divisional round postseason matchup.

The NFL stated an average of 34.7 million viewers watched the four wild card games last season, according to NBC Sports. News reports indicated CBS had its highest ratings for its televising of a Wild Card Sunday matchup in 19 years.

In its 95th iteration, the next NFL season will begin Sept. 4 and games will continue weekly through Dec. 28. The wild card games will be played Jan. 3 and 4, 2015, thought the games each respective network would air will not be determined until later in the season.

The Pro Bowl will be played Jan. 25.

Related Posts

Santa Monica Police Arrest Shooting Suspect After Officer Ambushed Near Downtown Mall

June 26, 2025

June 26, 2025

Man Linked to Waymo Vehicle Gunfire Taken Into Custody Following Tense Manhunt The suspect wanted in connection with a shooting...

Michelin Stars Shine Bright on LA: Somni West Hollywood and Providence Earn Top Honors

June 26, 2025

June 26, 2025

Two Restaurants in Los Angeles Receive Three Stars as Michelin Guide Celebrates Bold Flavors The MICHELIN Guide California 2025 celebrated...

Cherished Culver City Ice Cream Vendor Abducted in Broad Daylight

June 26, 2025

June 26, 2025

Ambrocio “Enrique” Lozano’s Disappearance Led To Grassroots Action Ambrocio Lozano, also known in the neighborhood as Enrique, was abducted around...

Culver City Leaders Address Youth Safety Crisis After Teen’s Death, Gunfire at Vigil

June 25, 2025

June 25, 2025

Leaders Respond Following Tragedy and Shooting at School Vigil Culver City officials convened a press conference Wednesday morning to confront...

Brentwood Home by Landry Design Group Wins Top National Architecture Award

June 25, 2025

June 25, 2025

Landry Design Group Wins Gold Nugget Awards for Brentwood, Crestwood Projects Landry Design Group (LDG) earned two top honors at...

(Video) WISE & Healthy Aging Helps Loved Ones Boost Their Quality of Life

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

See How the Nonprofit’s Innovative Programs Advance the Dignity of Life for Older Adults See How the Nonprofit’s Innovative Programs...

Masked Federal Agents Detain Iranian Asylum Seeker and Wife in Westwood

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

31-Year-Old Woman was Hospitalized After Possible Medical Emergency On Tuesday, June 24, between 11:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., near the...

Culver City Pride Rolls In with Sunset Ride and Rally June 28

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

Celebrate With a 6-Mile Pride Ride and Free Block Party Culver City will mark its fifth annual Pride celebration on...

Los Angeles Leaders Push to Ban Masks for Federal Agents Amid Immigration Raids

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

Concerns Grow Over Anonymous ICE and CBP Officers in Los Angeles   A growing coalition of California lawmakers and local leaders...

Squatter-Plagued Beverly Grove Buildings Could Be Razed After Hazard Cleanup

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

Demolition of Three Abandoned Apartments May Begin in Two Weeks Three abandoned apartment buildings in Beverly Grove may soon be...

From Westwood to DTLA, Angelenos March Against Military Escalation in Iran

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Protestors Rally at the Westwood Federal Building This Weekend Following President Donald Trump’s authorization of airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear-related...

Overnight Traffic Stops in Culver City Lead to Felony Arrests, DUI Bust

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Culver City Police Nab Suspects Wanted for Burglary and Identity Theft Culver City police officers arrested three individuals in separate...

LAPD Sergeant Killed Assisting Crash Victims on 405 Freeway in Brentwood

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Tragic Early-Morning Collision Claims Two Lives, Including Veteran Sergeant Two people, including an LAPD sergeant, were killed early Monday in...

Recent Homebuyer Down Payments Slip for First Time in Nearly Two Years

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

April’s Median Down Payment Fell as Buyers Lean Toward Lower-Cost Homes The median down payment made by U.S. homebuyers dropped...

Del Rey Affordable Housing Project to Rise on Former Charter School Site

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Community Corp., Local Faith Group Team Up to Build 122 New Apartments Plans are moving forward for a new residential...