On July 19, 2021,
ESPN announced that Peyton and Eli Manning would host an alternate presentation of Monday Night Football. The deal signed by ESPN and
Omaha Productions (which produced the ESPN+ series Peyton's Places) was for three seasons and called for ten games each year. For the
2021 season, it was announced that the presentation would air for the first three weeks of the season (Ravens-Raiders, Lions-Packers and Eagles-Cowboys), with the final seven telecasts announced at a later date.[2]
The first Manningcast aired on September 13, 2021, as an alternate presentation of the Monday Night Football game between the
Las Vegas Raiders and
Baltimore Ravens.[3]
On November 13, 2021, ESPN announced that the presentation would also be offered for the network's Monday-night Wild Card Game during the 2021 playoffs.[4] In February 2022, ESPN extended its contract through the 2024 NFL season, with Omaha Productions also slated to collaborate with ESPN on extending the format to other sports properties, such as
college football,
golf, and
UFC events.[5] The series received a
Sports Emmy Award for
Outstanding Live Sports Series at the 43rd Sports Emmy Awards on May 24, 2022.[6]
On April 10, 2024, ESPN further extended its contract with Omaha Productions until 2034.[7]
During the 2021 season, a "curse" akin to the
Madden curse began to develop upon players who made guest appearances on the broadcasts, with an observed pattern of players' teams losing the next week despite being favored to win.[41]
The "curse" was broken in 2022, as all players that appeared on the Manningcast that season all won their next game. However, in 2023, the "curse" returned as all NFL players who appeared as guests, plus
Golden State Warriors star
Klay Thompson, saw their teams lose the next game. Another basketball player,
Caitlin Clark, was not affected by the "curse"; her
Iowa team was in the beginning of a 15-game winning streak at the time, with 14 of those wins coming after her appearance.
Adoption by other ESPN properties
Building upon the success of the Mannings' broadcasts, ESPN has since produced similar broadcasts for some of its other sports properties, some of which not involving the Mannings, but were still called Manningcasts:[5][42] Some of these
Joe Buck and Michael Collins hosted a similar broadcast during each round of the
2022 PGA Championship, serving as the opening hour of coverage on ESPN before moving to ESPN2 (first and second rounds) or ESPN+ (third and final rounds) afterward. Joe Buck's long-time NFL commentary partner
Troy Aikman,
Charles Barkley, and the Mannings made guest appearances. The broadcasts marked Buck and Aikman's on-air debuts at ESPN, after moving from
Fox Sports to serve as the new lead commentators for Monday Night Football (from 2015 to mid-2020, Buck served as the lead commentator for
Fox's broadcasts of
USGA tournaments). It was the first iteration of the format outside of Monday Night Football that was produced by Omaha.[47][48]
In August 2022, it was announced that that the Mannings would produce alternate broadcasts for six college football games on ESPN2, with
Pat McAfee as host.[49]
^Salem, Mitch (September 13, 2022).
"ShowBuzzDaily: Monday 9.12.22". Showbuzz Daily.
Archived from the original on September 13, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
^Salem, Mitch (September 27, 2022).
"ShowBuzzDaily: Monday 9.26.22". Showbuzz Daily.
Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
On July 19, 2021,
ESPN announced that Peyton and Eli Manning would host an alternate presentation of Monday Night Football. The deal signed by ESPN and
Omaha Productions (which produced the ESPN+ series Peyton's Places) was for three seasons and called for ten games each year. For the
2021 season, it was announced that the presentation would air for the first three weeks of the season (Ravens-Raiders, Lions-Packers and Eagles-Cowboys), with the final seven telecasts announced at a later date.[2]
The first Manningcast aired on September 13, 2021, as an alternate presentation of the Monday Night Football game between the
Las Vegas Raiders and
Baltimore Ravens.[3]
On November 13, 2021, ESPN announced that the presentation would also be offered for the network's Monday-night Wild Card Game during the 2021 playoffs.[4] In February 2022, ESPN extended its contract through the 2024 NFL season, with Omaha Productions also slated to collaborate with ESPN on extending the format to other sports properties, such as
college football,
golf, and
UFC events.[5] The series received a
Sports Emmy Award for
Outstanding Live Sports Series at the 43rd Sports Emmy Awards on May 24, 2022.[6]
On April 10, 2024, ESPN further extended its contract with Omaha Productions until 2034.[7]
During the 2021 season, a "curse" akin to the
Madden curse began to develop upon players who made guest appearances on the broadcasts, with an observed pattern of players' teams losing the next week despite being favored to win.[41]
The "curse" was broken in 2022, as all players that appeared on the Manningcast that season all won their next game. However, in 2023, the "curse" returned as all NFL players who appeared as guests, plus
Golden State Warriors star
Klay Thompson, saw their teams lose the next game. Another basketball player,
Caitlin Clark, was not affected by the "curse"; her
Iowa team was in the beginning of a 15-game winning streak at the time, with 14 of those wins coming after her appearance.
Adoption by other ESPN properties
Building upon the success of the Mannings' broadcasts, ESPN has since produced similar broadcasts for some of its other sports properties, some of which not involving the Mannings, but were still called Manningcasts:[5][42] Some of these
Joe Buck and Michael Collins hosted a similar broadcast during each round of the
2022 PGA Championship, serving as the opening hour of coverage on ESPN before moving to ESPN2 (first and second rounds) or ESPN+ (third and final rounds) afterward. Joe Buck's long-time NFL commentary partner
Troy Aikman,
Charles Barkley, and the Mannings made guest appearances. The broadcasts marked Buck and Aikman's on-air debuts at ESPN, after moving from
Fox Sports to serve as the new lead commentators for Monday Night Football (from 2015 to mid-2020, Buck served as the lead commentator for
Fox's broadcasts of
USGA tournaments). It was the first iteration of the format outside of Monday Night Football that was produced by Omaha.[47][48]
In August 2022, it was announced that that the Mannings would produce alternate broadcasts for six college football games on ESPN2, with
Pat McAfee as host.[49]
^Salem, Mitch (September 13, 2022).
"ShowBuzzDaily: Monday 9.12.22". Showbuzz Daily.
Archived from the original on September 13, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
^Salem, Mitch (September 27, 2022).
"ShowBuzzDaily: Monday 9.26.22". Showbuzz Daily.
Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2022.