ESPN Gets Ready for 2027 Super Bowl Coverage Taking Over Disneyland After This Year's Big Game

As ESPN gets ready to broadcast the Super Bowl for the first time in 2027, a whole initiative will take place with this year's Super Bowl and the winners of the big game won't be the only ones taking over Disneyland the next day.

What’s Happening: 

• ESPN will close out the 2025–26 NFL season and immediately set its sights on the 2026–27 campaign with a special one-time, 24-hour, multi-platform initiative that they have dubbed The Handoff. 
• Debuting on Super Bowl Sunday (February 8), this new initiative will transition ESPN’s coverage from Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, CA, and begin the road to Super Bowl LXI,  ESPN’s first Super Bowl,  which will be played on February 14, 2027.
• Powered by many of ESPN’s biggest personalities and supported across ESPN and Disney platforms, The Handoff will feature live shows, exclusive reveals and original storytelling from locations throughout Southern California.
  Following the crowning of a champion inside Levi’s Stadium and the conclusion of NFL PrimeTime from the same site, Chris Berman - an original ESPN voice and NFL broadcasting legend - will ceremonially “hand off” to Scott Van Pelt, who will be at SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park, the home of Super Bowl LXI. This symbolic moment marks the official start of The Handoff.
• SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt will see Van Pelt anchor his signature late-night edition, delivering in-depth highlights and reaction to Super Bowl LX between the Patriots and Seahawks while offering glimpses and teases of what’s ahead for ESPN. That same night, Super Bowl Live hosted by Laura Rutledge will air, continuing the network’s comprehensive recap of Super Bowl LX and a look forward at the continuing NFL storylines. The show will also air from SoFi Stadium.

• Disneyland will play host, as usual, to the champions of the Super Bowl on Monday, February 9. In year’s past, this also includes a special parade and celebration of an MVP. 
• While there, The Handoff will continue with ESPN studio shows broadcasting from Disneyland Park and additional programming originating from locations across Southern California. 
• With a set in Town Square at the foot of Main Street, U.S.A. in Disneyland Park, First Take with Stephen A. Smith, multiple editions of SportsCenter, NFL Live and a second episode of Super Bowl Live will originate from within the park.
  Good Morning America will originate in part from Levi’s Stadium for its Monday show and Tuesday will air an interview with a player from the Super Bowl LX championship team. World News Tonight with David Muir will also feature content in its Monday broadcast as part of the daylong cross-platform moment.
• The day begins with Get Up from ESPN’s Los Angeles studios and concludes with Jimmy Kimmel Live! from Hollywood.
• The Handoff serves as a prelude to ESPN and Disney’s full Super Bowl initiative.

Handing Off In A Familiar Style: 

• Using Disneyland as the broadcasting space for the latter parts of The Handoff is a smart one, since tradition typically dictates that Super Bowl winners will be at either Disneyland or Walt Disney World the day after the big game. 
• Devotees may recall that back in 1987, a legendary marketing campaign was created when Phil Simms, then quarterback and MVP of Super Bowl XXI was asked what he was going to do after winning the big game, becoming the first athlete to answer “I’m Going to Disney World!” 
• Since then, the commercial has aired after most Super Bowls, with the game’s MVP (or other key player) being interviewed shortly after the big win, and prompted to answer the now-iconic question with the equally as iconic answer. 
• With this year’s Super Bowl taking place just north of Disneyland in the San Francisco Bay Area, we already knew that whoever won would be going just south to the Happiest Place on Earth, which is also currently still in the height of their 70th anniversary celebrations.