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Mike Francesa to John Jastremski & Sal Licata: ‘I Thought You Were Gonna Starve’

BSM Staff
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Mike Francesa to John Jastremski & Sal Licata: ‘I Thought You Were Gonna Starve’

WFAN legend Mike Francesa made an appearance on SNY’s Mets pre-game show on Tuesday, and he joked that he didn’t have high hopes that hosts John Jastremski and Sal Licata would succeed in the industry.

Francesa was asked on Baseball Night in New York by Jastremski when he first met the two of them, who he thought would have the better career.

With tongue planted firmly in cheek, Francesa said he wasn’t buying stock in neither Licata or Jastremski.

“I really thought neither one of you had a chance,” Francesa joked. “If I had to really think about it, I said, ‘You know what, jeez. They’re both gonna starve.'”

Licata this week officially took over co-hosting middays on WFAN alongside Brandon Tierney. He replaced Tiki Barber, who moved over to hosting afternoon drive with Evan Roberts after the departure of Craig Carton.

When pressed for an answer and encouraged by Licata to speak his mind, Francesa admitted that he thought Jastremski had the higher ceiling. Before both men left WFAN, Jastremski made regular appearances on Francesa’s show.

Jastremski continues to host his podcast for The Ringer New York, New York in addition to his duties on SNY.

Marquee Launches Direct-to-Consumer Service

BSM Staff
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Marquee Launches Direct-to-Consumer Service

Chicago Cubs fans living in-market now have a way to watch games without a cable subscription, as Marquee Sports Network has officially revealed its direct-to-consumer offering.

Fans in Chicago will be able to download the Marquee Sports Network app and sign up for its $19.99 per month streaming option. The subscription will give fans a chance to watch games live either through the app or on watchmarquee.com.

“We’re thrilled to launch our new direct-to-consumer subscription option, providing all in-market Cubs fans with access to Marquee Sports Network, including live Cubs games,” Marquee Sports Network general manager Mike McCarthy said. “The new Marquee Sports Network App will also provide an improved 1080p streaming experience for all Marquee Sports Network subscribers. We look forward to continuing to bring Cubs baseball to the passionate Cubs fans across the region.”

All Cubs games carried by Marquee will be available for viewing under the subscription.

Additionally, signing up will give you access to Marquee’s entire catalog of on-demand shows and historical programming, as well as studio shows.

Jay Marine: Amazon Prime Video is ‘Playing the Long Game’ with ‘Thursday Night Football’

BSM Staff
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Jay Marine: Amazon Prime Video is ‘Playing the Long Game’ with ‘Thursday Night Football’

As Amazon Prime Video enters the second year of its Thursday Night Football broadcasts, the company remains dedicated to its growth. The company acquired the coveted broadcast property one year early after FOX Sports exited its contract as part of the league’s new 11-year media rights deal worth over $10 billion annually. Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit and Kaylee Hartung comprised the primary commentary team and are all expected to return in the second season of games after averaging 9.58 million viewers last year, according to Nielsen Media Research.

When combined with Amazon’s internal metrics, the number increases to 11.3 million viewers. Although the total viewership number was down from the 2021 season when games were presented on FOX and simulcast on NFL Network, the streaming platform is excited to watch the continued progression of the franchise.

“We’re playing the long game; this is an 11-year deal,” Jay Marine, Global Head of Sports at Amazon Prime Video, said at CNBC and Boardroom’s inaugural Game Plan sports business conference on Tuesday. “One thing at Amazon – we’re willing to invest for the long term. Thursday Night [Football] never really had a home – it’s been on multiple places – so our goal is to build a franchise, and a franchise that’s durable and extremely valuable in year four, five, 10 and 11.”

Out of the 11 million viewers, 22% of them were between the ages of 18-34, an improvement from the season prior. The median age of streaming viewers was 47 years old, which is seven years younger than the average median age of consumers watching National Football League games on linear television. Thursday Night Football also attained the highest ratings in the age 18-34 and 18-49 demographics, showcasing the power of the over-the-top (OTT) media platform and the NFL.

“We’re extremely excited about the first year of Thursday Night Football,” Marine said. “It was really the first new broadcaster the NFL has had in over 20 years, and the bar was so high because of great companies like ESPN [and] NBC Sports. I’m most proud of the production quality we put on air.”

Amazon Prime Video paid approximately $100 million for the rights to the first-ever NFL Black Friday game in a matchup between the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets. Additionally, Thursday Night Football became the third national property to be granted flex scheduling abilities, allowing it to claim two games per season between Week 13 and Week 17 with 28 days’ notice. Lead play-by-play announcer Al Michaels told Barrett Sports Media that he hopes the platform will not have to use it, instead thinking that its schedule will be good enough.

“I think it’s a testament to the NFL’s trust in us to help launch a new NFL holiday and a new tradition, and Black Friday’s perfect for us; [it is] obviously the biggest shopping day of the year,” Marine said. “So we’re putting everything against that this year, and it’s going to be a great game.”

Despite some pundits claiming the ratings came up short from where Amazon Prime Video was projected to land, the company is satisfied with the growth trajectory of its broadcasts. After all, more people are streaming content than ever before, as Nielsen’s Media Gauge report conveyed that 39% of television consumption takes place through this approach. Globally, the streaming market is expected to burgeon to $1.9 trillion by 2030 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.3%.

“The macrotrends are going in our favor,” Marine said. “More people are going to stream next year – all content, not just sports – than the year before. The year after that, more people. You can debate the rate of change, but you can’t debate the macro-trajectory, so when you see a macrotrend like that, you can invest a lot because you know that investment’s going to pay off in the long term.”

Aside from football, Amazon Prime Video is also interested in expanding its partnership with the National Basketball Association. The two entities are currently in a partnership where the streaming platform airs up to four games per week in Brazil, while having the ability to broadcast up to 24 playoff games. Amazon Prime Video also announced an exclusive media rights deal with Overtime Elite for its live basketball games, proof of further penetration into the space. While it remains unknown whether or not Amazon Prime Video will make a bid for a share of the NBA media rights, Marine did acknowledge that it will approach its future planning aggressively, but with a sense of rationale.

Jimmy Pitaro: ‘ESPN Direct-to-Consumer Platform Will Not Replace Linear TV Channel’

BSM Staff
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Jimmy Pitaro: ‘ESPN Direct-to-Consumer Platform Will Not Replace Linear TV Channel’

ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro has doubled down on the network’s plan to launch a direct-to-consumer product in the future. Speaking from the inaugural Game Plan Summit held by CNBC and Boardroom in Los Angeles, Calif. on Tuesday, Pitaro expressed that “it’s not if, it’s when” after being asked about the network’s future plans. The network reportedly has approximately 74 million cable television subscribers in the United States, a metric that is down from year’s past. Yet its streaming service, ESPN+, has added 25 million subscribers in the five years since it has been launched.

As has been previously reported, the completion of the direct-to-consumer plan, known internally as “Project Flagship,” will not eradicate the network’s presence on television. Instead, the two will coexist in an effort to bring consumers their favorite content in a more effective way. Pitaro spoke about the perception by those in sports media that the new service will be a pronounced change instead of an addition. In reality, the company is not going anywhere on cable television, but will now be available through an alternative means.

“The [traditional] model has been very good to Disney,” Pitaro stated.

ESPN recently cut members of its on-air talent roster following layoffs mandated by The Walt Disney Company to eliminate $5.5 billion in costs. While ESPN+ gains subscribers, Disney+ continues to lose them wherefore the company’s streaming endeavor is expected to have lost a total of nearly $800 million by the end of the third quarter. Nonetheless, the company augmented the average revenue generated per user by 20%, offsetting some of the damage.

Revenue generated by the company’s linear networks, including ESPN, dropped by 7% to $6.6 billion last quarter, and now Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger is considering divesting select linear assets. ESPN, however, is now seen as its own distinct business entity and core to the interests of the company. In fact, it will report its own earnings for the first time this November, and the results are expected to be impressive.

Pitaro confirmed that the “Worldwide Leader” is in discussions with strategic partners interested in purchasing an equity stake in the company, the impetus of which was an accelerated rate of cord cutting. The key pay television companies lost 16% more subscribers in Q1 2023 than Q1 2022, equating to over 2.2 million households.

CNBC reported that the network was in talks with various professional sports leagues about the arrangement, and others have speculated that another media company could join the fold. Pitaro declined comment on naming specific partners, but he did state that there are possibilities with companies in technology, content, marketing and distribution sectors of the business.

If the network ends up cutting a deal with a league – specifically the National Basketball Association, which has an expiring national media rights contract at the end of the 2024-25 regular season – there is interest in how it would affect media rights negotiations. Pitaro expressed how the company has a strong relationship with the Association but wants to continue innovating in terms of game production.

“We believe that there are parties out there that can help us on the content side,” Pitaro said. “You can draw whatever conclusions you want from that, but my priority is when we do launch flagship channels directly to the consumer à la carte, that the content proposition is as compelling as it can be.”

Laurence Holmes: ”Quarterback’ is Better Than Last Five Years of ‘Hard Knocks”

BSM Staff
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With the premiere of HBO Sports and NFL Films’ documentary series Hard Knocks approaching, anticipation is building for the start of the National Football League’s regular season. Many sports media personalities have argued that the series has tapered off in recent years, radiating more contrived discourse than ever before. Whereas the series used to somewhat mark the beginning of football, it is being somewhat overshadowed by the Netflix hit documentary, Quarterback.

The eight-part Netflix original series from Omaha Productions and NFL Films gives viewers unparalleled access to three quarterbacks at different stages in their careers. Patrick Mahomes is a young superstar and former league MVP; Kirk Cousins is a veteran trying to win an elusive Vince Lombardi Trophy; and Marcus Mariota is fighting for his starting job with the Atlanta Falcons, and all have different stories to tell threaded by the sport.

Once it premiered, the series quickly catapulted to the No. 1 spot among Netflix shows, amazing and enthralling sports fans. 670 The Score sports radio host Dan Bernstein, however, is not among that cohort. In fact, he never heard of the series until it was mentioned to him by his co-host, Laurence Holmes, nor did he know much about its structure until discussion on the “Transition” segment.

“Peyton Manning has put together – whether it’s his own thing or the group of people that he’s put together – he is able to produce compelling football television,” Holmes said. “….This series has been better than the last five years of Hard Knocks.”

The New York Jets are reluctantly being featured on the training camp edition of Hard Knocks this year, with the first episode set to premiere on Aug. 8. Newly-acquired superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers has generated considerable intrigue, along with reigning offensive and defensive rookies of the year, Garrett Wilson and Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, respectively. Led by head coach Robert Saleh, the team is looking to snap a 12-year playoff drought.

“Hard Knocks has dropped off, I think,” 670 The Score host David Haugh said. “I don’t know if it jumped the shark necessarily, but I will still likely watch that [although] it’s not the same as it used to be.”

“It’s performative now,” Bernstein added. “It’s become more self-aware and more performative and less sort of ‘fly on the wall,’ check out this kind of thing.”

Although Bernstein does not watch much television in his free time, he is willing to hear Holmes out and give him a chance. Tonight, he will be watching the third episode of the series centered on the hits quarterbacks have to take and the ongoing recovery process so they can discuss it on the air on Wednesday.

“They’re all pretty good,” Holmes said. “I don’t know that you need to watch them in order, so why don’t you watch Ep. 3, which is the ‘pain’ episode.”

“Okay, you tell me,” Bernstein replied.

NBC News Touts Podcast Success as Dateline Passes 1 Billion Downloads

BNM Staff
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NBC News Touts Podcast Success as Dateline Passes 1 Billion Downloads

In the latest Podtrac stats, NBC News was listed as the #4 top podcast publisher in the United States, and the network is touting its success.

The network claims it has experienced an 18% increase in total listenership in 2023 compared to 2022.

Podcasts produced by the company on average garnered 66 million downloads in the second quarter.

Dateline NBC has eclipsed 1 billion downloads, with 100 million downloads coming in the second quarter alone.

NBC News also claims CNBC podcasts Power Lunch and Closing Bell each saw significant growth. Power Lunch saw its best quarter ever while Closing Bell saw it’s second-best showing on record.

In total, NBC News’ podcast division has seen 11 consecutive quarters of of audience growth.

Bill Handel: Elon Musk Motivated By Attention, Not Good Business

BNM Staff
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The surprising announcement that Elon Musk would be rebranding Twitter into X doesn’t appear to be a popular one in many circles. KFI-AM 640 morning host Bill Handel is in that group.

During Monday’s show, Handel argued that the Twitter brand and logo are iconic. However, he believed that Musk simply threw them away because of the attention he would receive for doing so.

“Do you think he’s gonna be able to do anything to revive that company? Look it was never really a well-run company to begin with,” Handel admitted. “Honestly, look…He just loves attention, and that’s what he does. His new CEO, Linda Yaccarino has to clean up all these messes. And she’s been a good soldier so far, but I don’t think — I think this one’s in the ditch.”

After being told about Musk’s obsession with the letter “X” and how he had originally planned to spell the word “sexy” with the model names from his automobile company Tesla, Handel said “he’s really mature”. He later joked the model names should have been “WGLM” for “We’re Going to Lose Money”.

Bob McCown After Stroke: ‘My Brain Knows What To Do, It Just Has to Teach My Body’

BSM Staff
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Bob McCown After Stroke: ‘My Brain Knows What To Do, It Just Has to Teach My Body’

Legendary sports radio host Bob McCown is recovering after he suffered two strokes last month, leading to his hospitalization. While he was under intense medical care, McCown communicated with fans through Twitter and updated them of his status. Two weeks ago, he was released from Trillium Hospital in Mississauga, Ontario and is continuing his rehabilitation at home, including gradually improving his speech and motor skills.

McCown, 71, currently hosts his own podcast on the BetRivers Network. He made a long-awaited, yet momentary appearance on the show on Monday to update the audience on his status. Fill-in hosts John Shannon and Dave Hodge asked McCown about how he was doing, and clearly wanted to ensure that his speech would be discernible before talking.

“I know my voice isn’t 100% yet,” McCown said. “I just hope you can understand most of what I have to say.”

When he described what happened, McCown emphasized the severity of the situation and how strenuous the recovery process has been. He went on to convey how there were times in the hospital when he could not talk or walk, circumstances that have both changed in the ensuing weeks. McCown is currently able to walk with a cane and is participating in speech therapy as he works to clear the hurdles toward a return.

“This is a horrible thing,” McCown stated. “I didn’t appreciate how difficult it was, and I know it’s different for everybody.”

McCown iwas the host of the popular afternoon show, Prime Time, while he was with Sportsnet 590 The Fan in Toronto. During his podcast appearance, he discussed the state of the Toronto Blue Jays and thanked everyone for their continued support and well-wishes throughout this process, calling it “unbelievable,” and hopes to be back on the air soon.

“A lot of what has happened to me has been new, but one thing that the stroke didn’t really affect was my brain,” McCown said. “My brain knows what to do; it just has to teach my body how to do it again.”

Sid Rosenberg Hosting One Night Only Theater Show with Bill O’Reilly

BNM Staff
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Sid Rosenberg Hosting One Night Only Theater Show with Bill O’Reilly

77 WABC morning host Sid Rosenberg is teaming up with Bill O’Reilly for a one-night-only theatre show in October.

Rosenberg welcomed O’Reilly to Sid and Friends in the Morning Monday to make the announcement.

On Friday, October 27th, the two figures will present “A New York State of Mind”, which will detail their upbringing in the city, and discuss how to return New York to its former glory.

“You know what has not been done? Actually talking about the legacy of New York and how we have arrived at this point,” O’Reilly stated.

“This show will go over both of our backgrounds, how two juvenile delinquents — and I use that term literally — have risen to the top of their professions. And how New York was a vast part of that. Then we’ll pivot into what happened,” said O’Reilly. “What happened from the city that we grew up in, we were born in, the change into the city we have now. I think anybody who has any ties to New York state or city is going to enjoy the show.”

The show — which will happen at The Paramount on Long Island — will not be entirely serious, according to the two hosts.

“It’s not a heavy duty. I’ll open the show and give you a dose of reality and with a lot of humor,” concluded O’Reilly.

Rosenberg noted that he and Bernie McGuirk attended a show by O’Reilly at the same theater nearly four years ago. He called the event one of the highlights of his career, and called the opportunity to host the event with O’Reilly as “surreal”.

Presale tickets are available at paramountny.com as well as BillOReilly.com.

Kelsey Riggs Named New Host of ‘ACC Huddle’

BSM Staff
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Kelsey Riggs Named New Host of ‘ACC Huddle’

ESPN has announced its coverage plans for the upcoming Atlantic Coast Conference football season on ACC Network, highlighted by Kelsey Riggs being named the new host of ACC Huddle. Riggs first joined ESPN amid the launch of the network in August 2019, and she served as a prominent on-air talent and reporter across its football coverage. She steps into the role after the network laid off Jordan Cornette during its talent cuts and brings vast experience with both the conference and studio hosting at large.

Riggs and the rest of the ACC Huddle cast, including analysts Eric Mac Lain, EJ Manuel, Mark Richt and Eddie Royal, will be traveling all season long. They will broadcast their show from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST from the location of the ACC Primetime Football game of the week. The show will provide halftime reports, a special prime-time edition from 6:30 to 8 p.m. EST and a one-hour recap show at the close of the day recapping all of the action. It will be live from Blacksburg, Va. during Week 1 before the opening matchup between the Old Dominion Monarchs and Virginia Tech Hokies. Yet it will not be the only ACC Network program on-site throughout the year, being joined by ACC PM on Fridays.

The second-year show features co-hosts Mark Packer and Taylor Tannebaum, along with news and commentary from around the conference. At the end of the week, the show hits the road and will broadcast from the same location as ACC Huddle, while the preceding four days take place from Charlotte. The show is on the ACC Network weekdays from 4 to 7 p.m. EST.

ACC Primetime Football games will have a new sound this year with the addition of Wes Durham into the broadcast booth. Durham has called ACC football games for nearly three decades. He is also the lead play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta Falcons.

In her second year with the ACC Network, Tannebaum joins Durham and Tim Hasselback on the primary broadcasts as its sideline reporter. She moves into this role while still co-hosting ACC PM with Packer on weekdays.

For the third consecutive year, ACC Football Road Trip will be previewing the start of the season by visiting all 14 college campuses from Aug. 7 to Aug. 24. The ACC Huddle cast and a score of other personalities will be on site for these special episodes premiering weekdays at 7 p.m. EST. A visit to Florida State University kicks off the proceedings, which ultimately conclude with a trip to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The network will also premiere a multi-part behind-the-scenes series, All Access with Carolina Football, on Thursday at 4 p.m. EST. This program will grant viewers an inside look at what goes into preparing for the football season with the North Carolina football team, taking somewhat of a similar approach to HBO Sports and NFL Films’ Hard Knocks. Over the years, the all-access series has afforded consumers insight into Miami, NC State and Louisville among other programs.

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