Seen on Screen: ESPN Revisits Jordan’s Final Championship With Game 6: The Movie; Peyton Manning Returns for Second Season of Peyton’s Places

Seen on Screen provides a roundup of the current sports programming landscape as networks deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. In this week’s edition, major networks like NBC Sports, Fox Sports, and ESPN are combating the silence of no live sports with previously-released, taped, or archival content. Many networks have also continued producing live studio content – often with on-air talent located remotely.

ESPN will exclusively televise Game 6: The Movie – a cinematic production of 1998 NBA Finals Game 6, one of the most iconic games in NBA history. The special game telecast will air on Wednesday, May 20, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN and stream via the ESPN App. It will follow encore presentations of ESPN Films’ The Last Dance episodes 9 and 10.

ESPN’s Game 6: The Movie telecast will feature exclusive, never-before-seen game footage captured by five different NBA Entertainment cameras, presenting new and innovative views of the historic game. It will feature the original commentary provided for the live game telecast by Bob Costas, Isiah Thomas, Doug Collins, Ahmad Rashad, and Jim Gray. Game 6: The Movie on ESPN also marks the first time that the legendary game has been available to watch in high-definition.

1998 NBA Finals Game 6 is widely considered one of the most dramatic games in NBA history. It’s best remembered for Michael Jordan’s game-winning shot to secure the Chicago Bulls’ sixth NBA Championship in eight years with a victory over the Utah Jazz. NBA Finals Game 6 and the entire 1998 Chicago Bulls season is covered extensively in the ESPN Films breakout docuseries, The Last Dance…

…Peyton Manning will return to host a second season of the popular and Emmy-nominated football-themed docuseries Peyton’s Places this fall, exclusively on ESPN+. The 15-episode season will once again feature Peyton exploring football’s history and cultural impact through conversations with players, coaches, and other key figures. The season is expected to debut Thanksgiving weekend with two new episodes per week, culminating Super Bowl weekend in February 2021.

The 30-episode original season of Peyton’s Places was a signature program during the National Football League’s 100th season celebration in 2019. Peyton visited with Hall of Fame players, coaches, celebrities, and more – taking fans of the game through some of the stories that helped make football what it is today. Highlights included a discussion with Tom Brady over golf, a conversation with the NFL’s all-time winningest coach Don Shula and members of his undefeated ‘72 Dolphins, and a touch football game at Elvis Presley’s Graceland residence in Memphis.

Peyton’s Places will again be produced by NFL Films in collaboration with ESPN+. All 30 episodes of the original series are available on ESPN+, the leading direct-to-consumer sports streaming service…

…Although ESPN’s original release of The Last Dance hit its end, the 10-part series is already receiving an encore presentation. Over the next five weeks, ABC will air two episodes each week starting with this Saturday, May 23.

Here is the following schedule:

• Saturday, May 23 – Episodes 1 and 2
• Saturday, May 30 – Episodes 3 and 4
• Saturday, June 6 – Episodes 5 and 6
• Saturday, June 13 – Episodes 7 and 8
• Saturday, June 20 – Episodes 9 and 10

Despite ESPN airing a non-censored version, ABC will air the censored version that was originally shown on ESPN2.