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The Television Forecast Calls for More Football

Mark Kreidler
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The Television Forecast Calls for More Football

Not even the people who run the television networks know where this is all going.

ESPN plans to launch its direct-to-consumer streaming app next year, as bundled entertainment continues to flee traditional cable. The NFL, meanwhile, is in advanced talks to take an equity stake in ESPN while handing over NFL Media as part of the exchange. CBS lost the SEC but welcomed the Big Ten. The 12-team playoff will turn the college bowl season on its head. NBC put an NFL playoff game entirely behind a paywall for the first time ever.

It’s a lot, and it can get confusing. So let’s go with what we’re sure of:

American broadcasters will never – ever – run out of appetite for football as programming. It’s strictly going to be a matter of format and delivery method.

The latest affirmation of this truth comes from Fox Sports, which announced last week that it will add a full season of Friday night NCAA football broadcasts to its existing college package beginning this fall. That pretty much seals the deal for football junkies, as every day of the week except Tuesday and Wednesday will now have a rock-solid college or pro football broadcast component throughout the season.

From Monday Night Football all the way around to Sunday Night Football, viewers are covered. Fox plans for its Friday NCAA package to feature games from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Mountain West conferences, with exact matchups and broadcaster assignments TBA. The partner networks meet in May to divvy up the best college games.

This all comes in the wake of the best season ever for Fox’s Big Noon Saturday, which averaged an industry-leading 6.7 million viewers in 2023 – an 8% increase over the previous season.

It also schedules Fox into a three-day football bender every weekend through the season. “Our goal this fall is to have the No. 1 college football game on both Fridays and Saturdays and the top NFL game on Sundays,” said Michael Mulvihill, president of insight and analytics (yes, that’s his job title) for the Fox Corporation.

Setting aside the implications of college football cutting into high schools’ longstanding Friday Night Lights traditions around the country, this is really basic TV economics. Football programming is such a no-brainer that Fox was willing to relinquish the rights to WWE’s popular Friday Night SmackDown, which the network has broadcast for five years, in order to make room for college grid. SmackDown will move to the NBC Universal-owned USA Network in October.

Still, it’ll be interesting to see to what extent folks will tune in on Fridays to watch the college game. That is an act with no history attached to it, and traditionally Friday night is second only to Saturday night as the worst day to try to draw TV audience.

But that word – traditionally – isn’t really useful here. Too much has changed for that. What remains consistent is how well sports are positioned to grab ratings points and, eventually, paywall conversions.

And football is still king. Just ask ESPN, which last month agreed to pay $7.8 billion over six years for the rights to the expanded College Football Playoff even as it tries to hammer out the details of its looming streaming service.

With USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten this season along with Oregon and Washington, Fox will have access to some high-profile, visually appealing Friday night West Coast broadcasts. And part of the plan, undoubtedly, is to give the network momentum heading into its weekend programming showdowns with ESPN/ABC’s new SEC football property, as that conference adds Oklahoma and Texas.

But it’d be hard to lose, no matter what. Fox is cementing its reputation as a destination for both college and pro football fans, and it already enjoys the leverage of splitting the NFL’s late-afternoon Sunday window (generally the most highly-rated slot of any NFL weekend) with CBS.

As a viewer, meanwhile, you win – at least until whole batches of games start ducking behind paywalls. And if five days a week of college/pro football broadcasts doesn’t fill you up, worry not: For eight weeks in the middle of last year’s NCAA season, ESPN threw games from the Sun Belt, MAC and Conference USA onto their Tuesday and Wednesday schedules.

So long as you have absolutely no concern about what that is doing to the college players being asked to serve as the fodder for that weeknight television programming, you’re all set. The numbers are in, and they tell the same story they’ve been telling for decades: If you broadcast football, you’ll probably be just fine.

State of the Union Sees Double-Digit Jump Compared to 2023

BNM Staff
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President Biden’s State of The Union address on Mar. 7 experienced a double-digit percentage jump from last year’s address.

At a combined 32.23 million total viewers across fourteen outlets, according to Nielsen Media Research, it grew by almost five million from Feb. 7, 2023 (27.31 million), representing an increase of 18%.

Every major outlet, with the exception of Univision, increased from the year-ago speech. Fox News was not only the most-watched network in total viewers; with 5.843 million viewers, but also grew the most from 2023 percentage-wise —+24.5%.

ABC (5.241 million, +19% from Feb. 7, 2023) was runner-up.

While NBC (4.465 million, +18%) placed third, it led all outlets within the key 25-54 demographic delivering a 0.97 rating, edging out ABC (0.95) and Fox News (0.94) (Note: a 1.0 rating in 25-54 equates to approximately 1.211 million viewers within the aforementioned age range.)

Fourth-place MSNBC (4.425 million, +24%) was the only major network (from the three major cable news outlets, Big-4 broadcast networks, and two Spanish-language networks) to also increase from two years ago — up 9% (in viewers) and up two% (in 25-54 demo) from Mar. 1, 2022 (4.057 million, 0.56 A25-54 rating). MSNBC also had the biggest percentage increase from last year within 25-54, growing 39% (0.57 rating vs. 0.41).

As for the rest of the networks:

  • CBS (4.09 million, +14%)
  • CNN (2.632 million, +9%)
  • Fox broadcast network (1.773 million, +7%)
  • Univision (970,000, -10%)
  • Telemundo (900,000, +8%)

PBS, CNN en Español, Fox Business, Newsmax, and NewsNation accounted for a combined 1.893 million viewers.

Based on adults 25-54, the main seven networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox broadcast network, Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN) delivered a 5.19 rating,  rising 19% from last year (4.35). In addition to the aforementioned top three — NBC (0.97 rating), ABC (0.95), and Fox News (0.94) — CBS (0.72), CNN (0.59), MSNBC (0.57) and the Fox broadcast network (0.45) had followed.

Biden’s Mar. 7 address is the first time a president in the fourth year of his first term has seen State of the Union viewership increase compared to the year prior.

Although it did not top Biden’s personal best — 38.2 million for the SOTU on Mar. 1, 2022

— It also outperformed his 2021 speech to the joint session of Congress (26.94 million) as well as President Barack Obama‘s final two SOTU addresses (31.33 million on Jan. 12, 2016, 31.7 million on Jan. 20, 2015) and President Bill Clinton‘s final SOTU on Jan. 27, 2000 (31.48 million) — the last time a SOTU was held on a Thursday night prior to this year.

It is also the latest in the calendar year that a president has delivered the State of the Union since 1934, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt revived the practice of giving an in-person annual

speech.

The Republican response following the State of the Union also increased from last year, as a result. Across six networks — ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News, MSNBC and CNN — a combined 18.26 million watched Katie Britt, the junior GOP senator from Alabama, deliver her address from her home kitchen, starting at 10:53 PM Eastern. That’s up 9% in total viewers (and, with a combined 2.95 demo rating, up 10% in 25-54) from last year‘s response by Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (16.81 million, 2.68 A25-54 rating).

Fox News led in total viewers (5 million) and adults 25-54 (0.78 rating); ABC was runner-up in each figure: 3.36 million, 0.52 A25-54 rating.

As for the other networks:

  • MSNBC: 3.01 million, 0.38 A25-54
  • CBS: 2.65 million, 0.39 A25-54
  • NBC: 2.63 million, 0.49 A25-54
  • CNN: 1.61 million, 0.39 A25-54

Sports Media Reacts to Tiki Barber Criticism From Saquon Barkley

BSM Staff
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Media members across sports gave their opinions on the argument between former New York Giants running backs. In case you missed it, Tiki Barber used his platform at WFAN in New York to attack now-former Giants running back Saquon Barkley, who left the Giants for their division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles.

“You’re dead to us,” Barber said referring to the New York Giants and its fanbase. “Good luck, you’re dead to me.” Barkley responded to Barber with a cutting jab via his X account:

Barber made an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show to offer his side of the story, saying that he was speaking for Giants fans who didn’t have a chance to call in and offer their thoughts.

“It’s part of the job,” Barber said. “It’s part of the reaction from athletes who think the media is always against them…I still like Saquon, and I wish him nothing but luck, but he also has to realize that my job for the past 17 years has not been in a locker room, it’s been to be the voice of the fan.”

Barber admits that his tone would’ve been different had Barkley gone to Houston or Baltimore, but to go to a division rival hurt Giants fans — and Barber by proxy.

On today’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith rationalized the conversation, saying that unless there was some unreported beef between the two, Barber’s comments weren’t that bad.

“Come on man,” Smith said. “Tiki Barber [was] talking tongue-in-cheek, he wasn’t volatile at all towards Saquon Barkley.

“The man has earned the right to speak on behalf of the New York Giants as an alumnus…Let’s not walk around acting like Tiki Barber, based off of strictly that sound, disrespected him.”

Not one to miss an industry story, Dan Le Batard and his crew chimed in on today’s episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz — and weren’t so kind to the former Giants running back. “Please, Tiki Barber,” said Le Batard Show producer Tony Calatayud. “What makes you the God of the New York Giants all of a sudden? He’s got a problem with everybody.”

Later in the show, Le Batard spoke similarly, though maybe more respectfully. Maybe.

“[The Tiki Barber/Saquon Barkley beef] is one of the dumbest,” Le Batard said. “Running back from 20 years ago says ‘you’re dead to me’ to Saquon Barkley, Barkley says ‘you’ve been a hater since I got here,’ Tiki’s like ‘What’re you talking about? I’ve never said anything but nice things about you.’

“But if you want someone who understands how unreasonable it is to work at that position in New York, Tiki Barber is one of the few in the world who can tell you that if you don’t produce at that position in that city, you’ll get Don La Greca’d doing something like this to an offensive lineman…” The show then plays an all-time Don La Greca rant.

Brent Axe Reflects on One-Year Anniversary of High-Profile ESPN Syracuse Exit

BSM Staff
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Brent Axe Reflects on One-Year Anniversary of High-Profile ESPN Syracuse Exit

In March 2023, Galaxy Media — parent company of ESPN Syracuse — ended the long-running afternoon show hosted by Brent Axe after the company’s CEO thought Axe’s content became “overly dark and negative.” Today, Axe is reflecting after marking a full year since his departure.

The longtime Syracuse host’s exit coincided with the retirement of legendary men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim, who is an investor in the radio group. Ed Levine, Galaxy Media CEO, announced the day before Axe’s firing that Boeheim would be taking a more active role in appearing on the station. Axe has shared his belief that he can’t prove Boeheim had a hand in his firing, but he “will go to my grave believing it was done to appease him.”

In a video posted to social media Tuesday, Axe — who has subsequently launched a podcast and reports on the Orange in other digital aspects — shared his appreciation for those who have supported him since his radio exit.

“I was reflecting a little bit today because it’s been a year since the radio show came to a close. And boy there is not a day that has gone by since that I haven’t heard about that in one way, shape, or form,” Axe admitted. “But here’s what I’m encouraged by: the conversation since then has changed from ‘We miss you there,’ to ‘We have found you here,’ whether that’s the podcast, becoming a Syracuse sports insider, reading a column, following on social media, whatever the case may be. So thank you for that. Thank you for sticking with me through this past year.”

Brent Axe continued by noting he’s not alone in being let go in the last calendar year and offered support to other media members who have experienced job loss.

“Hey, if you’re going through it, too, it’s kind of a s—– time in our business unfortunately,” he added. “Know that I’ve been there. I’ve been through it, if you need a digital shoulder to lean on…I’d be happy to offer whatever I could in that department. So that’s all. I just wanted to say thank you.”

ESPN Adds Ali Krieger as Soccer Studio Analyst

BSM Staff
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ESPN Adds Ali Krieger as Soccer Studio Analyst

ESPN has announced it has added former U.S. Women’s National Team star Ali Krieger to serve as a studio analyst for its soccer coverage on its many platforms.

Krieger won two World Cup titles as a member of Team USA. She previously served as the lead studio voice during ESPN’s coverage of the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Ali Krieger will make her debut on Saturday, March 16th as ABC provides coverage of the NWSL between Kansas City and Portland in the season-opening matchup.

Joining Krieger on the network’s women’s soccer commentator lineup are Jenn Hildreth, former England Women’s National Team player Lianne Sanderson, Cristina Alexander, and longtime coach Natalia Astrain.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ali, Lianne, and Natalia to our NWSL on ESPN team,” Senior Vice President of International and ESPN Deportes Production said Rodolfo Martinez. “Their fresh off-the-field insight and in-depth knowledge of the sport will inform, entertain, and elevate our coverage of the league. Collectively, their voices will represent our ambition for the NWSL.”

Megyn Kelly: George Stephanopoulos ‘Over the Line’ and ‘Offensive’ in Questioning Nancy Mace

BNM Staff
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Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is a rape victim. SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly took issue with a line of questioning from ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos over the weekend.

During This Week, Stephanopoulos continually asked Mace about her support for former President Donald Trump — who was found liable for rape against E. Jean Carroll by a New York jury — as she is a rape survivor.

Mace continually dissed the question, arguing that Stephanopoulos was attempting to “shame” her for her political beliefs, with the host insistent that wasn’t his intent.

On The Megyn Kelly Show Monday, Kelly argued the ABC News host should be one of the last people in media to question Nancy Mace about her support of an accused rapist. The SiriusXM host pointed out that George Stephanopoulos, alongside former CNN contributor James Carville, was instrumental in defending President Bill Clinton from sexual misconduct allegations in the 1990s.

“How dare you? She was right. You were out of line. You were offensive. Especially when the your guy, Joe Biden, has been accused of rape as well,” said Kelly. “George, trust me. I know. I interviewed his alleged victim. Maybe you missed it. Because ABC, where you are and were the chief political correspondent, was the only network not to acknowledge or run a single soundbite from our blockbuster interview when it hit and made international headlines.

“I guess Tara Reade, to you, didn’t matter. Like Tonya Harding, and Paula Jones. Just another wrong side-of-the-tracks woman easily dismissed from you and your ivory tower, George,” Kelly continued. “You did ignore her. And then you got rewarded with an exclusive sit down with Joe Biden, whom you undoubtedly went on to vote for. How could you?”

Fight Against Radio Royalty Payments Earns House Majority

BNM Staff
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Fight Against Radio Royalty Payments Earns House Majority

The Local Radio Freedom Act has officially received enough support to ensure that no new fees or payments will be required of broadcasters in the near future.

224 members of the House now support broadcast radio stations from being hit with any new performance fees, taxes, or royalties.

Reps. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI), Susan Wild (D-PA), Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Scott Perry (R-PA), Burgess Owens (R-UT), Kat Cammack (R-FL), Robin Kelly (D-IL), Danny Davis (D-IL), and Eric Burlinson (R-MO), and James Baird (R-IN) joined support for the bill, according to Inside Radio.

“This milestone demonstrates policymakers’ recognition of the vital service that free, local radio provides to their constituents: a lifeline in times of crisis and a connection to the community that cannot be replicated,” said NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt. “We thank these 225 members of the House for their unwavering support, helping to safeguard the future of local broadcasting and our commitment to serving the public.”

The music industry was hoping to earn performance royalties from AM/FM airplay before legislation was introduced. However, that push for extra revenue from the broadcast industry isn’t expected to subside with the eventual passage of this bill.

News Media Well Represented in Winners at 2024 iHeartPodcast Awards

BNM Staff
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News Media Well Represented in Winners at 2024 iHeartPodcast Awards

The 2024 iHeartPodcast Awards were held at SXSW Monday evening, and several news media members and shows grabbed victories at the ceremony.

Pivot — hosted by Kara Swisher — took home the award for best news podcast. The program defeated The Daily, Today, Explained, Pod Save America, and Up First for the honors.

While not taking home the win in the best news podcast category, Pod Save America — hosted by Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer, and Tommy Vietor — did win the best political podcast. The NPR Politics Podcast, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, CNN Inside Politics, and The Ben Shapiro Show were also nominated for the award.

In the Best Business + Financial Podcast category, Wondery’s How I Built This with Guy Raz took home the honor, besting podcasts produced by NPR, Audible, CBS News, and Audioboom Studios.

The Daily, distributed by The New York Times, was the lone news podcast up for Podcast of the Year. That award was won by New Heights, the show helmed by NFL stars Jason and Travis Kelce.

Pat McAfee, Show Members to Appear in WWE 2K24 Video Game

BSM Staff
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Get ready for the next great professional wrestling stable to hit your Universe Mode — courtesy of The Pat McAfee Show. On Tuesday, Pat McAfee informed his colleagues and the world that his show would be added as DLC characters in the upcoming wrestling game WWE 2K24.

“Boston Connor” and Ty Schmidt will appear as DLC characters slated for a future pack. Joining the duo will be McAfee himself, former Colts safety Darius Butler, and former Packers LB A.J. Hawk.

Rest assured, wrestling fans, the McAfee crew did not replace any current or former wrestlers in the game.

“We did not take anyone’s spots on that game,” McAfee said. “I would too be pissed if someone I was a fan of was maybe left out of the game for, ‘Me,’ or ‘My friends.'”

McAfee and his crew will be part of the “Pat McAfee Pack” coming to WWE 2K24 at a future date.

Greg Gumbel to Miss March Madness Due to Family Health Issue

BSM Staff
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A legendary voice won’t be heard during this year’s March Madness due to ongoing family health concerns. According to Front Office Sports, longtime CBS March Madness host Greg Gumbel will skip this year’s tournament due to a “family health issue.”

According to The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch, who had the original report, Gumbel wouldn’t work the tournament this year but Ernie Johnson should see an increased role.

FOS further reported that Adam Lefkoe and Adam Zucker would also chip in as studio hosts.

Gumbel has been part of every March Madness tournament since he returned to CBS in 1998.

Announcers for the March Madness TV crews were recently announced. In Nantz’s place will be Ian Eagle, who will call the Final Four and National Championship games. Throughout the tournament, you’ll hear the voices of Kevin Harlan, Brian Anderson, Andrew Catalon, Stan Van Gundy, Jim Jackson, Allie LaForce, and others.

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