In what started with a video from Omaha Productions revealing that the company had held auditions for sports commentators and celebrities to become the third host of Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli, colloquially known as the ManningCast, the show is thriving by taking a less-is-more approach. Despite being in its third season and attaining widespread success, the Manning brothers have only welcomed two guests per episode. This deviates from previous iterations of the alternate presentation, during which the quarterback tandem has implemented three to four guests.
During an appearance on Thursday’s edition of The Pat McAfee Show, Pat McAfee asked Peyton Manning about the broadcast, which makes its return on Monday for a matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings. Within his question, he affirmed that the broadcast has had its “fastball” this year even though there have been various matchups that have not gone down-to-the-wire or as expected. For example, the first broadcast of the season started with New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffering a torn Achilles tendon four plays into the team’s first offensive drive.
“The plan was sort of the same philosophy,” Manning said. “We started out with four guests in Year 1; went to three last year. We tried to have three this past season… and we’ve had some late cancellations. We’ve only had two guests, so it’s given more time for Eli to make fun of me. It’s certainly given us maybe a little more time to talk football, so maybe that’s something we’ve kind of stumbled on to.”
Some of the initial guests that appeared on the air with Peyton and Eli Manning include John McEnroe, Will Ferrell and Jimmy Kimmel, discussing the game at hand and other topics as necessary. Before the season, the rumors of a third host that were perpetuated through the video garnered several million views. While the broadcast decided to stick with the original hosting structure, Peyton Manning believes that the other changes it has made have elicited a more enjoyable product for the viewers.
“It’s been fun,” Manning said. “Obviously a lot of things have happened in the game we haven’t expected ever since Aaron [Rodgers got] injured in Week 1. [That] tells you, ‘Don’t ever assume anything in the NFL.’ This should be a great game though – looking forward to seeing these Niners up close.”
Monday Night Football returns this upcoming Monday, Oct. 23 when the 49ers take on the Vikings from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Lisa Salters will bring fans the traditional broadcast on ESPN starting at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST, and the ManningCast will occur simultaneously on ESPN2. Both presentations are available to stream through the company’s OTT streaming platform, ESPN+.
