Amazon is making some big news in sports media this week. On Thursday, news broke that the tech and retail giant was in the market to create daily studio sports shows. Today comes news that one of the biggest TV phenomena of 2021 is on the company’s wishlist.
According to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, Amazon would like to bring the Manning brothers to Thursday Night Football. Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions has a contract with ESPN that runs through 2023. After that, Amazon hopes they can steal the ManningCast.
“Amazon could just come in with a ton of money for the show — plus Amazon Prime content deals for Omaha — then move ManningCast over in two years,” a source told McCarthy.
If the ManningCast leaves ESPN, chances are that other Omaha Productions programming would go too. If Amazon wants to add studio content to its sports footprint, the back catalog and new episodes of Peyton’s Places and its offshoots would be a good start.
There are two Manningcasts left in the 2021 season. Peyton and Eli will be back for Week 17 and for a playoff game in the Wild Card round.
McCarthy reports that should Amazon want to make a serious offer, negotiations on the future of the Manningcast and Omaha Productions would likely begin after the 2022 season.
