Baltimore Orioles broadcaster Kevin Brown and his reported suspension has dominated the sports media cycle this week. Now, the announcer is speaking for the first time.
In a series of tweets, Brown shared that as a storyteller, he never wanted “to be a part of the story”.
“Unfortunately, recent media reports have mischaracterized my relationship with my adopted hometown Orioles,” Brown wrote. “The fact is that I have a wonderful relationship with the organization, and our ownership and front office has fully supported me since 2019 when I first came aboard.
“I ask that everyone disregard the distracting noise of the past few days. I have worked closely with O’s SVP Greg Bader for the past four years, and John Angelos and I have a solid dialogue based on mutual respect. We are all good here in Birdland!”
Unfortunately, recent media reports have mischaracterized my relationship with my adopted hometown Orioles. The fact is that I have a wonderful relationship with the organization, and our ownership and front office has fully supported me since 2019 when I first came aboard.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is set to bestow its prestigious Curt Gowdy Media Awards on several accomplished reporters and on-air personalities Friday night in a ceremony from Uncasville, Conn. Two ESPN staffers are being honored – Holly Rowe and Marc Spears – both of whom have made lasting impacts in sports media and revolutionized modern basketball coverage. Additionally, CBS Sports will be recognized for its innovation in covering and facilitating the growth of college basketball.
Marc Spears is winning the award for excellence in print media for his work over the more than three decades he has been in the field. The early stages of his career were rooted in Denver, Colo. as a beat reporter at The Denver Post for its coverage of Denver Nuggets basketball. Before working in Denver, he worked at smaller outlets in Tulsa, Okla., Los Angeles, Calif. and Louisville, Ky.
After 17 years with The Denver Post, he made the transition to The Boston Globe to cover the Celtics before pivoting to serve as chairman of the sports task force for the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). Spears reemerged in media in 2016 as a senior NBA writer for The Undefeated, which has since been renamed to Andscape. The company embarks in deep storytelling focused on conveying the intersections between sports, race and culture.
Spears inked a contract extension with ESPN in 2019, through which he began writing and creating content on a variety of additional ESPN platforms. He is one of the Association’s preeminent newsbreakers and widely viewed as a trusted source of information. Aside from hard news, Spears is dedicated to longform storytelling and has produced and written various features about niche areas of sports. Some of these projects include the music career of Damian Lillard, popular tattoo artist Steve Wiebe and a roundtable discussion about the stereotype of Black fathers raising future NBA players.
Reporter and play-by-play commentator Holly Rowe is receiving the award for excellence in electronic media and is one of ESPN’s most storied commentators. Before joining ESPN on a part-time basis in 1995, Rowe worked for different outlets in the Salt Lake City area and FOX Sports. Throughout her time with the network, she has unquestionably been a trailblazer for women looking to pursue careers in the industry.
Rowe has called play-by-play for softball, women’s college basketball and gymnastics among other sports, and also reports across various marquee properties – including Saturday Night Football on ABC. The Utah Jazz also reached a deal to add her to its broadcast team in 2021-22, returning Rowe to the city where her career began.
She inked a multi-year contract extension to remain with ESPN earlier this year, and was previously diagnosed with desmoplastic melanoma, a rare form of cancer that emanates from the nerves. The battles that she had to face inspired her to advocate for cancer research and prevention, leveraging her platform to try and make a difference in the world.
CBS Sports will be receiving the transformative media award for its coverage and subsequent growth of college basketball. Aside from covering the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament since 1982, the network presents various regular season games across conferences including the Big Ten, Big East and Mountain West. This year, the network is scheduled to air approximately 300 games on its linear channels and over-the-top (OTT) streaming service Paramount. The network partners with Warner Bros. Discovery Sports to televise the championship game to close out “March Madness” on CBS, TNT, TBS and TruTV.
Earlier this week, Cumulus filed a breach of contract lawsuit against former The Ticket hosts Dan McDowell and Jake Kemp. The former hosts have now filed legal responses, with some including blistering rebukes of the original suit.
In the response filed by attorneys for McDowell and Kemp, nearly every claim made by Cumulus in the original lawsuit is rebuffed, including the assertation that the duo’s new venture — a podcast called The Dumb Zone, a spinoff of their Ticket show The Hang Zone — is neither owned by The Ticket nor is it a competitor to the station.
“The Dumb Zone does not occur at any specific time. It is not published daily or even on five consecutive work days. There is nothing about The Dumb Zone that prevents or discourages listeners from listening to The Ticket at any time. To the contrary, Ticket listeners choose to listen to The Ticket based on the content The Ticket broadcasts,” the response says.
“If Plaintiff suggests that its audience has shrunk, it’s not difficult to identify the primary reason.”
In the original lawsuit, Cumulus claimed it owned The Dumb Zone name, logo, and digital properties, including the website and social media pages. However, lawyers for McDowell and Kemp argue that is untrue.
The Dumb Zone “was used by on-air personalities to preface a question or statement that might make the speaker sound dumb. It was not a segment of the show; it was never owned, promoted, or otherwise used by Plaintiff; it is not protected by trademark,” the filing reads.
The file continues by noting that The Hang Zone logo was created by a listener as a parody of a movie poster for the 1990 movie House Party, starring Christopher Reid, Robin Harris, and Martin Lawrence.
Photographic evidence appears to back up this claim.
A photo showing the similarities between the logo for the 1990 movie House Party, The Ticket program The Hang Zone, and a logo created for the recently launched podcast The Dumb Zone.
Lawyers for Dan McDowell and Jake Kemp argue that Cumulus never owned the logo for The Hang Zone, which in turn means they do not own the logo for The Dumb Zone.
The filing also shows McDowell as the owner and creator of the X, formerly Twitter, account @thedumbzone. It alleges he created the account in March 2011 and that Cumulus “has never owned, used, or had access” to the account.
Additionally, the pair refute claims they have disparaged The Ticket since their departure. The filing claims the pair “have meticulously avoided disparaging Plaintiff,” despite McDowell not having a “non-disparagement clause”. A footnote claims McDowell “has also chose to take the high road”.
In statements provided by both Dan McDowell and Jake Kemp, they allege the pair, along with The Hardline’s Corby Davidson and Bob Sturm, requested that all four of their contracts “expire simultaneously to let us negotiate in a more concerted manner. We were told at this meeting by (Cumulus Dallas Vice President/Market Manager Dan) Bennett that we were prohibited from discussing the particulars of our contracts with one another.”
The filing alleges actions taken by The Ticket management violate National Labor Relations Board standards, and the pair were retaliated against because of their desire to negotiate collectively.
Karen Gren Scholer, the United States District Judge presiding over the case, has ordered the two parties to undergo mediation on Tuesday, August 22nd.
According to multiple sources, ESPN Cleveland Director of Content Matt Fishman has exited the station after more than three-and-a-half years.
Fishman joined the Good Karma Brands station in January 2020 after more than 20 years of programming experience. Before joining ESPN Cleveland, he programmed MLB Network Radio, NASCAR Radio, and college sports channels for SiriusXM, as well as 610 Sports in Kansas City. He began his career at 670 The Score in Chicago.
Additionally, Fishman previously was a columnist for Barrett Sports Media.
Under Fishman’s tutelage, ESPN Cleveland grew TheLandOnDemand.com — the station’s subscription service — to include more video content. The outlet also grew its presence on YouTube to nearly 5,000 subscribers in a matter of months. The station also renewed its contract to remain one of the flagship stations of the Cleveland Browns during Fishman’s tenure.
Also of note, Fishman oversaw the station’s move into new studios in downtown Cleveland near the lakefront in 2021.
No word yet on how ESPN Cleveland will operate following Fishman’s exit. BSM did receive confirmation from Fishman that he has indeed left the company but he did not wish to provide additional details regarding his departure.
After eight years with the “Worldwide Leader,” Dianna Russini has decided it is time to move on. The longtime National Football League reporter and host is reportedly set to depart ESPN to join The Athletic as its lead NFL insider. Sources told Andrew Marchand of the New York Post that Russini was offered a raise to stay, but she instead chose to depart the entity.
Russini’s work with the outlet is expected to begin shortly as kickoff for the NFL season approaches. Her role is multi-faceted in scope, including traditional reporting, writing and appearing on video series and podcasts. ESPN reportedly desired to keep Russini, but it will now look internally at other candidates to fill the role, including Lindsey Thiry, Jeff Darlington and Kimberley Martin.
ESPN laid off several members of its on-air talent team, including several prominent NFL personalities such as Booger McFarland, Suzy Kolber and Keyshawn Johnson among others. These layoffs came after The Walt Disney Company’s mandate to lay off 7,000 employees across the enterprise, cutting $5.5 billion in operating costs. Upon the return of chief executive officer Bob Iger, the company endured a strategic reorganization, resulting in ESPN being viewed as its own business entity.
The network is in the midst of building a direct-to-consumer offering as its cable subscribers dwindle, last estimated at approximately 74 million households. Moreover, it recently inked a contract with PENN Entertainment to launch its own sportsbook, ESPN BET, which is set to be released to the public before the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Athletic is set to serve as the primary sports arm of The New York Times after the company decided to eliminate its venerated sports department. The decision is being actively opposed by The New York Times Staff Union, which filed a grievance against the company for its decision. This move did not result in any employees losing their job; rather, they are set to be reassigned within the company.
Earlier in the summer, The Athletic cut 4% of its newsroom, alarming sports journalists and consumers of the subscription-based product. In its quarterly financial report, the company divulged that operating losses decreased to $7.8 million thanks to more revenue from subscriptions and advertising. The revenue grew 55.3% in Q2 2023 to $30.4 million but was accompanied by rising operating costs due to marketing, digital delivery and product development costs. Its adjusted operating loss, however, decreased by 38.1% to $7.8 million year-over-year, a positive trajectory the company hopes to maintain. The New York Times Company is trying to render the outlet into a profitable venture, which it purchased in January 2022 for $550 million.
NBCUniversal has announced a multi-year agreement with EverPass Media that will grant the company the ability to distribute exclusive sports content from Peacock to commercial businesses across the United States. The deal comes ahead of the kickoff of football season, which, for NBC, marks the first year with rights to the Big Ten Conference. Peacock, the network’s over-the-top (OTT) streaming platform, will also exclusively present two games throughout the year – a contest between the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday, Dec. 23; and a Wild Card playoff game on Saturday, Jan. 13.
The platform will also broadcast Premier League matches, U.S. Women’s and Men’s National Team games and featured groups throughout various major golf tournaments. Additionally, long-heralded major sporting events, including the Preakness Stakes, Tour de France and SuperMotocross World Championship, will also be distributed by EverPass Media as part of this out-of-home media rights agreement.
“Peacock has one of the most extensive live sports offerings of any streamer in the U.S. and this exclusive agreement for the commercial distribution of its sports programming is an important milestone for EverPass,” Alex Kaplan, chief executive officer of EverPass Media, said in a statement. “Peacock’s exclusive sports events will now become widely available for commercial businesses, creating new opportunities to expand the reach of these events. We’re excited to continue building our content library and network of distribution partners to become the preeminent premium sports and entertainment content platform for commercial establishments.”
EverPass Media also came to terms with UPshow on a distribution agreement that will accentuate the reach of Peacock’s sports content to commercial venues around the world. UPshow was founded in 2015 and works in the digital marketing, communications and entertainment sectors. EverPass launched earlier in the year under 32 Equity, the National Football League’s strategic investment arm, along with RedBird Capital. It was initially used to exclusively distribute NFL Sunday Ticket to commercial establishments across the United States. The company works with bars, hotels, restaurants and other businesses to streamline the process of presenting these matchups to customers, and will now be firmly within the process for years to come.
Peacock continues to post losses, aligning with larger industry trends after rapid growth upon the launch of various direct-to-consumer platforms. The company divulged that it had an EBITDA loss of $651 million in its most recent quarterly earnings report, 39% higher than the figure last year.
Overall, its EBITDA losses are projected to surpass $3 billion this year, coming at a time of transition at the outlet following the departure of NBC Sports Chairman Pete Bevacqua. Mark Lazarus is now responsible for overseeing NBC Sports in his role as the chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group. The entity is reportedly considering trying to land part of the national media rights with the National Basketball Association upon the expiration of the existing deal after the 2024-25 regular season.
In 2003, conservative radio titan Rush Limbaugh departed his role with ESPN after making controversial comments about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. Michael Berry believes the situation broke Limbaugh’s heart.
“I think what we’ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well,” Limbaugh said in 2003. “There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn’t deserve. The defense carried this team.”
While discussing the anniversary of Frank Gifford’s death Thursday, Berry reminisced about Limbaugh’s role in analyzing the NFL with ESPN.
“They kicked him off of there,” Berry said. “And it absolutely broke his heart.”
The Houston-based host then shared that he thought Limbaugh would have been a great NFL owner, something he tried to accomplish but could never get the league’s support.
“Rush loved football. He was part of the ownership team that was buying the Pittsburgh Steelers. And I remember Sheila Jackson Lee that evil b — yeah, she was part of the group that made a huge stink and kept him from buying the Steelers,” Michael Berry continued. “Can you imagine how much he would have enjoyed sitting in the Rooney suite? As an owner of the Steelers? Oh, it would have been so much joy. He would have been so excited about it.”
Earlier this week, a Utah man was shot and killed as FBI agents attempted to serve a warrant over his threats toward President Joe Biden. MSNBC host Joe Scarborough believes Fox News is partially liable for the death.
During Morning Joe Friday, the longtime MSNBC morning host argued that statements aired by the network led the anti-FBI paranoia of the man that ultimately was killed by the agency.
“Talking about the tragedy that happened in Utah. It’s not just the conspiracy against, against Joe Biden and against Democrats that’s so deadly here. It’s this constant attack against the FBI, since the FBI has been forced to investigate Donald Trump getting his documents,” said Joe Scarborough. “They tried to get the FBI agents’ names so they could be threatened. And these stories about this fevered pitch hunt to unmask the FBI agents that actually did the search.
“But doesn’t this show the cost of telling people, whether it’s on Fox News or coming for Donald Trump, that the FBI is coming after you? They’re coming to knock down the doors of your home and they’re coming to shoot you. So you hear that time and time and time again — when you make a threat against the president — the United States and the FBI comes in, check it out. Your gun’s up! Again, hard not to look at all of these lies and these conspiracy theories against the FBI and not say they were responsible for the death of this man.”
The comments on Fox News by Joe Scarborough is the latest in a series of criticisms directed at the network. In the past two weeks, the Morning Joe host has slammed the network for “always lying” about the January 6th Insurrection, as well as its willingness to “trash America” to defend former President Donald Trump.
CNN has announced former Biden White House official Jamal Simmons has joined the network as a political commentator.
Simmons worked as the Deputy Assistant to President Joe Biden, and served as Communications Director for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Prior to joining the Biden White House, Simmons had nearly three decades of media experience. He has worked as a political contributor for both CBS News and NPR. He also worked as a digital host with Hill TV and has contributed opinion pieces to The New York Times.
In addition to his media work, he has worked on the Presidential campaigns for Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden.
For his new role at CNN, Simmons will be based in New York City.
Ahead of kickoff for the 2023 National Football League regular season, Audacy has announced that WFAN and the New York Giants have reached a deal to extend their partnership. The deal ensures that WFAN will continue as the flagship radio home of the team, airing all preseason, regular season and postseason games with Bob Papa, Carl Banks and Howard Cross on the call. Coming off a playoff berth last season, which included a road win in the first round, the expectations surrounding the team are rapidly elevating towards the quest for a Super Bowl.
This upcoming Monday, Aug. 14, WFAN’s daily programming lineup will broadcast live from Giants training camp in East Rutherford, N.J. The day begins with Boomer & Gio at 6 a.m. EST and then moves into the outlet’s two new programs – The Brandon Tierney and Sal Licata Show and Evan & Tiki. Over the course of the day, various Giants players, coaches and front office executives will join the programs to talk about the state of the team and the upcoming season. Legends will also lend their expertise to provide their thoughts on all of the action surrounding the team, which will be featured in six prime-time slots throughout the season – the maximum under the new television media rights deal.
“WFAN is proud to grow our long-standing partnership with the New York Football Giants,” Chris Oliviero, Audacy New York market president, said in a statement. “More opportunities for fans to connect with ‘Big Blue’ is our commitment – one that goes beyond Sunday and extends year round.”
The commitment is realized through the launch of new programming, including Big Blue Kickoff Live on Saturday mornings. Shaun Morash, who is an on-air contributor and producer behind the glass for Evan & Tiki, will co-host the program with Giants.com media managing producer and writer John Schmeelk. Fans can also watch the program across the team’s digital platforms throughout the week. The renewed partnership will also forge Giants Daily Update, giving fans the news and information they need to know straight from Quest Diagnostics Training Center ahead of each game.
“We are thrilled to add more Giants programming on WFAN this season, highlighted by our new Saturday morning preview show,” Nilay Shah, the team’s senior vice president of marketing and brand strategy, said in a statement. “With new and improved integration between WFAN and our digital platforms, we will be able to provide our fans with the best coverage on all things ‘Big Blue.’”
WFAN has been broadcasting Giants games since the 1996 season and presented games and programming surrounding the team’s Super Bowl championships in the 2007 and 2011 seasons. Former Giants running back and Ring of Honor member Tiki Barber currently hosts the station’s afternoon drive program with Evan Roberts.
