ESPN Megacast


ESPN Megacast, formerly known as ESPN Full Circle, is a multi-network simulcast of a single sporting event across multiple ESPN networks and serviceswith each feed providing a different version of the telecast making use of different features, functions or perspectives. These simulcasts typically involve ESPN's linear television channels and internet streaming platforms, and may occasionally incorporate other Walt Disney Television networks at once.
ESPN Full Circle debuted with ESPN Full Circle: North Carolina at Duke on March 4, 2006, on the one-year anniversary of ESPNU. The game was the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Duke Blue Devils in college basketball. Five further Full Circle broadcasts were produced before the format was discontinued in 2007.
After a seven-year hiatus, full-circle broadcasts resumed under the Megacast branding in 2014. To date, the feature has primarily been used for the College Football Playoff and National Championship. ESPN has occasionally provided smaller-scale slates of alternate feeds during other broadcasts, although these have not always used the "Megacast" branding.

College Basketball Megacasts

North Carolina at Duke

The first Full Circle telecast covered the college basketball game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils, to honor the one-year anniversary of the launch of ESPN's college sports network ESPNU.
ESPN aired the game's traditional coverage, ESPN2 featured an "Above the Rim" camera, and ESPNU featured a split-screen with the "Cameron Crazy Cam". ESPN360 offered additional stats, hosted by ESPN Radio's Jeff Rickard, Mobile ESPN featured game alerts, live updates and in-game polling for a replay of a classic Duke-North Carolina game, and ESPN.com featured live chats, in-game polling and highlights. The ESPN and ESPN2 broadcasts were also available in HD.
The game was seen by an average of 3.78 million households on ESPN and ESPN2 making it the most-viewed men's college basketball game ever combining the networks. There were also two million page views on ESPN.com and one million video streams across ESPN.com and ESPN 360. ESPN's single network coverage garnered a 3.5 rating, the network's highest-rated men's college basketball game in more than four years. ESPN2's "Above the Rim" coverage generated a 0.7 rating, 40% higher than the network's per-game season average. Brad Nessler called the game along with Dick Vitale and Erin Andrews. It was the last time to date that Nessler called a Saturday Primetime game.

NCAA Women's Basketball Championship

The sixth installment of ESPN Full Circle was on April 3, 2007, in Cleveland, Ohio. The official name of the telecast was ESPN Full Circle: NCAA Women's Championship and the game was between No. 1 Tennessee Lady Volunteers and No. 4 Rutgers Scarlet Knights. It was the first women's event presented as an ESPN Full Circle telecast. Mike Patrick called the game along with Doris Burke and reporters Holly Rowe and Mark Jones. Tennessee defeated Rutgers, 59–46, winning its seventh national title.

Coverage

  • ESPN featured the traditional coverage of a regular college basketball game. It also had "look-ins" to how other entities are covering the game.
  • ESPN2 had six coverage boxes; two with isolated shots of players, another alternating statistics and replays in the lower center, and a simulcast of the traditional game coverage on ESPN. This feed had separate commentators, Doug Gottlieb and Carolyn Peck. Gottlieb and Peck were also joined by guests for interviews throughout the game; he also jokingly called the setup "The Matrix". Enhanced graphics were available for those viewing the game in high definition with full-time integrated stats pillars on each side of the screen.
  • ESPNU presented the Above the Rim camera angles as well as a simulcast and statistics. This feed also had commentary from Mike Hall and Charlene Curtis.
  • ESPN360 offered enhanced statistics.
  • ESPN.com provided in-game fan polls and live chats with, among others, Nancy Lieberman.

    Coach K’s Last Home Game

For Mike Krzyzewski’s last home game as Duke head coach, ESPN broke out the MegaCast for Duke’s final home game of the 2021-22 regular season against North Carolina.
  • ESPN aired the main telecast, as part of both their Saturday Primetime and Sonic Blockbuster series, with Dan Shulman, Duke alum Jay Bilas, and Holly Rowe calling the action. In addition, a special two-hour edition of College GameDay, led by Rece Davis, Bilas, Seth Greenberg, and LaPhonso Ellis, was also broadcast live from Cameron Indoor Stadium earlier in the day. The game also aired in 4K on DirecTV, Comcast, YouTube TV, and Verizon FiOS.
  • ACC Network provided a second-screen alternate feed called “ Coach K Curtain Call”, which offered commentary from Wes Durham, Mark Packer, and Debbie Antonelli, as well as interviews with special guests throughout the game. ACC Network’s pregame show “Nothing But Net” also broadcast live from Cameron Indoor Stadium for a 90-minute pregame show prior to the game.
ESPN also had live, onsite reports from Duke starting Thursday, March 3. Various studio shows, halftime of men’s college games from Thursday through Saturday made their presence on campus as well. ESPN also had live on-site coverage all day that Saturday, which began with the 7 a.m. SportsCenter, leading into GameDay.
Every presentation was available on the ESPN app.

2022 Women's Final Four

ESPN’s MegaCast series continued the weekend of April 3 for the 2022 Women's Final Four.
  • The main telecasts of all games aired on ESPN per usual, with Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo, Holly Rowe, and Andraya Carter calling the action.
  • For the semifinals, ESPNU and ESPN+ simulcast The Bird and Taurasi Show, hosted by WNBA legends Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi. In a similar approach to the Manningcast, Bird and Taurasi had their own concourse set, where they provided their own commentary and were joined by special guests throughout the night. This feed moved to ESPN2 for the Championship Game.
  • ESPN+ carried different feeds, including a Second Spectrum Player Tracking broadcast, which aired on ESPN+ for the semifinals, and was simulcast on ESPNU for the Championship Game. ESPN+ also carried the Beyond the Rim and On the Rail feeds.
All broadcasts were made available on the ESPN App.

2023 Women's Final Four

ESPN brought back their MegaCast series during the weekend of April 2 for the 2023 Women's Final Four.
  • The main telecasts of the semifinals was simulcast between ESPN and ESPNU, with Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo, Holly Rowe, and Andraya Carter calling the action. The championship game aired on ABC for the first time ever. Ruocco, Lobo, Rowe, and Carter returned to call the title game as well.
  • ESPN brought back The Bird and Taurasi Show, hosted by WNBA legends Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi. Bird and Taurasi had their own concourse set, where they provided their own commentary and were joined by special guests throughout the night. Unlike the previous year, every telecast aired on ESPN2.
  • ESPN+ carried the Beyond the Rim and On the Rail feeds once again.
All broadcasts were made available on ESPN+ and the ESPN App.

2024 Women's Final Four

The 2024 edition of the Women's Final Four Megacast on ESPN during the weekend of April 7 featured the same viewing options as the previous years.
  • The main telecasts of the semifinals aired on ESPN, with Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo, and Holly Rowe, as well as rules analysts Lisa Mattingly and Denny Meyer, calling the action. The championship game again aired on ABC, with Ruocco, Lobo, Rowe, Mattingly, and Meyer calling the title game as well.
  • The Bird and Taurasi Show presented by AT&T, hosted by WNBA legends Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi aired on ESPN2 for the semifinals, and on ESPN for the title game. Like in previous years, Bird and Taurasi had their own concourse set, where they provided their own commentary and were joined by special guests throughout the night.
  • ESPN+ carried the Beyond the Rim and On the Rail feeds once again.
All broadcasts were made available on ESPN+ and the ESPN App.

2025 Women's Final Four

The 2025 edition of the Women's Final Four Megacast on ESPN during the weekend of April 6 featured the same viewing options as the previous years.
  • The main telecasts of the semifinals aired on ESPN, with Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo, and Holly Rowe, as well as rules analyst Violet Palmer, calling the action. The championship game again aired on ABC, with Ruocco, Lobo, Rowe, and Palmer calling the title game as well.
  • The Bird and Taurasi Show presented by AT&T, hosted by WNBA legends Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi aired on ESPN2 for the semifinals, and on ESPN for the title game. Like in previous years, Bird and Taurasi had their own concourse set, where they provided their own commentary and were joined by special guests throughout the night.
  • ESPN+ carried the Beyond the Rim and On the Rail feeds once again.
All broadcasts were made available on ESPN+, Disney+, and the ESPN App.

NBA Megacasts

Bulls-Heat NBA Playoffs

This was the second installment of ESPN Full Circle, which aired on April 22, 2006. The official name of this one was ESPN Full Circle: Bulls-Heat NBA Playoffs and the game was the Chicago Bulls vs. the Miami Heat. The game was seen by an average of 2,648,000 households on ESPN and ESPN2, marking a 45% increase when compared to the equivalent NBA playoff telecast the previous year. In addition, ESPN.com's ESPN Motion received nearly 600,000 video streams for Bulls/Heat content. Mike Tirico called the game along with Bill Walton and Steve "Snapper" Jones and Jim Gray as the sideline reporter.