• Buck, Aikman and Salters on the Call for Bengals-Steelers; Fowler, Riddick, Orlovsky and Rutledge work Browns-Ravens; Games Available Across ESPN, ABC, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes
• Kelce’s New Show Debuts in Front of a Live Studio Audience on Friday night at 1 a.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+
• ESPN’s Pre- and Post-Game Shows Blanket Doubleheader Saturday and Final Sunday of the Regular Season

The AFC North will be decided, Wild Card races impacted, and MVP campaigns punctuated on ESPN’s Doubleheader Saturday as the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens (4:30 p.m. ET) and Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers (8 p.m.) begin the NFL’s Season Finale (Week 18) on January 4. Both AFC North showdowns will be available across ESPN, ABC, ESPN+ and on mobile via NFL+, with ESPN Deportes airing the Spanish-language telecast.

Jump starting the football-filled weekend, They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce Presented by GEICO (January 4, 1 a.m. ET, ESPN and ESPN+) will debut late Friday night/early Saturday morning, the first of five consecutive weekly episodes throughout the month of January.

ESPN’s eight-plus-hours of NFL programming on Saturday will begin with ESPN’s traditional Monday Night Countdown cast on NFL Countdown: Special Edition (3 p.m.) and in-between the two games.

January 5th’s Sunday NFL Countdown (10 a.m.) will set the table for the remaining 14 games of the regular season.

Doubleheader Saturday Shapes NFL Playoff Picture
With a win on Saturday night, the Bengals will remain firmly in the AFC playoff race while the Steelers will be playing for the AFC North title or will look to solidify their position as the AFC top Wild Card. The voices of Monday Night Football, Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Lisa Salters will be on the call from Acrisure Stadium as the fate of both team’s postseason positioning is determined.

Earlier in the day, the Ravens, who sit atop the AFC North, will lock-up the division with a win over the Browns, who enter the game at No. 2 in ESPN FPI’s latest NFL Draft order projection. Chris Fowler, Louis Riddick, Dan Orlovsky and Laura Rutledge will be calling the game from M&T Bank Stadium as the Ravens look to repeat as AFC North champions and secure a top seed in the AFC playoff race.

The storylines for Doubleheader Saturday extend beyond playoff implications as the two games, which are filled with young stars and playmakers, will showcase two of the top contenders in the 2024 NFL MVP race. Quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson will make their final case to voters in the standalone games.

For complete NFL playoff scenarios, click here.

Monday and Sunday Countdown Crews Appear Throughout the Weekend
On ESPN and ABC, Scott Van Pelt, Ryan Clark, Kelce, Marcus Spears, Michelle Beisner- Buck and Adam Schefter will be live from ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Conn for NFL Countdown: Special Edition. The program will surround Saturday’s game action from 3 – 4:15 p.m. and between games (approximately 7:30 – 7:50 p.m.). SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt will air at the conclusion of Bengals-Steelers (approximately 11:30 p.m.).

Sunday NFL Countdown will occur at the show’s standard time (Sunday, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., ESPN) with Mike Greenberg, Tedy Bruschi, Rex Ryan, Alex Smith and Schefter breaking down the Doubleheader Saturday games while also providing fans their customary analysis and discussion of the ensuing games.

Additional NFL studio shows will remain in their standard time for Week 18 with NFL Matchup on Saturday morning (7-7:30 a.m., ESPN2) and NFL PrimeTime on Sunday evening (7:30 p.m., ESPN+).

They Call it Late Night with Jason Kelce Brings Late-Night Television to ESPN Platforms
They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce will be an immersive experience from Union Transfer in Philadelphia, showcasing the Super Bowl champion’s oversized personality and infectious humor mixed with celebrity guests from the football world and beyond, in front of a live audience of NFL fans. The show’s format will position Kelce and his guests to dissect NFL topics and storylines, mainly focused on that weekend’s games, in both conventional and good-humoredly unconventional approaches including active participation from the fans in attendance.

The atmosphere inside Union Transfer will bring the Kelce experience to life, amplified by live music from SNACKTIME, Philadelphia’s own beloved band with soul, funk, hip hop and rock influences. Each show will be taped on Friday evening, mere hours prior to airing.

In addition to ESPN and ESPN+, clips from They Call it Late Night with Jason Kelce will be posted on ESPN YouTube in real-time, while the full episode will be available on the Jason Kelce channel on YouTube presented by ESPN on Saturday mornings at 8 a.m. Replays will air on ESPN2.

More information on the previously announced show can be found here.

NFL Postseason Games on ESPN
ESPN’s robust NFL postseason coverage will be spearheaded by a Monday Night Super Wild Card (January 13) and Divisional Round Playoff (January 18 or 19) game. Buck, Aikman, Salters and Rutledge will be on the call for both contests.

Leading into the 2024-25 postseason, ESPN debuted a new marketing campaign, Playoff Pitch, staring Buck, Aikman and Chad Ochocinco. Playoff Pitch, which is currently airing across ESPN platforms, can be found here.

Additional information, including matchups and postseason coverage plans, will be made available on ESPN Press Room in the coming days.

ESPN Pigskin Bracket Challenge
Before the first NFL Wild Card playoff game on Saturday, January 11, fans are encouraged to enter ESPN’s Pigskin Bracket Challenge for the chance to win $72,000. Fans can enter up to two brackets to play against friends, family and fellow fans.

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Media Contacts:
Derek Volner ([email protected])
Lily Blum ([email protected])