ESPN Extends Media Rights Agreement for NFL Draft, Adds NFL Content to Upcoming DTC Service NFL Draft will be available to stream on ESPNs DTC service, Disney+, and Hulu beginning in 2026 By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 - 2:19 pm
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Shortly after announcing that its groundbreaking deal to acquire NFL Media was official, ESPN also shared that it has struck a licensing agreement with the National Football League to extend its rights to broadcast the NFL Draft.
While there had been chatter across the sports-media landscape that the NFL Draft could be in play, ESPN has held firm, locking in one of the tentpole events of its live-event calendar; an event it has broadcast annually since 1980.
As it has done since 2019, ESPN and ABC will each produce telecasts for Rounds 1-3 on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, ESPN continues to air Rounds 4-7 as ABC shifts to simulcasting that same ESPN feed. ESPN Deportes and ESPN Radio also retain the rights to air the NFL Draft live.
This new deal not only extends the relationship but sets parameters on what can be included where, as Disney and ESPN reshape their business heading into 2026. Beginning with the 2026 NFL Draft, ESPN's DTC service, Disney+, and Hulu will be able to stream each of ESPN's, ABC's, and ESPN Deportes' productions.
New in this agreement, ESPN can produce alternate telecasts and stream them across any/all of its platforms through all of the rounds of the Draft. The network also shared plans to produce a daily NFL Draft show that will debut the day after the Super Bowl and air on ESPN2 most days.
This agreement also included new content rights that will help bolster ESPN's DTC service, which is set to debut on August 21. It also grants to ability to sell a bundle of ESPN DTC with NFL+ Premium, the league's subscription service that includes access to live local and primetime games on mobile devices, NFL RedZone, NFL Network, live game audio, and game replays.
Other content and feature sets that ESPN has acquired include personalized highlights on streaming services and ESPN Fantasy Football, multiview within the ESPN App (which will come into play on nights where ESPN is broadcasting two Monday Night Football games on a given night and while when watching games alongside the MNF with Peyton and Eli alternate broadcast)
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ESPN Extends Media Rights Agreement for NFL Draft, Adds NFL Content to Upcoming DTC Service NFL Draft will be available to stream on ESPNs DTC service, Disney+, and Hulu beginning in 2026 By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital 
