ESPN Gets Monday Night Football

After 35 years on free TV, Monday Night Football is moving to cable.

According to media reports,

Disney's

(DIS) - Get Report

ESPN will take over Monday Night Football from sibling broadcast network ABC after this season. Meanwhile,

General Electric's

(GE) - Get Report

NBC has picked up the rights to Sunday Night Football from ESPN. The move puts NBC back in National Football League broadcasting after a seven-year absence.

Disney is expected to pay between $900 million to $1.2 billion annually over multiple years for the Monday Night Football rights, according to sources. ABC currently pays $550 million a year for the rights.

The deal gives Disney's ESPN a dual revenue stream that broadcaster ABC did not enjoy. As a cable network it will see ad revenue coupled with costly distribution fees from cable and satellite carriers.

The NBC deal with the National Football League is expected to cost around $600 million annually, and it marks a return to NFL broadcasting for the network.