When people talk about Apple having a blank checkbook to secure sports broadcasting rights, it doesn’t appear to be hyperbole.
Apple senior vice president of services Eddy Cue told the Daily Mail that the company isn’t just looking at securing rights domestically in the U.S.
“We’re a global company. We have customers in every country in the world,” he said. “And it’s not exciting for me to have something that you can have but you can’t have.”
Apple is paying $595 million over seven years for its deal with MLB for Friday night games, while also paying $2.5 billion over a decade to be the exclusive broadcast home for MLS. The company was a finalist to buy the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket, and it’s also been linked to discussions with the Pac-12 about being a partner in the college sports space.
But the tech giant has its sights set on being a worldwide sports media partner, and it’s taking a different approach to how business gets done in that area.
“This isn’t ‘Hey, I’ve got an opening from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. tonight, and I’m going to put this game on,'” Cue said. “That’s not the way we’re doing it. We’re all-in on this from an investment point of view, so it doesn’t work unless it’s something significant.”
Former WFAN host Mike Francesa said he has immense respect for Howard Cosell and what he did as a broadcaster, but it was interesting to him that Howard initially wasn’t a big fan.
Asked by a listener of his BetRivers podcastThe Mike Francesa Podcast via email if he ever knew Cosell, Francesa said he and Howard were never close. He recalled Cosell not liking how a younger Francesa’s broadcast approach at the time.
“He did not like my early presentation,” Francesa said. “He went after me a couple times where he thought I had too strong of opinions, and it’s funny because he made his whole life on opinions. And I was just getting started, but he came after me a couple times and that was fine. Getting recognized from Howard Cosell, it didn’t matter if it was good or bad.”
Francesa talked about how Cosell had a certain level of arrogance about him. He didn’t find fault in that, especially considering how successful Cosell was. But Francesa felt like Cosell’s bread and butter was in calling football games and being a commentator.
“What Cosell thought was that he was bigger than life. And he was a big personality, nobody’s saying he is not. But it worked for him inside the role where sports was the vehicle,” Francesa said. “The vehicle wasn’t Howard. The vehicle was Howard as a sports commentator. That worked. Howard as the entertainer or Howard as the personality it didn’t work. Not to the nation they couldn’t stand him, and his TV show bombed.”
Mike went on to say that reading highlights on Monday nights on ABC for Monday Night Football was classic Cosell. There was nothing that even came comparably close to what Howard was able to do in that space.
“Cosell would give you unscripted 60 seconds of the most dramatic sports commentary,” he said. “And it would have a setup. It would have a beginning, it would have a middle and it would have an end, and it would be perfectly crafted inside. And he’d go, ‘Back in 30 seconds’ and it was so good. So good. As good as anything I’ve ever heard. That was Howard Cosell.”
NFL training camps have officially started and will soon be kicking into high gear. NFL Network announced Monday that it will provide fans with more than 89 live hours of coverage of camps across the league beginning next week.
Inside Training Camp will be the show fans check out to get in-depth coverage and analysis, as well as player and coach interviews. Andrew Siciliano, Rhett Lewis, Colleen Wolfe and Scott Hanson will host, with Brian Baldinger, Michael Robinson, Steve Smith Sr., Daniel Jeremiah, David Carr, Maurice Jones-Drew, Steve Mariucci, Bucky Brooks, Marc Ross, Scott Pioli, Pep Hamilton, Leslie Frazier and David Shaw all offering analysis.
NFL insiders Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero, as well as reporters Judy Battista, Taylor Bisciotti, Sherree Burruss, Jeffri Chadiha, Bridget Condon, Stacey Dales, James Palmer, Omar Ruiz, Jane Slater, Sara Walsh, Cameron Wolfe and Steve Wyche will also contribute to the show.
NFL Total Access will be there to take viewers through the end of the day at camp starting at 6 p.m. MJ Acosta-Ruiz will host. Meanwhile Good Morning Football will continue to set the table for the day at 7 a.m. with Jamie Erdahl, Peter Schrager, Kyle Brandt, Jason McCourty and Will Selva.
Training camp coverage on Saturday and Sunday will be exclusive to NFL+. Coverage begins at 9 a.m. on both days. And NFL Media will continue to offer additional content and analysis on the digital side throughout training camp.
He said that Patrick was one of the few people that can understand and sympathize when he says there is a grind to doing SportsCenter. Van Pelt said he is not itching to leave the show. Instead, he was trying to be realistic about his future when Jimmy Traina asked him how much longer he could see himself hosting the show.
“My contract would run through like ten years of doing it,” Van Pelt said. “Ten years seems like a good time to say, ‘All right, is that the only thing you do? Is that what you do?’ Who knows? Who knows? But look, I love that I get to do this. I still am interested in the things that happen and the stories that happen, and the nights where you get to cover the biggest events feel huge. Then the challenge is on the nights when it doesn’t feel like that, can you still paint the corners? Can you still throw strikes?”
Patrick asked what the truth is behind reports that SVP was going to be the new host of Monday Night Countdown. Richard Deitsch of The Athletic tweeted that the job is Van Pelt’s last week, only to backtrack and say that Van Pelt in the chair is the outcome ESPN wants, but nothing is done yet.
Van Pelt said he didn’t want to be coy. It could happen, but he had more sympathy for athletes that protest a story about them that isn’t accurate.
“It was reported that I was the guy, and other than me not having been offered the job or accepting the job that I haven’t been offered, it was spot on,” he said. “People are congratulating me. It’s very strange. You know, you hear an athlete or somebody in sports say, ‘well, that’s just not true’ and you kind of always think, ‘sure, it is.’ Well, this was a situation where something was reported about me which was not accurate.”
Over the weekend, Twitter owner Elon Musk announced he would change the name, logo, and branding surrounding the social media platform to simply X. 95.5 WSB host Mark Arum isn’t a fan.
“I love Twitter. I was an early adapter,” Arum admitted Monday. “Elon — I know he’s trying to make a buck. I know he’s trying to get his money back for his investment, but some of his changes have been head-scratching.”
Arum continued by noting that he’s not an expert in the field, but it still doesn’t make sense on the surface.
“I don’t have a marketing degree. I took marketing classes in college as part of my communications thing. I’m not a marketing expert, but I just don’t — Twitter is one of the most recognizable brands in the world. I don’t understand the logic in changing from Twitter to X.”
The Atlanta host then argued that changing the name from Twitter to X would be like WSB changing its brand after more than 100 years of recognition, or Coca-Cola deciding it would rather be known as “Pop City”.
“I understand he’s tinkering with his toy. But I don’t understand the logic of changing the name. Maybe make it Twitter X. Keep the Twitter there,” stated Arum. “X Twitter or something. I don’t understand. That’s a billion-dollar brand — $44 billion brand — that he paid for. I don’t understand the logic of changing Twitter’s name. Someone explained it to me like I’m six.”
Albuquerque news/talk station KKOB has been named the Metro Market Station of the Year by the New Mexico Broadcasters Association during its annual Excellence in Broadcasting Awards event.
In addition to being named the station of the year, KKOB was also awarded six other honors, including Best Breaking News, Complete Newscast, and Sports play-by-play, among others.
Individually, KKOB news anchor Haylee Gonzales was named Newscaster of the Year.
“It’s the hard work and dedication to factual journalism that brings success. Each knows and understands just how important their work is in relaying details correctly and concepts honestly,” KKOB News Director John Summers said.
“The bottom line is simple. They love what they do. And it shows.”
With the start of the National Football League’s regular season just over a month away, the NFL on CBS has announced its broadcast lineup for the year. Of course, the proceedings conclude with CBS Sports’ broadcast of Super Bowl LVIII, the first under the NFL’s new media rights contract reportedly worth more than $12 billion annually. CBS Sports will also no longer be bound by a conference affiliation, meaning it has been granted a broader array of games and showcase matchups.
The marquee game of the week will be called by the lead broadcast team of Jim Nantz, Tony Romo and Tracy Wolfson, marking its seventh season together. Some of the matchups for the trio include the Thanksgiving Day matchup between the Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys; the Christmas Day showdown featuring the Las Vegas Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs and the AFC Championship Game. On Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, they will be present at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev. to call the Super Bowl, following record-setting viewership last year on FOX Sports.
The secondary broadcast team consists of Ian Eagle, Charles Davis and Evan Washburn, while the tertiary team consists of Kevin Harlan, Trent Green and Melanie Collins – all consistent from last season. The significant change comes in the new fourth team after Greg Gumbel exited the network’s coverage of the National Football League. Taking his place is Andrew Catalon, who was promoted to the role and is now working with Tiki Barber and Matt Ryan in the network’s premier three-man broadcast booth.
Barber hinted at an expanded role with the NFL on CBS recently on WFAN, and is the new co-host of its afternoon drive program, Evan & Tiki. AJ Ross will remain as the reporter for these broadcasts, with its first assignment at 1 p.m. EST on Sept. 10 in a matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Minnesota Vikings.
Spero Dedes enters his 13th year calling games for the NFL on CBS, but will now be paired with a new analyst in Adam Archuleta. Last season, Archuleta was working with Catalon, but they have been split up since the network pivoted its announcing lineup. They will be joined by Aditi Kinkhabwala on the sidelines in the Week 1 game between the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens.
Philadelphia Phillies television voice Tom McCarthy will also be working in a three-man broadcast booth featuring James Lofton and Jay Feely. The network rounds out its broadcast teams with a rookie broadcast team of Chris Lewis, Jason McCourty and Ross Tucker, taking the air for the first time with the NFL on CBS. Additionally, Beth Mowins will call play-by-play of select NFL games throughout the season, who also works with ESPN and Marquee Sports Network. She calls her first game of the NFL season in Week 3 when the Baltimore Ravens host the Indianapolis Colts at 1 p.m. EST.
Contributing across the broadcasts, Gene Steratore will also be returning as NFL rules analyst for his sixth year on CBS. Throughout each Sunday, various broadcasts will be turning to the former NFL official for expertise and insight. Furthermore, CBS Sports has added three new reporters – Tiffany Blackmon, Amanda Guerra and Justin Walters – to its lineup, and they will contribute throughout the season. In addition to Kinkhabwala, Amanda Renner will also return to the broadcast reporting lineup for the 2023 season.
The NFL Today lineup remains intact with returning host James Brown and analysts Nate Burleson, Bill Cowher, Boomer Esiason and Phil Simms. Joining the team this season is former superstar defensive end J.J. Watt for his first full time role in sports media since retiring. Watt was heavily pursued by various broadcast networks, including NBC Sports for its Big Ten coverage. Lastly, Jonathan Jones has retained his role as the lead NFL insider, bringing viewers inside information and unique perspectives about the league at large.
College GameDay will be back in 2023. The show is the originator of college football pregame shows hitting the road and the new season will begin in North Carolina on September 2.
The show may not look exactly the same following the exits of David Pollack and Gene Wojciechowski, but stalwarts Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard and Rece Davis will be on hand in Charlotte ahead of the Battle of the Carolinas. They will be joined by Pat McAfee, Jess Sims, Pete Thamel and Jen Lada.
More details, including a celebrity guest picker, will be revealed closer to the season. Right now, all we know is that the set will be at Romare Bearden Park in uptown Charlotte. A neutral site battle between North Carolina and South Carolina will be the backdrop for the season’s first show. It will also be the 440th road show in GameDay history.
The college football season has a sort of staggered start. While September 2 is counted as Week 1, fourteen teams will play the previous week in what is commonly referred to as Week 0.
College GameDay will do a special season preview ahead of Week 0. That show will be a two-hour special airing from the ESPN studios in Bristol.
A report from Newsbreak.com that claimed KNX News has ceased simulcasting on 1070 AM has been refuted by the Audacy-owned station.
The report from Newsbreak claims it “includes content written by AI tools”. It appears the AI tools took a post from the Los Angeles subreddit that claimed KNX News was no longer simulcasting on 1070 AM, noting a difference in what was airing on 97.1 FM.
However, the user that posted that topic was unaware that the station was airing brokered programming on Saturday morning on the AM band.
KNX News Program Director Alex Silverman has refuted the story.
“For emphasis and avoidance of doubt, this story is not true, and @knxnews has asked for it to be removed,” Silverman wrote on Twitter.
for emphasis and avoidance of doubt, this story is not true, and @knxnews has asked for it to be removed.
I also can't find any of the stuff the A.I. purportedly paraphrased from 'social media.' https://t.co/13KUzgB0RZ
Texas is a football state. The Houston Oilers may not have had the nationwide appeal that the Dallas Cowboys do, but fans were less than pleased to see them leave Space City for Tennessee after the 1996 season.
The franchise kept its nickname for two years before rebranding as the Tennessee Titans. It is paying tribute to those days with a new throwback uniform set.
Social media was filled with praise. Fans noted the uniqueness of the team’s old color scheme and oil derrick logo. All of that goodwill had one thing in common though – none of it was coming from Houston.
Instead, that city was indignant. It was evident in the way local sports talk hosts reacted to the Titans posting the first images of the Oilers throwbacks on Twitter.
Based on how tone deaf all the statements are from the Titans in revealing the Oiler jerseys tonight, I would assume if they wear them vs the Texans, Amy Adams will say that "We know a lot of Houstonians have fond memories of these jerseys so this is for them, too!" Lock.
This must bring back some great memories for the Nashville fans. All those games they went to w/ Earl & Dante. Dr. Doom & White Shoes. Oh wait, never mind, they have no memories of this. This logo. The Columbia blue. All of it means nothing to ‘em. But go ahead Titans, you do you https://t.co/7sD96heFyf
Sports Radio 610’s John McClain took an opposite approach. He says the outrage on display in the city rings hollow. After all, this is a team that drew less than 50 fans to rally designed to show how much the city values the NFL.
The Tennessee Oilers wore Oilers uniforms in 97-98, their first 2 seasons in Nashville. Nobody in Houston gave a hoot. In 99 they were renamed Titans and got new stadium, practice facility and uniforms that included some Columnia Blue. Nobody in Houston have a hoot. They do now!
(Thread) This is verifiably not true, with all due respect to my friend The General. We will discuss today. In 1999, when it still seemed Houston would not get the 32nd NFL expansion team, the Chronicle surveyed more than 1,000 Houstonians re. the Oilers and Tennessee's team … https://t.co/GXNHEm80rO
The Tennessee Titans have not set a date to roll out the throwback uniforms. Many have speculated, somewhat faseciously, that December 17 would be ideal. That is when the Houston Texans visit Nashville.
