Madden 18 Esports Events Will Air On ESPN And Disney Under NFL Deal

Both Disney and ESPN will broadcast NFL esports content this year under a newly penned deal with the National Football League. Under the deal, both Madden NFL 18 Club Championship and the Madden NFL 18 Ultimate League events will air. The esports content will be airing on both Disney XD and ESPNEWS, plus ESPN2 and ESPN2/Deportes. Some episodic content will also be available on ESPN VOD.

ESPN announced the news today, saying that under this deal there will also be an episodic show that features the esports players plus the stories behind them. That show will air on Disney XD in addition to ESPN VOD. The Madden NFL 18 Club Championship at the Pro Bowl will be on ESPNEWS.

From there, the finals at the Super Bowl will broadcast on ESPN2/Deportes, while the Ultimate League Championship final will be broadcast on ESPN2. Everything starts on February 2 with the Madden NFL 18 Ultimate League, ESPN says. That will run until April 28.

ESPN has provided the following schedule to help simplify things:

• Madden NFL 18 Club Championship from the Pro Bowl, Saturday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPNEWS

• Madden NFL 18 Club Championship Final from Super Bowl LII, Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2/Deportes

• 12 one-hour episodes of the Madden NFL 18 Ultimate League Regular Season, Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET running Feb. to April on Disney XD and ESPN VOD

• Half-hour episodes of the Madden NFL 18 Ultimate League Series, Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET running weekly from April 3 to May 1 on ESPN2/ESPN VOD

• Madden Ultimate League Championship final from the NFL draft, April 28 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2

SOURCE: ESPN