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SNY Launches Direct-to-Consumer Service in Partnership with MLB

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SNY Launches Direct-to-Consumer Service in Partnership with MLB

SportsNet New York (SNY), the regional sports network that serves as the television home of New York Mets baseball, is launching a direct-to-consumer streaming service in partnership with MLB. The new platform officially debuted on Tuesday through the MLB App, allowing fans to take part in an enhanced viewing experience featuring live game broadcasts, highlights, statistics, replays and more. This offering does not include games that are broadcast on national networks, nor the regional games that are allocated to WPIX-TV.

“We are thrilled to partner with Major League Baseball in making SNY more broadly available to sports fans in the tri-state area,” Steve Raab, president of SNY, said in a statement. “2025 marks SNY’s 20th season and this enhanced streaming product reflects our continued commitment to providing sports fans with the flexibility to watch SNY wherever and however they choose.”

This new platform is available for purchase at $24.99 a month or $124.99 for the entirety of the MLB season. Furthermore, consumers can subscribe to SNY in this capacity for $149.99 per year through the league application. Mets broadcasts are expected to feature play-by-play announcer Gary Cohen with analysts Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling as the award-winning booth begins their 20th season together on the call.

Users are also able to bundle SNY with MLB.TV for $44.99 per month or $219.99 for the MLB season as a whole. The MLB App can be accessed from a variety of digital touchpoints, including iOS, Android, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, Google TV and on Samsung connected television devices. Authenticated pay television subscribers will be able to access the stream at no extra charge through the MLB App starting next month. As a result of this new streaming functionality, the SNY App is going to be discontinued at the end of March.

“MLB has worked extensively with numerous parties in the sports media space to help expand the reach of MLB games and eliminate local blackouts where we can,” Kenny Gersh, executive vice president of media and business development for MLB, said in a statement. “With the high quality production and elite broadcasting talent that SNY offers along with the excitement surrounding the 2025 Mets, we are looking forward to offering Mets fans in the tri-state area this new option to enjoy watching their favorite Club.”

SNY becomes the latest regional sports network to become available direct to consumer as companies look to combat altered revenue streams and eliminate blackouts. More than two-thirds of the league is currently available to view without a traditional cable television bundle, but SNY becomes the first RSN to offer the service with the league through its app. Other RSNs in the New York metropolitan area offer DTC subscriptions, including MSG Networks and YES Network through the Gotham Advanced Media and Entertainment joint venture.

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.

FOX Sports to air 2025 MLB Tokyo Series in March Between Dodgers and Cubs

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FOX Sports to air 2025 MLB Tokyo Series in March Between Dodgers and Cubs

The MLB season officially kicks off in just a month on FOX Sports as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs open the 2025 season with a short two-game series overseas in Tokyo, Japan. Earlier today, the network announced via social media that both games will be broadcast, with game one airing on FOX Sports and FOX Deportes on Tuesday, March 18, followed by game two on FS1 and FOX Deportes on March 19. 

Both telecasts will air live from the Tokyo Dome at 6 a.m. Eastern time in the United States. Additionally, fans can watch the games on the teams’ regional sports networks, with Marquee Sports Network covering Chicago and Spectrum SportsNet LA handling the Los Angeles broadcast. 

This series also marks a homecoming for several native Japanese players. The Dodgers will showcase Oshu, Shohei Ohtani and Bizen, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, while the Cubs will feature Kitakyushu, Shota Imanaga, Arakawa, and Seiya Suzuki. 

MLB’s tradition of opening its season in Japan dates back to 2000, when the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs played the first-ever regular-season games outside of North America. Since then, Tokyo has hosted four more season openers, most recently in 2019 when the Seattle Mariners faced the Oakland Athletics in Ichiro Suzuki’s final two MLB games. 

Leading up to the highly anticipated series, both teams will participate in exhibition games against some of Japan’s top baseball franchises. On March 15, the Chicago Cubs will take on the Hanshin Tigers, while the Yomiuri Giants will face the Los Angeles Dodgers. The following day the teams will swamp opponents in preparation for the Dodgers and Cubs to gear up for the official start of the 2025 MLB season.

FOX Sports will announce the full 2025 MLB on FOX broadcast schedule at a later date. 

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.

The CW Network Earns Record-Viewership For NASCAR Xfinity Series Opener

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The CW Network Earns Record-Viewership For NASCAR Xfinity Series Opener

The CW Network delivered a record-breaking racing weekend with its coverage of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona, drawing 1.8 million viewers, according to Nielsen fast national ratings. In a thrilling overtime finish on Saturday night, driver Jesse Love became the second-youngest winner in NASCAR Xfinity Series history at Daytona. Love led 30 of the 126 laps run including the final 18 laps leading to his second career series victory.

Saturday night’s broadcast on The CW was the most-watched NASCAR Xfinity Series race across any track or network since April 2022 at Talladega Motor Speedway. Viewership peaked at 2.2 million during the 7:30 p.m. quarter-hour as the race reached its dramatic conclusion. Compared to last year’s weather-impacted Daytona opener, total viewership increased by 93%, with double-digit percentage gains across key demographics. 

This marks The CW’s first year airing the entire NASCAR Xfinity Series after its official announcement last April. The network announced then it would carry the final eight races of the 2024 season. Now the exclusive home of the NASCAR Xfinity Series through 2031, The CW will broadcast 33 live races annually, along with practice and qualifying events each weekend. 

For the first time in series history, every NASCAR Xfinity Series race will be available on free, over-the-air broadcast television, with additional content accessible via The CW’s digital platforms. The network continues to expand its sports portfolio, which includes Atlantic Coast Conference and Pac-12 sporting events, WWE NXT, Grand Slam Track, Inside the NFL, and more. 

These impressive results also mark a strong start for Michael Perman, who was named The CW Network’s new senior vice president last week. Overseeing strategy, programming, and media rights, Perman is poised to play a key role in shaping the network’s sports coverage in the years ahead. 

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.

Reggie Miller Joining NBC Sports as Lead NBA Game Analyst

BSM Staff
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Reggie Miller Joining NBC Sports as Lead NBA Game Analyst

Reggie Miller will be joining NBC Sports as a lead game analyst as the company begins its 11-year media rights deal with the NBA. Miller, who played all 18 seasons of his professional career as a member of the Indiana Pacers, will be on the call for games beginning this October when the NBA on NBC officially returns and also debuts on Peacock. Under the media rights contract, NBCUniversal will distribute up to 100 NBA regular-season contests per season, including an exclusive Monday night doubleheader on Peacock, and also air a Conference Finals series in six of the 11 years.

“It’s good to be HOME, NBC Sports…and hello, Peacock!,” Miller said in a statement. “Some of my most memorable moments have been on NBC and I’m looking forward to creating more.”

Miller has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports over the last 20 years where he has worked with a variety of play-by-play announcers calling NBA games in the regular season and playoffs. As the network prepares to cease its live game broadcasts of NBA action, he will continue his role with the company through the end of the 2024-25 season. Upon joining NBC Sports in October, he is expected to be calling one or more games per week amid regular-season and playoff action.

“Having provided so many memorable moments on NBC during his playing days, it’s only fitting that Reggie will join our team as the NBA returns to NBC and debuts on Peacock,” Sam Flood, executive producer at NBC Sports, said in a statement. “As basketball fans know, not only was Reggie one of the game’s greatest shooters and clutch performers, but he was also one of its most entertaining players with a unique combination of skill and swagger. He has successfully brought those traits to his broadcasting career and consistently provides viewers with in-depth analysis while pulling no punches.”

Miller is the latest acquisition at NBC Sports as the company continues to build out its NBA broadcasting roster. The company announced an agreement with Jamal Crawford earlier this month to work as a game analyst, and it is also reportedly adding Carmelo Anthony to the fold as a studio analyst. Mike Tirico will serve as the lead play-by-play voice of the property, and Frank DiGraci has been named the coordinating producer for the coverage as well.

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.

Nielsen Data From The Gauge Shows TV Viewing Up 5% in January 2025

BNM Staff
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Nielsen Data From The Gauge Shows TV Viewing Up 5% in January 2025

TV viewing has been on an incline in recent months. That was on display in January according to The Gauge from Nielsen.

The latest report shows that TV viewing in January rose 5% compared to the previous month. As one might expect, football broadcasts played a large role in that increase.

On Sunday, January 26th, CBS saw the largest television audience of the month as 57.4 million viewers tuned into the AFC Championship Game. On that same day, the NFC Championship Game earned 44.2 million viewers on FOX.

Those broadcasts followed 22.1 million viewers who watched the National Championship Game on ESPN on Monday, January 20th. The College Football Playoff helped increase cable sports viewing in January by 42%. Additionally, cable television saw a 7% monthly increase, powered by that increase in sports viewing but also a 26% increase in news viewing.

Overall, broadcast television viewing was up 5.1% in January as it benefited from increased interest in drama programs as well as news events.

Photo: Nielsen

Streaming — while still dominating the overall television landscape — saw the smallest growth during the month, as it was up 3% compared to the previous month. Netflix viewing rose 7% during the month, setting a new high-water mark at 8.6% of all streaming viewership. The Roku Channel saw another 9% increase in total viewership during the month. It now accounts for 2.1% of all streaming viewership. YouTube maintained its stop spot at 10.8% of all streaming.

In year-over-year streaming television viewership, January 2025 represented a 21% increase compared to January 2024. In that time period, Nielsen data shows streaming television has gained 6.6% of the share of TV viewing.

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Music Radio Remembers Andrew “Tiny” Aasen

BMM Staff
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Music Radio Remembers Andrew “Tiny” Aasen

Music radio is remembering Andrew “Tiny” Aasen, who passed away at the age of 43.

Aasen is best known for his time on “The Marconi Show” in the 2000s. He was also one-third of the Ourautoexpert.com radio show and podcast, Digital Reinforce, and as SEO Manager for Ourautoexpert.com.

He also worked as a private medical diagnostic consultant.

“Tiny was much more than a colleague; he was family,” Aasen’s long-time radio partner Marconi said. “He brought joy and laughter to everyone around him and had a profound impact on our lives. His departure leaves a void that cannot be filled.”

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.

SiriusXM Michelle Beadle Slams Draymond Green’s Criticism of NBA All-Star Game

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Michelle Beadle of SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Radio took aim at current Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green for his criticism of NBA All-Star Weekend during TNT’s broadcast this past weekend. During the telecast, Green was highly critical of the league’s new format, which replaced the traditional East vs. West matchup with a four-team, single-elimination tournament. Following the contest, he gave the new structure a zero rating out of ten. 

On Monday’s edition of Beadle & Decker, co-hosted by Cody Decker, Beadle fired back at Green’s comments. She argued that players like Green are the very reason the NBA has been forced to make changes to the annual event in the first place. 

“Draymond, why the hell is the league having to do somersaults to try and tweak, fix, and change anything at all?” Beadle questioned. “Oh, that’s right, because you and your colleagues, years ago, decided that you don’t really give two s***s about the All-Star Game. So, you don’t put any effort into it.” 

During the TNT broadcast, Green acknowledged that the new format was introduced because, in recent years, players had not approached the All-Star Game with enough heart and effort, leading to a decline in competitiveness. 

““You work all year to be an All-Star and you get to play up to 40 and then you’re done… Come on, what are we doing,” Green said on Sunday night’s broadcast. “This is ridiculous… A zero. Sucks. This ain’t basketball.”

Beadle had a direct response to that question on Monday. 

“We are here because of y’all,” she said. “We are here because no one cared anymore, or had any pride in it, or wanted to be in the slam dunk contest, or any of those things. That’s why we’re here. So, you don’t get to wreck the car and then b***h about the car being in bad shape. You did this.” 

As of posting, TNT Sports nor the NBA have yet to release official viewership numbers for the weekend’s telecasts. 

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.

Joe Buck Returns to MLB For ESPN Opening Day Broadcast

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Joe Buck Returns to MLB For ESPN Opening Day Broadcast

At long last, Joe Buck is returning to a Major League Broadcast booth. In an interview with Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, the ESPN Monday Night Football play-by-play voice has said he will be on the call for ESPN’s broadcast of the New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers games on Opening Day March 27. 

Buck is no stranger to national baseball play-by-play since leaving the broadcast booth following the 2021 World Series to focus solely on ESPN’s Monday Night Football since 2022. Buck has called more World Series on television than anyone in history with 24 broadcasts, matching his longtime television partner in the late Tim McCarver, who passed away in 2023 due to heart failure. 

The 55-year-old broadcaster says he will be focused on calling the game between the two teams and the special nature that an Opening Day broadcast brings instead of making the broadcast about his return to the booth. Buck signed a five-year, $75 million dollar contract with ESPN in 2022 with a sole focus on just NFL play-by-play. 

Buck was asked a few weeks ago by Senior Vice President of Production Mark Gross about the idea of calling an Opening Day game on the network at Yankee Stadium. Buck, the son of the late Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Buck, said he couldn’t pass up the opportunity. 

“Why wouldn’t I,” Buck said via The Athletic. “I know what I’ve said in the past about this stuff, but I’m not really good at saying no and I think I inherited that from my dad. Because Mark asked me and I really love the guy and think the world of him, I said, ‘Yes.’” 

ESPN will pair Buck with former Yankees manager Joe Girardi and former Brewers player Bill Schroeder during the broadcast.

ESPN President of Content Burke Magnus commented via a statement released by ESPN that Joe Buck is synonymous with Major League Baseball and adds his addition to the broadcast booth on Opening Day is an “incredible addition” to the coverage.

MLB Opening Day will come just a week after the regular season officially begins as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs play a two-game series in Tokyo, Japan, on March 18-19. 

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.

Netflix CCO Would ‘Definitely Want’ Sunday Afternoon Games If NFL Interested

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Netflix CCO Would ‘Definitely Want’ Sunday Afternoon Games If NFL Interested

Netflix recently completed the first year of a three-season deal with the NFL to air games on Christmas Day, a presentation that collectively averaged more than 30 million global viewers. As the over-the-top streaming service continues to look for the future, it has been consistent in emphasizing that sports rights need to make sense economically and also convey a feel of being “eventized.” Yet there seems to be purported interest in expanding the relationship with the NFL to become a regular broadcast partner as the league is expected to enact an opt-out clause within its existing 11-year media rights deal, estimated to be worth approximately $111 million, after the 2029 season.

Bela Bajaria, the chief content officer of Netflix, recently appeared on The Town podcast from The Ringer hosted by Puck founding partner Matthew Belloni. He asked the executive if the company would be airing a weekly NFL game in five years, prefacing her answer by surmising that she would obviously say ‘Yes.’ Contrary to his belief, Bajaria initially declined this prospect, attributing it to the rights being tied up. Upon Belloni saying that there is an opt out in less than five years, she said that if the answer was ‘Yes,’ she would definitely be interested in the Sunday afternoon games.

Earlier in the program, Belloni recalled that he had told Bajaria two years prior that the NFL would be on Netflix, a proposition to which she replied, “Absolutely not.” After admitting that he was right, she remarked that it was interesting because they did not realize the Christmas Day slate of games would be available. Belloni then depicted the league bending to Netflix rather than it being the other way around.

“We have a great relationship and NFL is great,” Bajaria said. “I also think you probably meant, even though I’m going to give you props, but you probably meant we were going to bid on the whole season.”

Netflix currently has more than 300 million paid memberships to its service, divulging in the latest quarterly earnings report that operating income proliferated 22.2% year-over-year to $2.27 billion. The company forecasted a content spend of approximately $18 billion, and Belloni was curious to find out how it would be allocated across different genres. While Bajaria declined to give a summation of their specific plans, she voiced her appreciation for the budget being fluid and the company being able to remain opportunistic.

“I think the one thing is also to remember is with $18 billion of spend for film and TV and live events and all of the things we do, it doesn’t have to be either or, and that’s why we can really, for our members, do lots of different film and TV in different languages, but also be opportunistic with these live events. It’s been amazing between the fight and NFL on Christmas Day, but also Beyoncé Bowl on Christmas Day.”

Netflix is currently airing weekly editions of WWE Raw under a 10-year media rights deal reportedly worth a total of $5 billion. As the broadcasts have aired over the last month-and-a-half, Bajaria explained that multigenerational audiences are coming to Netflix to watch the property and that viewership outside of the United States has been interesting. The company also continues to work with WWE to examine opportunities to develop other content for sports storytelling while remaining aware of the rights landscape, which is slated to include UFC and Formula One.

“Film and TV is the core of what we do,” Bajaria said. “We are always going to make amazing film and TV everywhere. We’re also going to be smart about understanding the marketplace and what opportunities are available. Like I’ve said, we understand people love sports. I love sports too – people love them – we know our audiences love them. It is always going to have to make sense in a long-term deal, something that feels eventized, and it has to make economic sense for us.”

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.

Cristina Daglas Placed on Administrative Leave by ESPN: Report

BSM Staff
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Cristina Daglas Placed on Administrative Leave by ESPN: Report

Cristina Daglas, an executive editor who has responsibilities overseeing the ESPN website, has reportedly been placed on administrative leave by the company. Several employees are reported to have filed human resources complaints, the specific nature of which is currently unknown. Daglas is said to have been on leave since late January, according to a report filed by Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports.

Daglas first joined ESPN as a senior editor for ESPN The Magazine in 2014, and has worked in various editorial functions over her decade with the company. In 2016 as the Chicago Cubs won their first World Series championship in 108 years, she was working with the company’s digital division and helped lead its coverage surrounding the historic event. Daglas was the first female MLB deputy editor in ESPN history, and later transitioned into a similar role on the company’s NBA coverage. According to her LinkedIn profile, she started working in the executive editor role at ESPN in November 2021, under which she oversees the ESPN.com website.

Daglas is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and she proceeded to earn her master’s degree in journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Moreover, she was the recipient of the prestigious Thurgood Marshall Fellowship as a graduate student. Over the years with ESPN, she has had the opportunity to work with heralded journalists and industry luminaries, including former senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski.

In addition to her job with the network, she is also listed as being an adjunct professor for the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California. Cal State Fullerton also revealed that she would be a journalism instructor in November teaching a class on sports reporting. Prior to her time with ESPN, she served as an editor for D Magazine and Milwaukee Magazine, which came following reporting experience at Isthmus and The Capital Times. It remains unknown if the reported administrative leave has affected her teaching roles at either of the universities.

Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.

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