First reported last week by the New York Post and confirmed by Joe Buck on Twitter, the minds behind ESPN’s successful Monday Night Football “Manningcast” are bringing the concept to the 2022 PGA Championship.
The details of an aggressive effort—four hours a day—now include confirmed guests. The full release:
Joe Buck, Michael Collins To Host First of Its Kind PGA Championship Alternative Telecast for ESPN
Celebrity Guests Joining Telecast Include Troy Aikman, Josh Allen, Charles Barkley, Doris Burke, Fred Couples, Jon Hamm, Peyton & Eli Manning
Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions, Production Company Behind Monday Night Football With Peyton and Eli, to Produce Telecast in Conjunction with ESPN
ESPN is bringing a new additional viewing option to golf for the first time in its coverage of the upcoming PGA Championship with an alternate telecast - PGA Championship with Joe Buck & Michael Collins - that will complement the event’s traditional television production.
The new telecast, produced by ESPN in collaboration with Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions, follows the success of the innovative and critically acclaimed Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli alternate telecast this past NFL season.
The alternate telecast will be hosted by Joe Buck, who recently joined ESPN to anchor Monday Night Football next season, and ESPN senior golf analyst Michael Collins, the host of the ESPN+ program America’s Caddie. Buck will be making the first ESPN appearance of his new deal.
PGA Championship with Joe Buck & Michael Collins will air during all four days of competition in the May 19-22 tournament and feature an array of guests to offer running commentary and conversation as live play in golf’s second major of the season unfolds at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.
Peyton and Eli Manning will be among the guests on the telecast during the tournament. Other guests who will appear across the four days of coverage will include Troy Aikman, Josh Allen, Charles Barkley, Fred Couples, Jon Hamm and ESPN’s Doris Burke with more guests to be announced later.
“Working with Omaha Productions, we are producing a telecast that is designed to reach a new and different audience and elevate the appeal of the PGA Championship even more,” said Lee Fitting, ESPN senior vice president, production. “We feel that this will ultimately help grow our viewership and provide fans with another fun and creative way that they can enjoy sports.”
“We loved doing Monday Night Football with ESPN and the entire Omaha team has been looking forward to producing alternate telecasts that celebrate other sports,” said Peyton Manning. “As one of golf’s majors, the PGA Championship is a perfect place to do our first one for golf and we look forward to working with Joe, Michael and everyone in ESPN’s golf team.”
The telecast will air for four hours each day. During the first and second rounds on Thursday and Friday, May 19-20, the telecast will air on ESPN from 1-2 p.m. ET during the final hour of live tournament coverage on ESPN+ and then move to ESPN2 from 2-5 p.m. while tournament play is airing on ESPN.
During the third and final rounds on Saturday and Sunday, May 21-22, the telecast will air on ESPN from 9-10 a.m. while live play is airing on ESPN+ and then it will switch to ESPN+ from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. while live play is airing on ESPN.
Earlier this year, ESPN and The Walt Disney Company announced an expanded agreement with Peyton Manning and his Omaha Productions company, a relationship that launched Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli. The extension added a fourth year (through 2024 season) for Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli, featuring a 10-game annual slate of alternative productions to ESPN’s traditional Monday Night Football telecast. Additionally, the agreement calls for alternative presentations (with other hosts) for UFC, college football and golf to be produced by Omaha Productions in collaboration with ESPN.
In the third year of an 11-year deal with the PGA of America, ESPN and ESPN+ will present more some 230 hours of live coverage of the PGA Championship including traditional coverage as well as Featured Holes and Featured Groups.