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CBS News Radio Plans Christmas Special for Affiliates

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CBS News Radio has announced plans for a Christmas special for affiliates hosted by Gil Gross.

Gross will feature several stories during the three-hour special. Included in the program is the story behind The Christmas Song, the most recorded holiday song in history after being written by Mel Torme and first recorded by Nat King Cole.

Additional stories include an investigation into the Christmastime monsters that scare children into being good and listening to their parents around the holidays, as well as a celebration of the United States Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots campaign which is in its 77th year of existence.

The CBS News Radio three-hour special is available to air between December 20th and January 1st.

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Pat McAfee: I Felt ‘Obligated’ to Pay Aaron Rodgers for Value He Brings to Company

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ESPN NFL analyst and former defensive back Ryan Clark appeared on First Take last week and referred to New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers as a “fraud.” Clark spoke about Rodgers following comments he made during a weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. At that time, Rodgers claimed that people on television need to “make comments that keep them in the conversation” and that it was not taking place when he was younger. Rodgers added that he believes the people on the shows think they are the celebrities for being able to discuss sports or have opinions that he called asinine.

In discussing the comments made by Rodgers, Clark stated that the reason he has a chance to promote his opinions is because he is being paid for it. Clark added that Rodgers acts like he is above everybody and everything and found it funny that he is saying things on a show with a pundit greater than him in McAfee. On Tuesday’s edition of The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers appeared to take aim at Clark by issuing a public service announcement after conveying that he would never take a dollar from McAfee and his company.

McAfee addressed the matter of paying Rodgers for his appearances, stating that he evinced value in these weekly interviews through looking at metrics related to his company. Because of the value that it brought his company, McAfee felt that he was obligated to give Rodgers monetary compensation as the company continued its growth and estimates that he brought hundreds of millions of dollars in evaluation of the business.

“The amount of time and effort that you gave to our company and our business on those Tuesdays and the value that it brought, I felt obligated to give you money,” McAfee said, “and I thought that’s how the world was.”

McAfee expressed that people are supposed to be paid their worth and their value and was confounded about pushback on paying Rodgers just because of his career earnings. Additionally, he shared that everyone is driving good cars, has fantastic homes and are starting families. Rodgers is someone McAfee regards as having helped boost their business, and he wanted to express his appreciation as someone who came from a household with parents who he states were not paid properly for the work they put in.

“That’s strictly because there isn’t an agent that sees these numbers or a president of a company or a CFO – which we do have Phil in there; we’ve known each other since Kindergarten – it’s because I actually know my f****ng business and the value in the worth and who brings and who doesn’t and what it is and how it goes,” McAfee said. “So yeah, that whole thing being held against me, I was so confused.”

Shortly after Rodgers completed his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Clark posted on X that he texted and FaceTimed the number he had, presumably for McAfee himself. Furthermore, he expressed a willingness to clear up the assertion of his being “jealous” and that a quick conversation should be able to set it straight.

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ESPN’s ‘Pardon the Interruption’ Could Become an Hour-Long Show Following ‘Around The Horn’ Cancellation, Per Report

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Could ESPN’s replacement for Around the Horn already be on its airwaves? According to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, ESPN is considering extending ATH’s longtime running mate, Pardon the Interruption to an hour to make up for the empty 5 p.m. ET slot.

Marchand says ESPN still isn’t sure exactly what it will do but that preliminary talks indicate that extending PTI is, “at the forefront of discussions.” He also reports that the show’s longtime hosts, Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, would likely receive raises for extending their airtime to an hour each. PTI is one of ESPN’s staple programs and began airing on the network in 2001 but will soon be without its longtime compatriot as a lead-in. 

Among the other options include a new Shannon Sharpe vehicle, something Marchand reports was discussed during Sharpe’s contract talks earlier this year. Marchand hints that the show could feature Sharpe and his First Take foil Stephen A. Smith, though nothing further has been discussed yet.

ESPN made a surprising announcement in November that it was ending Around the Horn after 22 years on the air. According to the New York Post’s Ryan Glasspiegel, who broke the news, the show will reportedly end before the 2025-26 NFL season, meaning a summer end date is in line.

Tony Reali has hosted ATH since 2004 and has so far not addressed the topic of the show coming to an end.

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NFL Network to Air Saturday Week 17 Tripleheader, Leaving Two Games in Late Sunday Window

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The NFL Network utilized flex scheduling to take three Week 17 games from Sunday and create a tripleheader full of playoff implications. Today, the league announced that the Week 17 matchups between the Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots, Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals, and Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams, will be played on Dec. 28 in a tripleheader.

The Chargers and Patriots will take the 1 PM EST slot, the Broncos and Bengals will take the 4:30 PM EST game, while the Cardinals and Rams will be the nightcap. The team of Chris Rose, Ross Tucker, and Steve Wyche will call the early game, Kevin Harlan, Trent Green, and Melanie Collins will handle the late game, and NFL Network’s usual team of Rich Eisen, Kurt Warner, and Jamie Erdahl will call the primetime game. 

Last season, the league only aired two games on Saturday — Bengals/Steelers on NBC and the controversial Peacock-exclusive matchup between the Bills and Chargers that delivered, at the time, record numbers for the streamer. Now, the league’s network will take the reins from NBC and give football fans a full slate of Saturday games.

While many sports fans will no doubt enjoy the additional day of football, many will likely bemoan the late window on Sunday. Now only two games remain — a matchup between the 6-8 Miami Dolphins and 3-11 Browns on CBS, and an NFC East rivalry matchup between the soaring Philadelphia Eagles and battered Dallas Cowboys on FOX, both of which have a chance to be games that could be lopsided.

The new Saturday tripleheader means football fans only have to survive Friday, Dec. 27 without NFL football, which should help them get through the post-holiday blues. 

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Tessa Barrera Set To Depart ‘The Rod Ryan Show’

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Tessa Barrera is set to leave her role on “The Rod Ryan Show” at iHeartMedia Rock/Alternative “94.5 The Buzz” KTBZ-FM Houston at the end of this week, concluding a five-year tenure with the program.

Barrera has been balancing two roles since July 2023, as she also serves as co-host of the daily program “Houston Life” on KPRC-TV in Houston, which she plans to prioritize for the time being.

She joined KTBZ-FM in September 2019, following a year as a news anchor and producer at iHeart News/Talk KFI Los Angeles.

Barrera spent four years in television at KRIS/KZTV in Corpus Christi, where she was a reporter and sportscaster. Additionally, she was a host on “ESPN 1440” KEYS in Corpus Christi.

On Instagram, the show referred to her as “dropping a bomb” and assured listeners that the decision was hers alone.

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Todd Starnes to Host Free Christmas Special for Radio Stations

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Nationally syndicated radio host Todd Starnes is set to helm a Christmas special free of charge to radio stations around the country.

The show will be a three-hour-long special and will include musical guests like country artist John Rich, The Mylon Hayes Family, and bluegrass act Authentic Unlimited.

Additionally, Starnes will be joined on the program by former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR), actress Sam Sorbo, and Pastor Robert Jeffress.

Those interested in broadcasting the special program can reach Starnes via email by clicking here.

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Fox News Sees More Than 400 Million Views on YouTube in November

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November 2024 was primed to be a big month for many in the news media industry due to the 2024 election. Fox News reaped those rewards on YouTube.

According to Shareablee, the network earned more than 400 million views on the Google-owned platform during the month. The figure represented a 114% year-over-year increase. November 6th, the day following the 2024 election, was the best day on YouTube in the history of Fox News. On that day, it bested competitors like MSNBC by 156%.

During the acceptance speech of Donald Trump, more than 1 million viewers tuned to the Fox News YouTube channel to watch the remarks by the President-elect.

The success of Fox News Digital wasn’t strictly relegated to YouTube. The outlet saw 114.9 million total digital multiplatform unique visitors during November, up 30% compared to the same month in 2023. During the month, the company’s app featured 7.2 million unique visitors, marking its best month since September 2021.

Elsewhere in social media, Fox News saw 51 million interactions total between Facebook (15.2 million), Instagram (31.9 million), and X (4.8 million).

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Heisman Trophy Ceremony on ESPN Averages 2.5 Million Viewers

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The ESPN presentation of the Heisman Trophy drew its largest audience in five years on Saturday night as Colorado wide receiver and defensive back Travis Hunter attained the venerated honor. The telecast, which took the air at 8 p.m. EST, drew an average of 2.5 million viewers on the network, which is up 9% year-over-year. Jayden Daniels, quarterback for the Washington Commanders formerly of Louisiana State University, won the honors last year and has enjoyed a successful rookie season in the NFL. Compared to the 2022 Heisman Trophy ceremony, the program was up 52% in its average viewership, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. Moreover, the presentation peaked at 3.1 million viewers during the 8:45 to 9 p.m. EST quarter-hour.

Chris Fowler hosted the Heisman Trophy Ceremony from the Jazz at Lincoln Center Appel Room in New York City, working the assignment for the 31st consecutive year. This coincides with the time in which the network has been presenting the ceremony. The one-hour live show featured former Heisman Trophy winners Desmond Howard, Tim Tebow and Andre Ware, along with ESPN college football reporters Holly Rowe and Martin Smith.

ESPN is currently preparing to present games within the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, culminating with the National Championship from Atlanta, Ga. on Monday, Jan. 20. The company is also sublicensing games within the first round to TNT Sports as part of a five-year agreement. Fowler and Rowe, who are part of the lead commentary team, will be calling games within all rounds of the College Football Playoff alongside analyst Kirk Herbstreit.

Hunter will be playing in the final game of his career for the Colorado Buffaloes when the team faces the BYU Cougars on Saturday, Dec. 28 at 7:30 p.m. EST on ABC in the Valero Alamo Bowl. Earlier in the day, the broadcast network will present the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl and Pop-Tarts Bowl before broadcasting the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl at 3 p.m. EST on New Year’s Eve.

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Netflix Reveals Forthcoming Sports Series on Mike Tyson

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Netflix has announced that it will be releasing a new sports series that examines the life and legacy of legendary boxer Mike Tyson. As the youngest heavyweight champion in the history of the sport, Tyson’s impact penetrates beyond the ring and has cemented himself as one of the most compelling and polarizing figures of all time. Known as the “Baddest Man on the Planet,” viewers will be able to see his triumphs, struggles and redemption, gaining a new perspective on the boxer in new settings. The series will consist of three episodes of 60 minutes each that look at different aspects of Tyson in and outside of the ring.

EverWonder Studio, DLP Media Group and Five All In The Fifth will serve as the production companies associated with the project. Ian Orefice, Jim Gray, Michael Hughes, Greg C. Lake and Douglas Banker have been revealed as executive producers. Floyd Russ, the director of series such as Untold: Malice at the Palace American Manhunt and The Boston Marathon Bombing, is going to be the director and an executive producer on this project as well.

“Having an opportunity to share my story through the reflective lens of my growth and maturity in a multi-part documentary on Netflix will be a challenging journey, yet a very welcoming one,” Tyson said in a statement. “Most people are too scared to look at their lives objectively, wanting to paint themselves as the hero of their own story. But if we are truly objective, we know we can never be the hero in our own story. We have to be able to face the man in the mirror, taking the good with the bad to give a full account of our contributions in this life. Netflix is the perfect platform to tell my story because of their global reach.”

Within its last quarterly earnings report, Netflix divulged that it has 282.7 million global subscribers. Over the last several years, it has released various sports documentaries, such as Quarterback, Starting 5, Full Swing and Receiver. The platform recently released Enigma: Aaron Rodgers, which looks at the life and career of the legendary NFL quarterback. Additionally, Netflix will present a doubleheader of NFL games on Christmas Day in the first season of a three-year deal with the NFL. Moreover, it will premiere WWE Raw on Monday, Jan. 6 to commence a 10-year media rights deal reportedly worth $5 billion.

Netflix, in partnership with Most Valuable Promotions and EverWonder, recently presented a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul that it reported as the most-streamed sporting event of all time. The presentation attained an average minute audience of 108 million live viewers globally, including a peak of 65 million live concurrent streams for the Paul-Tyson bout. The fight also amassed over 1.4 billion owned impressions on Netflix global social media channels.

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Keith Olbermann: It’s Time for Disney to ‘Sell ABC News to Someone Who Cares About the Future of News’

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Many in the news media industry have shared concerns after ABC News settled a defamation lawsuit brought by Donald Trump for $15 million. Keith Olbermann has joined those questioning the move.

Earlier this year, Trump launched the suit after ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos claimed the then former President had been found civilly liable for rape after a judgment favored writer E. Jean Carroll. Attorneys for Trump argued that the verdict made no such claims, and sued the news organization.

During his Countdown with Keith Olbermann podcast, the former cable news host lambasted the move by the organization. Olbermann shared that he first met Disney CEO Bob Iger in 1979. He added that the executive gave him invaluable advice about his career, which he continued to follow. However, he believed it was time for Iger to take some advice.

“After 45 and a half years, I would like to repay Bob Iger … sell ABC News to somebody who actually cares about the future of news,” said Olbermann. “And the future of journalism. And the future of this country, because you guys at Disney hate it anymore.

“What do you think you bought for yourself here Bob? Trump’s gratitude? Trump somehow remembering you fondly? Or at least neutrally the next time ABC News does something he doesn’t like? Like, say, accurately reporting how many people show up to his inauguration, or how many insurrectionists see pardons, or how many people die during the migrant roundups into the migrant concentration camps? Even if Trump can still remember, you think he will remember? Or that all the mini-Trumps will?”

In the settlement, ABC News agreed to pay $15 million to help fund the presidential library for Trump, while also paying another $1 million to cover attorney fees for the President-elect.

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