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J.J. Watt: ‘I Never Wanted To Be An Analyst’

BSM Staff
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J.J. Watt will be appearing as an analyst for The NFL on CBS on its signature studio program, The NFL Today, following his retirement after a 12-year National Football League career with the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals. When Watt announced that he would be signing with CBS Sports, it marked the end of his quest to find a television home. He took some time to mull over the potential options about working in television, something that he wanted to do when his playing career began to reach its end.

Early in his career though, Watt had a completely different sentiment towards serving as a television analyst. In fact, he never wanted to work in the role because he could see how certain television personalities did not know the context of what they were discussing, nor were they privy to the inner workings of an organization.

“I said, ‘Those guys don’t know what they’re talking about and they don’t know their assignments,’” Watt remembered thinking while playing. “….Leaving the game, I’ve realized how much I love it and how much I can’t stand to not be around it. This is the perfect opportunity.”

Watt was drafted by the Houston Texans in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft and culminated a storied NFL career with five Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections. Widely regarded as one of the most skilled defensive ends in the history of the game, he won the 2017 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award after raising $37 million for victims affected by Hurricane Harvey.

“One of the biggest things for me, this year specifically, was that I didn’t want to retire and feel like I immediately jumped back into a full-time job,” Watt said. “….I just had a son last fall, and this was very important to me to have a Thanksgiving [and] a Christmas with my son. CBS was extremely kind in working with me on that and allowing me to ease into it, which is great.”

In entering television, Watt worries about his opinions suddenly becoming headlines and then being revisited when things do not go exactly according to how he foresaw them unfolding. As a former player, he also understands that while he knows about esoteric parts of the game, he does not have complete insight.

Watt’s new colleague, Nate Burleson, expressed how he felt “terrified” when he joined The NFL Today in 2017. He discussed a competitive element to the studio show and how the program is not, by any means, something that the analysts show up to perform simply to collect a check.

“Once you get into that room with some actual big dogs and they start barking, I think the natural thing to do is to shrink yourself on the set,” Burleson said. “What I’ve loved working on this crew… they were like, ‘We brought you here for a reason. Be that guy; be that same dude we see on all these other shows.'”

Watt remembers when he was a player that he would receive calls from his grandmother asking him why analysts were criticizing him in the ways that they were on television studio programs. While he knows he has a job to fulfill, he does not want to be the root cause of similar inquiries towards other players; that is, outside of his brother, T.J., a linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Just what Watt’s style of analysis will be remains to be seen, but it is certain that he already feels at home with The NFL Today studio panel. The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year will bring a new perspective to a panel featuring several former offensive players and coaches and is scheduled to make his debut in Week 1.

“It’s being part of a great team like this,” Watt said. “These guys have incredible chemistry; they’re the best in the business at this job.”

Dan Le Batard: New Undisputed Cast ‘Taking Skip Bayless’ Show’

BSM Staff
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Dan Le Batard: New Undisputed Cast ‘Taking Skip Bayless’ Show’

The new version of Undisputed made its long-awaited debut on FOX Sports 1 earlier in the week, and many viewers noticed that lead commentator Skip Bayless did not have as much time to speak or make his points. Joining Bayless on set were three former NFL players – Keyshawn Johnson; Richard Sherman and Michael Irvin – who he claims are his “dream team” of co-hosts.

The longtime debate presence made clear to viewers on Monday that it was the best morning of his career and a show that he was excited to be a part of. Nonetheless, viewers quickly picked up on a remark Bayless made to Johnson during one of their debates, saying that he spoke too much. Johnson replied by challenging Bayless, asserting that he did not just go and say that to him.

Indeed, Bayless was having trouble interjecting his thoughts into the conversation at times, which could partially be attributed to the absence of a genuine moderator. Even so, consumers shared on social media that Bayless seemed to fade into the background, and it is a sentiment former ESPN colleague Dan Le Batard seems to agree with.

“That’s three generations of the loudest loudmouths in football – three of them,” Le Batard said. “….Holy shit, Skip, they’re going to take your show. That’s not a terrible way to evolve at 70 if he’s willing to be the joke; if he’s willing to not take himself seriously and just allow the floor to a bunch of people who are really good at television.”

Le Batard discussed how established sports media professionals are slowly aging and is wondering what the platforms are going to sound like as people grow older. Bayless, 71, is one of the oldest members of the industry who has a daily television show and, according to Le Batard, is trying to “keep up” with Smith on First Take. Smith and Bayless previously worked together on the flagship debate program, which recently announced year-over-year viewership growth of 13 consecutive months.

“Stephen A. Smith – watch him closely because that dude’s a conqueror, and he’s already creating something outside of ESPN just in case some shit falls apart,” Le Batard said. “He’s talking a lot about, ‘I might be next,’ and he’s just building his own things and it’s going to be fun and it’s going to be different.”

Le Batard likened the new version of Undisputed to an amalgamation of different substances and hoping they are able to mesh with one another.

“Stephen A. just took the guy that was made by Skip [in] Shannon Sharpe; he just took him,” Le Batard said. “Skip Bayless’ answer is, ‘I’m going to pour tequila and rum and whisky together. They’re all good by themselves, and let’s see if we make a giant explosion.’”

Curtis Sliwa: John Catsimatidis Saved Us From ‘the Crypt Cumulus Had Prepared to Put Us In’

BNM Staff
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77 WABC host Curtis Sliwa was pinch-hitting for morning host Sid Rosenberg Tuesday when he mentioned his appreciation for Red Apple Media owner John Catsimatidis.

Sliwa began the show by mentioning that Rosenberg was absent due to filming a role for a new movie, joking that if the morning host had his way, he’d much rather be a movie star than a radio Hall of Famer.

The Guardian Angels founder then added that the fill-in position allowed him to relive dreams of hosting the morning show, adding that he recently counted up how many partners he has had in his radio career.

“I’ve had more partners in talk radio than I’ve had ex-wives. Boy, I’ve had a lot of ex-wives,” Sliwa laughed. “You could actually times it by four. We were doing the addition just the other day. I’ve had 18 partners in talk radio… I said to management here when we moved over to the new spot when John Catsimatidis and Red Apple Media became our parent company rescuing us from the crypt that Cumulus had prepared to put us into, as they had WPLJ and Nash, destroying two of the great stations in the nation.

“That wrecking crew of Cumulus wanted to destroy WABC. The most iconic call letters in the nation rescued, given another opportunity. And now number one in the nation again.”

Catsimatidis founded Red Apple Media and purchased the New York news/talker in 2019 for $12.5 million from Cumulus.

First Take Sees 13 Straight Months of Viewership Growth

BSM Staff
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ESPN’s signature morning debate show, First Take, has recorded 13 consecutive months of year-over-year viewership growth, a monumental achievement for the program that recently endured a format change. Featured commentator and executive producer Stephen A. Smith, along with host Molly Qerim, headline the program featuring a rotating panel of guest analysts. Whether it is Dan Orlovsky, Kimberley A. Martin or Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo, viewers are captivated by the show’s debates and star power, which is going to be enhanced next week ahead of football season.

Shannon Sharpe, who worked on FOX Sports 1 on Undisputed with Skip Bayless for the past seven years, will join First Take on Mondays and Tuesdays throughout the National Football League season. The network made the move official last Thursday after speculation and reporting from various other outlets and was preceded by Sharpe announcing that his hit podcast, Club Shay Shay, would be joining The Volume.

As for this month’s viewership of the show, the program averaged 391,000 viewers and became its most-watched month of August since 2017. The audience figure is 21% higher than 2022, which averaged 323,000 viewers and marked the highest number since 2019.

The show has yet to divulge if there will be any special on-site broadcasts throughout the football season. Last August, the show was live from Canton, Ohio for the Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic weekend. Smith also recently teased that he had a forthcoming announcement sometime this week unrelated to Sharpe joining ESPN on his podcast, The Stephen A. Smith Show.

The Daily Wire Publishing First Documentary Series Episode to X

BNM Staff
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The Daily Wire Publishing First Documentary Series Episode to X

After the relationship between The Daily Wire and X, formerly Twitter, got off to a rocky start, the conservative digital outlet has made preparations to unveil a new documentary series on the social media platform.

The Daily Wire published the Matt Walsh documentary What is a Woman? to the outlet before it was removed. That decision was ultimately reversed and has seen several million views. X owner Elon Musk even reposted the video with a message encouraging every user to watch it.

A true-crime documentary series hosted by The Daily Wire’s Candace Owens centered on a rebuttal to the popular Netflix series Making A Murderer will be published to X. Convicting a Murderer will debut on X on Friday, September 8th at 9:00 PM ET and will be free to watch for all users.

However, only the debut episode will be available on X. The second episode will publish for free on DailyWire+, with the final eight episodes being available to paying subscribers.

A report from Axios media reporter Sara Fischer adds that The Daily Wire will spend six figures in advertising to promote the series on the social media platform.

The outlet’s growing issues with content moderation policies put in place by YouTube led to the decision to publish the first episode on X. Earlier this year, The Daily Wire planned to leave YouTube entirely. However, it has since reversed course, but began publishing more video content to X.

Tim Brando: Nick Saban ‘Bullying Local Media’

BSM Staff
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Media members put up with a lot from college coaches. Not giving straight or honest answers is one thing, but when a coach makes it harder for the people covering the team to do their jobs, Tim Brando draws a line.

The FOX college football broadcaster took Alabama coach Nick Saban to task for not releasing a depth chart for Saturday’s game against Middle Tennessee. What Saban may call gamesmanship amidst a quarterback battle, Brando calls bullying.

“Nick Saban’s not delivering a Depth Chart is beneath him, despite likely giving the guys calling the game some semblance of lineups,” Brando said on X (formerly Twitter). “He should be above that but clearly these days he’s not in the best of moods.”

This is not the first time the lack of a depth chart has drawn the ire of Tim Brando. He even referenced his spat with Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh that played out on Twitter in 2017.

As for Saban, Brando says that he owes the media, particularly those covering the Crimson Tide locally better.

“Why bully his local media in such a manner? The …kissing he’s demanding here is a joke! When much is given, much is also expected and the Goat needs to act like the greatest as opposed using your brand as a bully pulpit and that’s all this is!”

Saban’s excuse for not releasing a depth chart is that he wants some flexibility at quarterback as Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson and Tyler Buchner battle for the starting job. He said that a depth chart could end the competition because once an order is put down on paper, it “is etched in stone.”

Brando doesn’t buy the explanation and says Saban is using the media to avoid fans waking up to a harsh reality about the team in 2023.

“Using its ‘etched in stone’ is a bit much, when the truth really is my QB room ain’t what it used to be,” he wrote.

ESPN to Bring ACC Football, College Football Playoff to Movie Theaters

BSM Staff
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ESPN has announced a new agreement with the Theater Sports Network for new ways to disseminate college football content. While the network has worked with Cinemark over the last two seasons to televise the College Football Playoff semifinals and CFP National Championship games in movie theaters, it will now present part of its portfolio on a larger scale. Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) games airing on ESPN platforms will be available in away team markets throughout the 2023-24 college football season, an innovative means to view the action.

The deal covers the New Year’s Six slate of bowl games, which includes the Capital One Orange Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic and Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. Additionally, the CFP Semifinal games at the Allstate Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl Game, along with the CFP National Championship Game are part of the agreement, which includes nearly 75 games in total. The price for this in-person direct-to-consumer viewing option will be determined by participating movie theaters, which will soon be announced to the public.

“We believe movie theaters are the next great frontier for live sporting events, and we are elated with this unprecedented agreement with ESPN,” Scott Daw, president and chief operating officer of Theater Sports Network, said in a statement. “We look forward to bringing these games to ACC football fans [and] believe that theaters have the ability to generate excitement around live sporting events.

“These events will replicate the feel of a football stadium experience as fans gather and fill theaters to watch the games on the big screen. As we move forward, we hope to add games from additional college football conferences as well as other live sporting events.”

Theater Sports Network is partnering with MetaMedia to distribute these live streams of sporting events. The company is a revolutionary global, cloud-based entertainment secure delivery vertical that services out-of-home venues, including drive-in movie theaters and cinemas.

“We believe that Theater Sports Network has identified an unmet demand for families and fans to view live sports on massive movie theater screens,” Jason Brenek, chief executive officer of MetaMedia, said in a statement. “[We] are thrilled to be selected as their distribution technology partner.”

Entering the college football season, ESPN will televise games from the ACC, Southeastern Conference (SEC), Big 12 and Pac-12 – the latter of which does not have a rights agreement for 2024 and beyond. The Pac-12 will lose eight of its 12 current member teams, headlined by USC and UCLA moving to the Big Ten Conference.

Starting on Thursday, the Big Ten will start regular season live game broadcasts under a record-breaking seven-year media rights contract worth more than $1 billion annually. Additionally, the Big 12 will add Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah, bringing the conference to 18 teams. According to league commissioner Brett Yormark, its media rights deal with ESPN has a pro rata clause that will pay the conference more money when it adds teams.

OutKick on Fox Draws Just Shy of 1 Million Viewers Sunday

BNM Staff
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OutKick on Fox Draws Just Shy of 1 Million Viewers Sunday

On Sunday, OutKick aired its first special on Fox News. The viewership totals are in, and both the network and digital outlet are happy with the results.

OutKick on Fox garnered 837,000 viewers Sunday evening. The program — hosted by founder Clay Travis, and hosts Tomi Lahren and Charly Arnolt — topped every program televised by CNN on Sunday, according to the outlet.

The partnership between the Travis-founded company and Fox News is a natural one. Both entities are owned by parent company Fox Corp. Additionally, Travis and Lahren have been frequent contributors to the cable channel.

After the debut special aired, Travis teased the possibility of more content from OutKick airing on Fox News.

“Lots of fun. More to come, hopefully,” Travis wrote in a post to X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday. Similar sentiments were shared by co-host Tomi Lahren.

Boomer Esiason: Aaron Rodgers Coverage ‘Has Sucked the Entire Life Out of the NFL’

BSM Staff
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With the National Football League season just two weeks away, focus in the New York metropolitan area is focused on the performance of new superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets, a team with Super Bowl expectations. The Jets have been featured on Hard Knocks throughout training camp and also produce their own internal behind-the-scenes series, One Jets Drive. In fact, the award-winning content from the 1JD production team has rendered WFAN anchor Jerry Recco over Hard Knocks with just two episodes to go.

“This is not a knock on Hard Knocks, because I’ve enjoyed it, as much as I think the Jets production is that good,” Recco said Tuesday morning on WFAN.

Across the NFL landscape, the Jets have been at the center of attention and seem to be facing added levels of pressure not placed on the franchise for quite some time. Rodgers and “Gang Green” will seek to snap a 12-year playoff drought and win the organization’s first Super Bowl championship in 54 years, but the path to get there will not be easy. The Jets face several established contenders in the AFC throughout the first few weeks of the season, garnering nationally-televised contests.

As Recco was finishing the latest episode of One Jets Drive, he began to think about how the sports conversation in the area is centered on the Jets. The perspective engendered his consideration of the other NFL team in the area – the New York Giants – and how the organization must feel during this offseason.

“If I’m a Giants fan, I’m ticked,” Recco said. “My team last year not only made the playoffs, [but] they won a playoff game [and] they signed the quarterback. They got the running back back; year two of Brian Daboll, and all I hear is, ‘Jets, Jets, Jets, Jets!,’ and I understand why, but that doesn’t mean I’m still not ticked off.”

Being a member of The NFL Today on CBS Sports in addition to his local radio hosting role on WFAN in New York, N.Y., Boomer Esiason knows that the Jets are dominating the discussion. There is a level of intrigue that has not surrounded the franchise in previous seasons, diverting attention from many other organizations with viable chances to compete for a championship.

“Aaron Rodgers sucked the entire life out of the entire NFL by coming to the New York Jets,” Esiason expressed. “It is by far and away the biggest story in the league this year.”

Esiason surmises that the Giants are not annoyed, but rather content that the Jets have the spotlight on them. Even so, Recco feels that people should start recognizing “Big Blue,” a team that overachieved in the eyes of many pundits by winning a road playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings.

“We are now approaching the season and I feel like it’s time that the Giants get their due from what they did last year,” Recco said. “Now I’m on the record – I think they’re going to be a good team this year. I think they’re going to miss the playoffs because I think the first half of their season schedule-wise is going to cripple them.”

Salem Radio Network Presenting Special on Former Host Turned College President

BNM Staff
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Former AM 1380 The Answer host Eric Hogue was named President of Colorado Christian University earlier this year. Salem Radio Network is slated to present a weeklong special series profiling the university and its new leader.

The 5-part special will be presented both by SRN News and Townhall News, detailing Hogue’s tenure as a talk host and news anchor in the California capital, as well as his rise to President of the university.

“In a tumultuous time for Christ-centered education in America, we wanted to highlight President Hogue, a Salem alum and ordained minister whose communication skills and passion for the Lord are unequaled,” said Salem Radio Network Vice President of News & Talk Programming Tom Tradup. “He is a gifted orator who reflects a Christian worldview that will electrify the campus in suburban Denver.”

Hogue joined the college in 2018 as its Vice President of University Advancement. He is embarking on his first academic year as the school’s president.

The first installment was aired today, which you can hear by clicking here.

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