CNBC Fast Money contributors Guy Adami and Dan Nathan will launch a new weekly radio show on SiriusXM Business Radio.
In an announcement from the satellite company, it was revealed that MRKT Call will air on Mondays at 12:00 PM ET beginning next week.
“I have always believed that one of the most impactful, intimate, and powerful mediums is radio,” said Adami. “Sports radio captured the attention of an untapped audience in the 1990s, and I am convinced we can do the same with a high energy, no holds barred, intelligent approach in our market show on SiriusXM.”
In addition to discussions on the latest financial news, notes, and decisions, they’ll also offer SiriusXM subscribers the opportunity to call into the program to ask for advice on stock prices and financial decisions.
“When Guy and I founded RiskReversal Media, our goal was to take our experience demystifying market-moving news on CNBC to different platforms, meeting investors everywhere they are, in their ear, live-streaming, and on the go,” said Nathan.
“Our collaboration with SiriusXM is an exciting evolution of this strategy on a medium and service we not only use but believe is best-in-class.”
Mike Mulligan dislikes everything about Jeff Van Gundy. At the end of Thursday’s edition of Mully & Haugh, the 670 The Score morning man reacted with disgust to audio of the ABC analyst suggesting that an assist should be awarded to a player that passes to a teammate that is fouled if the teammate hits his free throws.
Dan Bernstein, who was in studio for the crossover segment, asked Mully if he really hates the suggestion or does he just hate that it is coming from Van Gundy.
“Unfortunately, my mind turned off when it was his voice,” Mully responded. “So, I don’t even know what we’re talking about.”
Others in the studio suggested that the disdain stems from the fact that Jeff Van Gundy was the coach of the Knicks, a team Mully hates. He disagreed.
“I think he’s terrible, and I think that broadcast is bad,” he said.
Bernstein noted that he is a huge fan of Stan Van Gundy’s work for TNT. He asked Mike Mulligan if his hate covers all of the Van Gundys or did it just apply to Jeff.
“Stan seems like a decent guy,” Mulligan answered. “I don’t adore his brother, but I do like his brother.”
Fox News primetime host Sean Hannity will present a sitdown interview with Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) next week.
The interview will take place at the Governor’s Mansion in Sacramento and will discuss topics like immigration, the economy, the 2024 presidential election, and the current state of democratic politics.
The announcement of Hannity’s interview with Newsom comes on the heels of the California governor announcing a proposed 28th Amendment. Newsom’s proposition is aimed at gun control, and would look to raise the minimum age of purchase to 21, mandate background checks and waiting periods for gun purchases, and would ban civilian purchases of assault weapons.
Newsom has not appeared on Fox News for a long-form interview since 2010, when he was serving as the Mayor of San Francisco.
Hannity’s sitdown interview will air on Monday, June 12th at 9:00 PM ET. On the same evening, CNN is scheduled to air a Republican town hall event with former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. That program — moderated by Anderson Cooper — is slated to begin at 8:00 PM ET.
The first two games of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets have attracted a larger than anticipated audience. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver shared with Dan Patrick that he has attended the first three NBA Finals games, and the atmosphere inside both arenas has been electrifying. The same seems to be true from the media angle with comparable ratings to last year’s matchup featuring the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors, a pleasantly surprising outcome marking sustainability and viability the league has worked to strengthen over the last decade.
“Probably after last night, we’re going to be up a little bit, which says a lot about the league that you have two midsize markets,” Silver said. “A popular team in Miami, and a Nuggets team that has never been in the Finals, and the fans are responding.”
Silver became the commissioner of the league in 2014, and since then has been a part of the league expanding its digital footprint. The NBA national media rights deal with The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Discovery expires at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, and speculation has already begun as to which entities will bid to present league games.
Patrick asked Silver how the Association can do a better job in utilizing its national media rights to market superstar players in smaller markets. Prior to the NBA Finals, Nikola Jokić was a two-time recipient of the Most Valuable Player award and a five-time NBA All-Star, but was only ninth in social media views. Over the last 30 days, Jokić has skyrocketed to No. 1 on the list, drawing more than 300 million video views across the NBA’s social media platforms.
“We have some influence,” replied Silver. “It’s interesting. To the networks, they do focus on the teams and players that they think are going to be most popular. In fairness to them, the ‘Joker’ hasn’t been in the Finals before.”
On Wednesday, ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy appeared on The Dan Patrick Show and reiterated ideas he has previously stated about modernizing basketball. Some of these ideas included doing away with halftime, offensive goaltending and changing the rules on free throws. Silver heard these remarks before appearing with Patrick on Thursday, and responded to the inquiry with intrigue regarding halftime.
“When we’ve looked to shorten it a bit – because I think you know we changed the format of the last two minutes a couple of years ago to speed the game along – and I think we forget sometimes that the guys really do need the break,” Silver said. “Put aside the programming at halftime; the commercials… maybe you could shorten it slightly. But I think it is meaningful to the players in addition to the coaching that goes on at halftime, [plus] the opportunity to get a breather.”
Silver also commented on the recent merger between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf, which has come under scrutiny because of human rights violations in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) owns a majority stake in LIV Golf, and has made lucrative offers to external golfers in an attempt to lure them to the entity. Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, along with several other golfers, took the money, and PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan is coming off as hypocritical after making remarks about how the deal comes off to families of survivors of the September 11 attacks. Silver divulged how the fund has not tried to make an offer for an NBA team; yet even so, the league only permits individuals to buy teams at the moment.
“When the Saudis invest in sports, it gets outsized attention,” Silver said. “I don’t want to complain about that because we want to get outsized attention. On the other hand, somebody could go down the list – they are investors in some of our largest American corporations. Some of the most well-known brands have investments from them…. With a sport like basketball, our Finals are distributed virtually everywhere in the world where the sport is played. It’s an opportunity to bring people together.”
The most vocal critic of Chris Licht and the “new” CNN — Keith Olbermann — is taking his victory lap Thursday.
During Countdown with Keith Olbermann, the former cable news host — who has frequently shared he believed Licht “ate paste” while the pair worked together at MSNBC — nearly took a somber tone in discussing Licht’s removal as the CEO of CNN.
Olbermann claimed that Licht was “doomed from the beginning” because he was “chasing a white whale” — being a cable news channel directed at the political center of the country, while maintaining strong ratings — at the direction of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
“There is no middle in American cable news. And the pursuit of that middle was doomed from the beginning and it could not have been successful under some other kind of Chris Licht from a different dimension who wasn’t a schmuck and didn’t know what he was doing. One can argue that the premise of going to the middle with people who think Bret Baier of Fox was the middle was a cover story for throwing CNN hard right. And I think that’s true, but it’s not really central to the key point. There is no middle. There’s no real middle in cable television news and there is no pretend middle. Nobody wants to watch that.”
The former cable news host then used a fledgling cable network as his example that there simply isn’t a mass audience for “down-the-middle” cable news coverage.”
“Ask the folks at NewsNation — formerly WGN America — which claims ‘unbiased U.S. news’ as its pretext, and which has been on the air for more than two years now with a lineup I have previously described as the Nick at Night of cable news. Chris Cuomo? Ashley Banfield? Dan Abrams? Elizabeth Vargas? And occasionally Bill O’Reilly?
“The audience for a given half-hour or hour on NewsNation is smaller than the audience for the podcast you’re listening to right now. And thank you for your confidence in me and don’t get me wrong, but if a TV news network cannot outdraw me, on a podcast, there’s something wrong with the premise.”
NBC Sports Chairman Pete Bevacqua will be departing the company at the end of June to join the University of Notre Dame as its director of athletics. NBCUniversal Television and Streaming Chairman Mark Lazarus sent an internal memo to staff members Thursday morning announcing the move, and stated that Bevacqua’s direct reports will answer to him for the time being.
“We want to thank Pete for his many contributions to NBC Sports and NBCUniversal since he joined us in 2018,” Lazarus said in the memo. “….Please join me in congratulating Pete and wishing him great success.”
Bevacqua is a University of Notre Dame alumnus and receiving his dream job in being named the successor to Jack Swarbrick. He joined NBCUniversal in 2018 as the president of the NBC Sports Group, and was subsequently elevated to chairman in 2020. As the third person to hold the chairman position, he has overseen the network’s presentation of the Olympics, Sunday Night Football and the Golf Channel, along with additional assets. He and his team completed a new media rights agreement with the National Football League to ensure NBC would remain the home of Sunday Night Football – and helped usher in the new television broadcast booth of Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth.
Bevacqua also assisted in reacquiring media rights for the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open golf championships, along with Premier League soccer. Furthermore, the company completed a seven-year media rights agreement with the Big Ten Conference, enhancing its college sports portfolio. Bevacqua also helped secure a partnership with PointsBet, making it the official sports betting partner of the company’s sports division.
“This is a dream come true,” Bevacqua said to Sports Illustrated. “With the exception of my family, nothing means more to me than Notre Dame. I don’t have a memory in my lifetime, quite literally, where Notre Dame wasn’t a part of it. At this stage of my life, I feel like everything I’ve done has prepared me for this.”
Bevacqua will begin working on the university’s campus on July 1 as a special assistant for athletics under Notre Dame president Rev. John Jenkins. Swarbick’s final day on the job has not yet been determined, but he and Bevacqua will work in tandem to ensure a smooth transition. Some media pundits may question Bevacqua’s decision, and he realizes the irregularity of the move; however, it represents the realization of a lifelong dream.
“I didn’t have a burning desire, necessarily, to be an athletic director,” Bevacqua stated. “I had a burning desire to be the athletic director at Notre Dame.”
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football games are exclusively broadcast on NBC, and could perhaps improve the school’s relationship with the entity. Its independent media rights deal with NBC concludes in 2025, and a previous report by Sports Business Journal suggested it could receive $60 million annually in its next deal, although the negotiating landscape has presumably changed since then. Bevacqua played for the school football team as a walk-on punter, and previously served as the CEO of the PGA of America. While in that role, he negotiated a 15-year media rights extension with NBC for various landmark events, including the PGA Professional Championship, Ryder Cup and Senior PGA Championship. He believes having firsthand knowledge about the dynamic state of the media industry could be advantageous to him as he positions the school for the future.
“Such a large part of college athletics now, and the success of any athletic program, is baked into the media landscape,” Bevacqua said. “Obviously, having a very direct knowledge of where the media landscape is in the U.S., the power of linear television and where that’s heading, the paradigm shift of the direct-to-consumer streaming environment—you kind of add up those elements and I feel like I have the background and the professional experiences to come into this at a good pace.”
As the BetQL Network continues its burgeoning expansion across the country, its flagship program You Better You Bet will now be heard on 1580 and 99.3 The Fanatic, a sports betting station in Phoenix, Ariz. The radio show will be aired weekdays from 12 to 4 p.m. MST on weekdays, and is hosted by Nick Kostos and Ken Barkley. With the addition, the program is now available to consume on 48 stations in 44 markets nationwide, some of which include Chicago, Ill., Los Angeles, Calif. and New York, N.Y.
“We’re pumped to continue the growth and reach of You Better You Bet and introduce the show to Arizona’s sports betting station,” Mitch Rosen, vice president of Audacy’s BetQL Network, said in a statement. “We’re confident Phoenix sports fans and betting enthusiasts will quickly incorporate the show’s unique combination of insights and ‘Wagertainment’ into their daily listening habits.”
Rosen was promoted to vice president of BetQL Network after previously serving as its director of operations. He is responsible for overseeing BetQL brand manager Andrew Williams while leading the network’s talent, production and writing teams. Additionally, Rosen continues to work as the vice president and brand manager of 670 The Score while supporting the expansion of BetQL Network’s reach and partnerships.
BetMGM is the exclusive sportsbook partner of the BetQL Network and has category exclusivity on the network’s programming. The BetQL Network distributes nearly 100 hours of original content on a weekly basis across Audacy and BetQL digital platforms. This comes at a time when the global sports betting market continues to augment in value, with an expected total valuation of just over $182 billion by 2023, according to a report by Grand View Research.
Both online and in-person sports betting is legal in Arizona, but it has yet to become precedent across the entire country. The U.S. Supreme Court decision made in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (2018) gave the states regulatory power over sports betting, a practice that had long been illicit outside of the state of Nevada.
“Sports betting in Arizona has become very popular since becoming legal in 2021,” Ron Cohen, president and general manager of CRC Broadcasting Company said in a statement. “The addition of You Better You Bet provides another compelling reason why Phoenix area sports fans choose KQFN The Fanatic for timely, valuable and entertaining sports programming. The addition of this show has further solidified The Fanatic as Arizona’s sports betting station!”
As the prospective 2024 Republican presidential field continues to grow, media outlets have started preparations for how they will cover the nomination process. NBC News anchor Lester Holt says it’s easy to overcomplicate the process.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the NBC Nightly News anchor was asked about a report that the RNC was “impressed” by his pitch to moderate a debate featuring the prospective candidates. When asked how he would approach it, he argued the simpler the better.
“I probably wouldn’t reinvent the wheel. It’s a big crowd on that stage, and you really are wanting them to reveal themselves,” Holt said. “You have to let them kind of suss each other out and stake their game. But you know, those are always potential turning points in the direction of these elections.”
He was also asked about the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. Holt said there used to be some downtime in the race. However, he believes that simply doesn’t exist any longer.
“We used to think of this as the bye year, but there is no time off. We are into it. I always think the challenge in covering any election is to try to get the candidates to reveal themselves. And that’s really the most important thing,” the NBC Nightly News anchor shared.
“No matter what anyone else is saying around them, there will be those moments along the campaign trail that they’re going to define themselves. We want to be there to capture those moments.”
New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson overshadowed part of the NBA Finals action Wednesday after it was announced that he and his girlfriend Ahkeema were expecting a baby girl. Yet a string of tweets from OnlyFans model Moriah Mills have shifted the discussion, suggesting they had seen one another at a point without Mills knowing about Williamson having another relationship. Basketball fans across social media bombarded Williamson after the revelation became public, and it was a topic of discussion on coverage of the league throughout the ensuing days. On the latest edition of the eponymously named The Stephen A. Smith Show, Stephen A. Smith spoke about Williamson and surmised that he had figured out why Williamson only played 29 games during this past season.
“I’ve been waiting for the leg to heal Zion,” Smith said. “….New Orleans has been waiting for a while. I mean, we’ve been waiting, man. No wonder you ain’t healthy; I’m talking about your legs. I’m just saying, man. What I’m concerned about is we need those legs spry, but you can’t get healthy. Your lower extremities were compromised.”
Fred Toucher and Rich Shertenlieb of 98.5 The Sports Hub never thought that one of their morning show’s newest segments – titled “Stephen A. Smith is horny” – would take place more than once over a six-week span. Yet it has quickly become a hit, with show listeners messaging Shertenlieb on social media whenever they see a clip that could fit the comedic bit. Because of the situation regarding Williamson and Smith’s reaction to it, which was filled with caesura and vocal intonation, the segment made its third appearance in the past two weeks on Thursday morning.
“ESPN is committed to just basically featuring two people – Mike Greenberg and Stephen A. Smith,” Toucher said. “If there’s a third I forget it – oh yeah, they’re bringing in… Pat McAfee. So there’ll be three people that are doing all of it.”
Toucher has concluded that Smith has a live microphone in front of him at all times, with ESPN recognizing his appeal to its consumers. After all, Smith is a featured commentator on First Take, works on NBA Countdown, hosts an alternate game telecast for select NBA matchups and podcasts at least three times a week.
“He’s basically in a television prison all day,” Toucher said of Smith. “He’s not allowed out. He is a man after all – he’s not old. I’d imagine he’s around 50; that doesn’t mean he’s dead.”
Smith, 55, was mocked throughout the latest edition of the segment for his breaths and phrasing, filled with both hosts doing impressions of him. It even resulted in a production person creating a soundboard where the show quickly replayed soundbites from Smith’s statements on Williamson. Eventually, the show put it to the tune of “Mah Na Mah Na,” a song made famous by The Muppets, leading to unrestrained, mirthful laughter from those in the studio.
“Stephen A. Smith turns into Christopher Lloyd and Roger Rabbit when he’s horny,” Shertenlieb said, referring to Smith’s fluctuating vocal range.
“He’s in that TV prison horny as hell,” Toucher added.
As the segment concluded, Toucher wondered if Smith would ever be allowed off of the ESPN airwaves for a day, as he seems to always be part of the network’s subconscious. Smith is reportedly paid $8 million annually by ESPN and is perceived as someone untouchable as The Walt Disney Company nears its conclusion of laying off 7,000 employees. Pat McAfee is set to join the network this fall in a multiyear, multi-million dollar agreement, and will host The Pat McAfee Show afternoons on ESPN’s linear channel and on various digital platforms.
“It’s without fail now – at least once a week, he gets horny,” Shertenlieb expressed.
Chris Plante recently launched a primetime panel show on Newsmax, and after spending 17 years at CNN, he shared his knowledge of what is happening behind the scenes as the network continues going through a tumultuous time.
During Chris Plante The Right Squad Wednesday, the panel discussed the departure of Chris Licht, when Plante felt it was important to note that “I actually worked for CNN for many years back in that era.”
He then clarified his duties at the network before sharing that he departed for what he viewed as a liberal bias.
“I was at the Pentagon covering the military and intelligence community most of the time, and I eventually left in disgust because I came to my senses,” Plante concluded.
Plante’s comments came after panelist Kelly Sadler said that the “rebellion in the newsroom” was what led to Licht’s downfall, claiming that reporters and hosts didn’t want to move from their left-leaning positions.
“They were happy in their left-leaning lane that got zero ratings, and they want to be there, and no matter what leadership does, unless they fire their anchors and their news reporters, there’s going to be no change whatsoever at CNN,” said Sadler. “They’re just gonna fall to the leftist mob.”
