NFL Pressure Said to Lead ESPN to Quit Film Project

Pressure from the National Football League led to ESPN’s decision to pull out of an investigative project with “Frontline” regarding head injuries in the NFL, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation.

ESPN, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company, pays the NFL more than $1 billion a year to broadcast “Monday Night Football,” a ratings juggernaut and cherished source of revenue for Disney. “Frontline,” the PBS public affairs series, and ESPN had been working for 15 months on a two-part documentary, to be televised in October. But ESPN’s editorial and production partnership with “Frontline” began to take a turn after a trailer for the documentary was released Aug. 6. According to observers who wished to remain anonymous because they were prohibited by superiors from discussing the matter publicly, several high-ranking officials convened a meeting. The meeting was apparently combative, where league officials conveyed their displeasure with the direction of the documentary, reflecting the NFL’s lack of support for the documentary project.

According to NFL spokesman Greg Aiello, the league declined to make NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell available for interviews. “Frontline” has interviewed several NFL doctors, but Aronson-Rath said three members of the NFL’s head, neck and spine committee canceled on-camera interviews after originally agreeing to them. Raney Aronson-Rath, the deputy executive producer of “Frontline,” said that until Aug 16, there had been no hint of trouble between “Frontline” and ESPN. She said that “Frontline” had worked “in lock step” with Vince Doria, ESPN’s senior vice president and director of news, and Dwayne Bray, senior coordinating producer in ESPN’s news-gathering unit. But in recent conversations with Doria and Dwayne Bray, senior coordinating producer in ESPN’s news-gathering unit, she was first told that ESPN did not want its logo to be connected to the films. “It didn’t appear that it was their decision,” she said.