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Caitlin Clark WNBA Debut Averages 2.13 Million Viewers on ESPN Networks

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As Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark made her WNBA debut, the league broke records and attained its most-watched matchup in 23 years. Despite the 92-71 loss to the Connecticut Suns, Clark’s first regular season game in the WNBA garnered an average of 2.13 million viewers across ESPN2, ESPN+ and Disney+. Viewership for the matchup peaked in the 7:45-7:59 p.m. broadcast window at 2.3 million viewers. It is the most-watched WNBA game since the Los Angeles Sparks and Houston Comets played on Memorial Day of 2001 and averaged 2.44 million viewers on NBC.

The Indiana-Connecticut season opener represents the first time a WNBA game has surpassed an average of 1 million viewers in 16 years – the last occurrence of such taking place when Candace Parker made her debut for the Los Angeles Sparks in 2008. According to Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch, the previous high watermark for a WNBA game on ESPN networks took place in 2004 when Diana Taurasi made her career debut for the Phoenix Mercury against the Connecticut Sun, which averaged 1.43 million viewers on ABC.

Tuesday’s edition of WNBA Countdown averaged 680,000 viewers on ESPN2, ESPN+ and Disney+, which was up 126% over last year’s average on ABC and ESPN. Additionally, WNBA content on ESPN.com and the ESPN App amassed a 409% rise in unique visitors year-over-year. Moreover, engagement with WNBA content on ESPN social media accounts has increased 125% year-over-year as well.

Clark, the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, has gained popularity and prestige over the last several years. To conclude her college basketball career with Iowa, she surpassed Pete Maravich to become the all-time scoring leader for NCAA Basketball and played in the National Championship Game for the second consecutive year. The former Iowa Hawkeyes guard will have her No. 22 jersey retired by the University of Iowa; it was announced as she departed the school.

During NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament play, games with the Hawkeyes established several viewership records. The quarterfinals rematch against the LSU Tigers drew an average of 12.3 million viewers, which broke the record for the most-watched college basketball game on ESPN platforms on record. Shortly thereafter, the semifinals game between Iowa and the UConn Huskies averaged 14.2 million viewers on ESPN, breaking the aforementioned record and becoming the most-watched college event ever on ESPN+.

The Final Four was up by 114% year-over-year with an average of 13.8 million viewers ahead of the National Championship game between Iowa and the South Carolina Gamecocks. The final matchup averaged 18.9 million viewers, the most-viewed college basketball game on record for ESPN platforms and best basketball game, pro or college, since 2017.

Thirty-six of the 40 Indiana Fever games will be disseminated by national media platforms, eight of which are on linear channels owned by The Walt Disney Company. ABC will broadcast the Fever’s matchup against Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Saturday at 1 p.m. EST.

Netflix Announces 10-Part Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys Docuseries

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Netflix is continuing to penetrate in the sports documentary space, agreeing to work with Skydance Sports and NFL Films in association with Stardust Frames Productions on a new project. The venture will explore the career of Jerry Jones, owner, president and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, and how he has transformed the franchise since purchasing the team in 1989.

Jones helped catapult the Cowboys into a championship organization, attaining three Super Bowl titles in four years during the 1990s. Throughout his time at the helm of the organization, he has made an indelible impact in the sports landscape and crafted the Cowboys into the most valuable NFL franchise. Forbes projects the Cowboys to be worth $9 billion with revenue of $1.14 billion and operating income of $504 million prior to the 2023 NFL season.

This 10-episode series will look at the Cowboys by revealing exclusive footage surrounding the team and interviews with Jones himself. Other key figures surrounding the organization are also a part of the documentary series, including Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders and Emmitt Smith, along with head coaches Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer. Former U.S. President George W. Bush and Nike founder Phil Knight are featured among the interviewees outside of the organization in the project.

The series will be produced by Skydance Sports in association with NFL Films and Stardust Frames Productions. Executive producers on the project are David Ellison, Jesse Sisgold, Jon Weinbach, Ross Ketover, Ken Rodgers, Jessica Boddy, Keith Cossrow and John Skipper. Chapman Way and Maclain Way are also executive producers as well as the directors of the production. This follows the recent announcement of a Netflix documentary pertaining to the history of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, along with a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul streaming live on the platform.

Launch dates for the projects have yet to be announced by Netflix, who made the announcement of the docuseries surrounding Jones and the Cowboys at its 2024 Upfront in New York City, during which it also revealed additional sports-related projects. The company will produce three docuseries in partnership with the International Olympic Committee pertaining to Olympic track athletes, U.S. gymnast Simone Biles and the U.S. men’s basketball team.

The docuseries regarding Olympic track athletes is titled Sprint and will premiere on July 1 featuring top sprinters including Shericka Jackson, Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson. Additionally, the docuseries on Biles, titled Simone Biles: Rising, will debut before the start of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and consist of four 45-minute episodes. The basketball series will debut in early 2025 and contain six episodes, each of which will be 45 minutes in duration. Netflix also announced production of a Happy Gilmore sequel with Adam Sandler and a new basketball comedy sitcom Running Point featuring Kate Hudson, Scott MacArthur and Drew Tarver.

Joe Buck and Chip Caray to Broadcast St. Louis Cardinals Game Like Jack Buck and Harry Caray Did

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Joe Buck and Chip Caray to Broadcast St. Louis Cardinals Game Like Jack Buck and Harry Caray Did

The son of legendary baseball broadcaster Jack Buck and the grandson of legendary baseball broadcaster Harry Caray will call a St. Louis Cardinals game together on Bally Sports Midwest on May 24. Joe Buck will be a guest alongside television play-by-play voice Chip Caray and the two will work together calling a St. Louis Cardinals game, just as their father and grandfather did over fifty years ago. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch was first with the news.

Jack Buck called Cardinals games for 47 years, starting in 1954. Harry Caray had his longest tenure with any baseball team when he spent 25 seasons calling Cardinals games, starting in 1945. For 15 seasons they overlapped and as Chip Caray said to the Post-Dispatch, “…our families are so intertwined in the history of the Cardinals.”

During the period Harry Caray and Jack Buck worked together, the Cardinals appeared in the World Series three times and won it twice.

Beginning in 1991, Joe Buck spent parts of 16 seasons in the booth for the Cardinals before concentrating solely on his national work with FOX Sports. Buck has not done a baseball broadcast since the end of the 2021 World Series. Chip Caray is now in his second season as the voice of the Cardinals after two decades with the Atlanta Braves.

“I think it will be a blast,” Buck told the paper.

Mickey Ryan Exits 104.5 The Zone

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Mickey Ryan Exits 104.5 The Zone

Mickey Ryan, who was hosting in mid-afternoons with former Tennessee Titan Blaine Bishop on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville, announced he has decided to pursue other opportunities and that his time at the station has come to an end.

Ryan posted on his X account and said, “After almost ten years, my time at 104.5 the Zone has come to an end. It has been an absolute privilege to work here and I’m beyond thankful for all the opportunities I’ve had. To all our great sponsors and listeners: You have been so supportive to me and I will be forever grateful. Thank you.

“To the amazing people I got to work with: Thank you for your friendship and support. You are the best!

“While an offer was extended and wishes expressed for me to stay, I have prayerfully made the decision to seek out my next opportunity, whatever that may be. I’m truly not sure what is next, but I know God is with me and will lead me to the right thing. I love and appreciate all of you.”

Ryan is also a musician and songwriter and was also an associate director of athletics at Arkansas State University.

SPECai Welcomes Adams Radio Group and Southern Stoen Communications as New Customers

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SPECai Welcomes Adams Radio Group and Southern Stoen Communications as New Customers

SPECai, the artificial intelligence product created in conjunction with ENCO Systems, Benztown, and Compass Media Networks, has inked a deal with Adams Radio Group and Southern Stone Communications to use the technology.

Southern Stone Communications will utilize the product in Jackson, TN; Valdosta, GA; Daytona Beach, FL; and Huntsville, AL. Meanwhile, Adams Radio Group will utilize it at stations in Tallahassee, FL; Las Cruces, NM; Valparaiso, IN; and Ft. Wayne, IN.

“SPECai is absolutely transformative. I was amazed by the blend of technology and creativity. Within minutes, our sellers are able to create top-notch spec spots,” said Adams Radio Group Northern Indiana Vice President and Market Manager Jennifer Figg. “The interface is easy and intuitive, saving us time and making the production process more efficient. Each spot is crafted with a professional touch. We only just started and have already closed new business.”

“I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly our sellers could create a great sounding commercial, with no help from production, and use it to help close new business,” added Southern Stone Communications Vice President of Sales and General Manager Chip Thomas. “I would highly recommend this product for any sales team looking for creative ways to close more business.”

The two radio companies join other broadcasters like Connoisseur Media, Summit Media, and Magnum Communications in adopting the product.

Charles Barkley: You’d Think TNT Would Get the Benefit of the Doubt, ‘But Clearly That’s Not Happening’

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Charles Barkley: You’d Think TNT Would Get the Benefit of the Doubt, ‘But Clearly That’s Not Happening’

Charles Barkley spent time on ESPN Chicago yesterday with the Waddle & Silvy show. One of the topics that came up from hosts Tom Waddle and Marc Silverman is the NBA media rights agreement, which expires after next season for ESPN and TNT. ESPN has the framework of their deal in place and Amazon’s Prime Video is said to have secured the “C” package which leaves one spot remaining for two very interested parties – Warner Bros. Discovery and NBCUniversal.

Barkley was asked, “What can you tell us about the future of Inside the NBA and what direction you think it’s all headed?”

“We have zero idea what is going to happen,” Barkley said. “We might lose it. I feel so bad for the people I work with. It is brutal, flat out brutal. Everybody is scared to death…So I will tell you this, it is very stressful for the people I work with. And I wish I could give you an answer. We might lose it.”

While many have reported NBC is the driver’s seat with negotiations and some, such as The Ringer’s Bill Simmons believe it is already over, Barkley believes there is still a chance for TNT but also said their long relationship with the league is not paying off in the negotiations.

“It’s 50-50 that we lose our part to NBC. Am I concerned? 100%. Because as much as we have been partners with the NBA for, I think 40 years, you would think if it was close in a bidding war we would get the benefit of the doubt, but clearly that is not happening. So, to answer your question, they are scared to death over here right now. I feel so bad for the people I work with.”

Barkley had appeared on The Dan Patrick Show two weeks ago and said he thought that would be the day they would find out. Obviously, that did not happen. Barkley was asked then about the possibility of Inside the NBA continuing on somewhere else, knowing Ernie Johnson would stay at TNT.

“I don’t know how it works without Ernie,” Barkley said. “And I can’t speak for NBC. I don’t know if they’d want all three of us. Our show won’t be the same without Ernie. Ernie is the most important person on our show.”

Steve Cochran: I Get Questions About John Howell All The Time After WLS Exit

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Steve Cochran: I Get Questions About John Howell All The Time After WLS Exit

Last September, WLS 890 AM afternoon host John Howell departed the station after a lengthy stay. Current morning host Steve Cochran says he gets questions all the time about his former colleague.

As the Chicago news/talk station celebrates its 100th anniversary, Cochran is speaking to as many former employees as he can throughout the year. On Wednesday, he welcomed Howell to the show, as the two discussed his tenure and what led him to join the station.

“We miss ya here,” Steve Cochran told Howell. “I get questions about you all the time. And it’s not just your golf game, people wanna know about your health. You sound fine to me!”

Howell joked “It’s a buffet table of misery” after turning 55. He noted that no longer having to prepare for a show allows him to spend more time focusing on a healthy lifestyle. “I work out. I’m enjoying it,” Howell said. “It’s been a good transition for me.

“I miss it. I love that studio, I love looking out over the river and the city, but I do not miss that drive downtown. I’ll tell you that.”

“It’s not gotten better,” Cochran responded.

During the interview, Howell noted that he was motivated to chase a career in radio by the Chicago station when it was one of the biggest Top 40 stations in America. Despite his run with the outlet ending last year, he shared he “loved something about every job” he’s held in the business.

Doug Gottlieb to Dan Patrick: ‘I’m The Head Coach, I Get to Set the Schedule’

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Doug Gottlieb to Dan Patrick: ‘I’m The Head Coach, I Get to Set the Schedule’

FOX Sports Radio host Doug Gottlieb was hired as the new head coach at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay earlier this week. Today he was a guest of The Dan Patrick Show and Patrick asked him right away, “How do you commit to coaching, how do you commit to doing your national radio show on the same day, same time?”

“Well listen, you’ve done your radio show and your TV shows in the same day,” Gottlieb said. “You know how hard it was when you did Sports Center and you used to pop from one to the next and go and write your script. It’s challenging.”

Patrick brought up the fact that the jobs Gottlieb has are two different disciplines and that he may have things he needs to do in the afternoon as a basketball coach when he is supposed to be on the air doing his show.

“No, I’m the head coach I get to set the schedule,” Gottlieb replied. “…As an assistant coach I think it would be harder, I think it would be more difficult. You would have to have a really understanding head coach. But as a head coach, you set aside time. And the great thing about our chancellor, Michael Alexander, allowing me to do both is that it allows me to take less money, financially, and not take a huge hit and then hire a staff that already knows what I don’t know.

“…I wake up really early thinking about things to talk about and I have already hired somebody who is assigned to me – hey man, you tell me where I need to be and when I need to be there and then you just need to prioritize your time. The truth is Dan, in the last couple of years, I have worked for FOX, FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports Radio, I did a streaming show for Stadium, I had an AAU program in Southern California…I also worked for Westwood One and Compass Media. You name it, I’ve done it. So, now I only have two jobs.”

It is Gottlieb’s belief that the two positions work together more than people think. He pointed out relationships with national advertisers as one way he can see the show and the coaching position working in unison, as he works to raise NIL and sponsorship money.

“I think it works great together,” he said. “I think they are mutual promotional tools. Everyone at FOX Sports Radio has been awesome and now we have the only national radio show host who is also a Division I head men’s basketball coach.

“And then for Green Bay it works as a promotional tool. Even without mentioning it, I don’t ever have to talk about Green Bay…There’s people that I have great relationships with nationally, people that want to be a part of this and what we’re doing.”

Patrick asked about what the NIL budget was like for him at UW-Green Bay. Gottlieb replied, “Our NIL budget is good, and it’s going to get great, and we are going to do all the right things it takes to raise the money and find the right players that will earn that money.”

The Doug Gottlieb Show can be heard from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday.

ABC News Scores September Biden vs Trump Debate, Will Be ‘Available to Simulcast’

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ABC News Scores September Biden vs Trump Debate, Will Be ‘Available to Simulcast’

After the announcement that former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden had agreed to a debate on CNN, ABC News said they have a similar deal in place.

ABC News will host the two candidates for a televised debate on Tuesday, September 10th. Like the CNN debate in June, no spectators will be present for the September debate, which will take place at the network’s studios.

After previously being hesitant to commit to debating Biden, Trump’s team has reversed course and proposed debates in June, July, August, and September, in addition to a Vice Presidential debate.

“Additional dates will allow voters to have maximum exposure to the records and future visions of each candidate,” Trump’s campaign said in a statement.

While announcing the September debate, ABC News says it “will make the debate available to simulcast on additional broadcast and streaming news networks in America.” The network added that a definitive list of moderates and a declared format will be available “at a later date.”

On social media, Trump claims he has accepted an invitation to debate on Wednesday, October 2nd on Fox News. President Biden has yet to publicly accept that offer.

KFI, KCBS, KNX, KOGO Earn Regional Murrow Award Victories For Radio Reporting

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The Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association have been handed out, and California stations — like KFI, KCBS, KNX, and KOGO — have taken home honors.

In Region 2, which consists of California, Hawaii, Nevada, and Guam, several Audacy and iHeartMedia-owned stations took home awards in the Large Market Radio sector.

KCBS Radio won the award for Best Breaking News Coverage for its reporting on the death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). The station also won the award for Excellence in Sound for its report on Strike Music.

Sister station KNX News took home the honor of Overall Excellence in the news radio category.

iHeartMedia-owned 600 KOGO in San Diego won the award for Excellence in Writing for its reporting on the death and legacy of singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffet.

Meanwhile, KFI-AM 640 took home the top honor for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for its report on sexual orientation discussions in elementary schools “He Said, She Said, They Said.”

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