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Bonneville Settles Denver Sports Trademark Infringement Lawsuit

BSM Staff
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Bonneville Settles Denver Sports Trademark Infringement Lawsuit

After debuting the Denver Sports branding for 104.3 The Fan earlier this year, Bonneville was hit with an injunction from digital brand DNVR for what it called trademark infringement. That suit has now been settled.

At the time of the brand’s launch, ALLCITY CEO Brandon Spano said “We can’t allow someone that represents the exact opposite of us to damage the goodwill of our brand or create confusion in the community.”

After the settlement, Bonneville debuted a new logo for the brand, which is more similar to those used for the company’s stations in Sacramento, Phoenix, and Seattle.

“Bonneville has decided to alter its logos to allow both parties to put this matter behind them and focus on building their respective brands,” a joint statement from the two parties read.

When the Denver Sports brand was launched, it utilized black and white iconography, with mountains and the city of Denver skyline centered inside a hexagon. ALLCiTY Network — parent company of DNVR — argued that the logo was too similar to its already established branding, which featured a black and white silhouette of the Rocky Mountains and the sun inside a rectangle.

The statement released after the case was settled shares that both parties “remain committed to providing Mile High sports fans with their own unique brands of coverage and commentary. They wish each other well in their respective operations.”

Layoffs Coming To WWE Following Endeavor Acquisition

BSM Staff
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Endeavor has acquired WWE and will combine it with UFC to form a combat sports powerhouse. Even though the two promotions will continue to operate separately, the fact that they are now under one roof means that some positions within the company are currently filled by multiple people. When that happens, layoffs can be expected and Endeavor’s Mark Shapiro says this company will be no exception.

The Endeavor COO did not give a target number for cost reduction. He told Puck’s Dylan Byers that when Endeavor acquired UFC, it shed $70 million in costs and expects to surpass that this time around.

“Anything from H.R. to finance to legal to communications production to distribution and marketing,” Shapiro said. “Across every area, you’re going to find cost synergies; you’re going to integrate and ultimately highlight and appoint the best and brightest teams.”

Wall Street has had a very interesting response to the acquisition. WWE’s stock price is up 10% while Endeavor’s has fallen. Byers notes that is largely about the amount of debt Endeavor is taking on. 

Byers writes that means other Endeavor properties could be on the chopping block. He suggests that the company may look to unload a business like the IMG Academy in Florida, a high school designed to spotlight elite athletic prospects. 

There is also optimism regarding what Endeavor can generate by leveraging newly acquired WWE IP. The success of Wrestlemania 39 should be a sign that the live events business Endeavor has just acquired is very healthy.

99.9 The Fan, Carolina Hurricanes Agree to Extension

BSM Staff
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99.9 The Fan, Carolina Hurricanes Agree to Extension

99.9 The Fan in Raleigh has announced it has agreed to an extension with the Carolina Hurricanes to remain the flagship station of the Hurricanes Radio Network.

The new deal lasts through the 2025-2026 NHL season. 99.9 The Fan will continue to carry a simulcast of Bally Sports South’s television broadcasts, which are currently staffed by Mike Maniscalco (play-by-play) and Tripp Tracy (analyst).

“We’re really excited about continuing our long-standing relationship with the Carolina Hurricanes,” said Brian Grube, General Manager of Radio at Capitol Broadcasting. “We’re looking forward to providing more great audio coverage across multiple platforms.”

99.9 The Fan will also continue to produce the Storm Watch pregame show and Aftermath postgame show for every broadcast.

“We are happy to extend our affiliation with Capitol Broadcasting, who has provided a radio home for so much of our time in North Carolina,” said Carolina Hurricanes President and General Manager Don Waddell.

The ‘Canes and 99.9 The Fan partnership dates back to the 2007-2008 season.

Vince Coglianese: NPR Won’t Even Acknowledge Government Subsidies

BNM Staff
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Twitter designated National Public Radio’s official Twitter account as state-sponsored media, angering left-wing journalists at the company and eliciting mockery from conservatives online. The words “US state-affiliated media” now appear under the account’s verification badge since the organization receives U.S. taxpayer funding.

According to The Daily Wire, After an account posted a screenshot of NPR’s label on the platform, Twitter CEO Elon Musk shared the company’s policy on labeling state-affiliated media. The policy defines state-affiliated media as outlets where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution. 

NPR President John Lansing lashed out at the designation, claiming that the organization provides “fact-based journalism.” Lansing added, “We were disturbed to see last night that Twitter has labeled NPR as ‘state-affiliated media,’ a description that, per Twitter’s own guidelines, does not apply to NPR.”

WMAL host Vince Coglianese tweeted that the statement was written like a political campaign and criticized Lansing for not acknowledging the role of government funding in subsidizing NPR.

“Notice that he doesn’t even bother to acknowledge the role government funding does play in subsidizing NPR. This is written like a statement from a political campaign,” Coglianese said, quote tweeting Lansing.

NPR garnered attention from conservative pundits for its decision not to cover the Hunter Biden laptop scandal in the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election. NPR Managing Editor Terence Samuels explained the decision, stating that they did not want to waste time on stories that were not substantial or would distract their listeners and readers.

G Audio Networks Drops Lou Dobbs

BNM Staff
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All Access has confirmed that G Audio Networks will no longer syndicate the Lou Dobbs Financial Reports” radio feature three times daily. Affiliates have been notified of the feature’s termination and offered support for the transition until the show’s last broadcast on April 30th. Salem Radio Network previously distributed the show before its move to G Audio Networks one year ago.

Lou Dobbs, a renowned business news anchor, and bestselling author, has received several accolades for his work, including the Wall Street Journal’s “TV’s Premier Business News Anchorman,” numerous Emmy awards, a CableACE Award, and a Peabody Award.

However, Dobbs has recently faced controversy due to his former show on Fox Business Network being implicated in Dominion’s defamation suit against Fox News. The lawsuit accused the network of spreading false information about election fraud, and Dobbs’s show was cited as a contributor to this misinformation.

Although Dobbs has been embroiled in controversy, he continues to be a highly-regarded personality in business news. He has amassed a considerable fanbase for his radio program. As a result, discontinuing the Lou Dobbs Financial Reports is bound to impact both affiliates and listeners significantly.

Don Lemon Denies Accusations of Sexist Behavior

BNM Staff
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Don Lemon has rejected accusations of “sexist” behavior at CNN, calling claims made in a recent Variety exposé “patently false.” The article, published on Wednesday, alleged that Lemon had exhibited questionable conduct since he joined CNN in 2006, including sending malicious texts, mocking female colleagues, and engaging in “diva-like behavior.” The report cited multiple unnamed sources, some of whom accused Lemon of misbehaving toward female co-workers.

One of the most severe allegations against Lemon concerned an incident in 2008 when he allegedly threatened his co-anchor after she was given a high-profile assignment that he had wanted. According to Variety, Lemon tore up pictures and notes on the desk he shared with his co-anchor and sent her an anonymous text message saying, “Now you’ve crossed the line, and you’re going to pay for it.”

The article claims that CNN investigated the incident and traced the texts back to Lemon. However, Lemon denies the incident and says he was never informed of any research. CNN also says that it cannot corroborate the alleged events.

Some former co-workers of Lemon spoke out against him, including Goldie Taylor, a former CNN consultant who appeared on Lemon’s weekend show. Taylor claimed she was banned from appearing on the show after criticizing Lemon for controversial comments about the Black community. She said that she was not surprised by Lemon’s behavior and that he seemed to target women.

The article claimed that Lemon had spoken derogatorily of former CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien on an editorial call over a decade ago. Lemon allegedly suggested that O’Brien was not even Black and was upset when she was chosen to host CNN’s Black in America docuseries. Lemon denies making any derogatory remarks about O’Brien’s race, and CNN says that he and others have correctly referred to her Afro-Cuban heritage in the past.

Lemon has been in the news frequently in recent months for several incidents that have raised concerns about his conduct. In February, he made “sexist” remarks about the U.S. women’s soccer team and was temporarily sidelined for declaring that Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley “isn’t in her prime.” There have also been rumors that he is not getting along with his CNN This Morning co-hosts. In response to the Haley incident, CNN confirmed that Lemon would undergo “formal training” but did not provide specifics.

Don Lemon has rejected accusations of “sexist” behavior at CNN, calling claims made in a recent Variety exposé “patently false.” The article, published on Wednesday, alleged that Lemon had exhibited questionable conduct since he joined CNN in 2006, including sending malicious texts, mocking female colleagues, and engaging in “diva-like behavior.” The report cited multiple unnamed sources, some of whom accused Lemon of misbehaving toward female co-workers.

One of the most severe allegations against Lemon concerned an incident in 2008 when he allegedly threatened his co-anchor after she was given a high-profile assignment that he had wanted. According to Variety, Lemon tore up pictures and notes on the desk he shared with his co-anchor and sent her an anonymous text message saying, “Now you’ve crossed the line, and you’re going to pay for it.” The article claims that CNN investigated the incident and traced the texts back to Lemon. However, Lemon denies the incident and says he was never informed of any research. CNN also says that it cannot corroborate the alleged events.

Some former co-workers of Lemon spoke out against him, including Goldie Taylor, a former CNN consultant who appeared on Lemon’s weekend show. Taylor claimed she was banned from appearing on the show after criticizing Lemon for controversial comments about the Black community. She said that she was not surprised by Lemon’s behavior and that he seemed to target women.

The Variety article also discussed Lemon’s involvement in the Jussie Smollett controversy. In 2019, Lemon texted Smollett to tell him that the Chicago Police Department did not believe he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack, which the actor had reported. The article suggests that Lemon may have been trying to get information to break on his show rather than warning Smollett. Although one source told Variety that Lemon “should have been benched” amid the network’s investigation, CNN is standing by its star.

The article claimed that Lemon had spoken derogatorily of former CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien on an editorial call over a decade ago. Lemon allegedly suggested that O’Brien was not even Black and was upset when she was chosen to host CNN’s Black in America docuseries. Lemon denies making any derogatory remarks about O’Brien’s race, and CNN says that he and others have correctly referred to her Afro-Cuban heritage in the past.

Lemon has been in the news frequently in recent months for several incidents that have raised concerns about his conduct. In February, he made “sexist” remarks about the U.S. women’s soccer team and was temporarily sidelined for declaring that Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley “isn’t in her prime.” There have also been rumors that he is not getting along with his CNN This Morning co-hosts. In response to the Haley incident, CNN confirmed that Lemon would undergo “formal training” but did not provide specifics.

Lemon and CNN have vehemently denied the allegations made in the Variety article, calling them “unsourced, unsubstantiated, 15-year-old anonymous gossip.” While some former colleagues have criticized Lemon’s behavior, CNN is standing by him and says it cannot corroborate the claims made in the article. The controversy surrounding Lemon highlights ongoing concerns about workplace culture and behavior in the media industry, particularly gender, and race.

While some former colleagues have criticized Lemon’s behavior, CNN is standing by him and says it cannot corroborate the claims made in the article. The controversy surrounding Lemon highlights ongoing concerns about workplace culture and behavior in the media industry, particularly gender, and race.

Anatomy of a Broadcaster – Boog Sciambi

Andy Masur
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Anatomy of a Broadcaster – Boog Sciambi

In the sports broadcasting industry, if you say “I saw Boog today”, nobody looks at you funny. They know immediately who you are talking about. 

Jon “Boog” Sciambi is one of the more recognizable people in the world of play-by-play. He currently serves as the voice of the Chicago Cubs on the Marquee Sports Network. Sciambi is also the voice of Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN Radio. He’ll add World Series duties on ESPN Radio this fall. 

Sciambi grew up in Philadelphia as a huge Phillies fan. Strange that he got a job with the Cubs, because it was a Cubs/Phillies game in 1976 that he got his first exposure to the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field. When Sciambi was six years old, he was visiting his grandparents and got to watch the game on TV. 

The Cubs took a 12-1 lead after three innings. He wasn’t leaving and in fact predicted the Phillies would come back and win it. He was right, thanks to his favorite player Mike Schmidt hitting four home runs in the game for an 18-16 extra inning win. 

As is the case with some of us that get into baseball broadcasting, our first choice would be to play the sport. Sciambi went to Boston College with that intent, but that dream ended when he was cut from the team as a freshman. He started bar tending and dabbling in radio, with a weekly talk show with two of his good friends, who we’ll talk more about in a bit. 

ROAD TO MARQUEE/CUBS

On January 4, 2021, Marquee Sports Network named Sciambi as the play-by-play announcer for its Cubs telecasts. 

“When you look at the signature franchises in baseball, you’re talking about the Yankees, the Dodgers, the Red Sox, and the Cubs,” Sciambi said at the time in a Marquee Sports Network release. “Chicago has always been one of the special places to go broadcast the game. Baseball matters there.” It was quite a road in getting there. 

Sciambi got his first real taste of broadcasting at BC’s 1000-watt FM radio station. He would host a weekly talk show with fellow classmates, Joe Tessitore and Bob Wischusen, both of whom have their success stories in the industry.

In 1996, Sciambi, worked for the Boise Hawks, an Angels’ farm club in a short-season A league. One day, he decided to ask broadcaster Dave O’Brien to review his play-by-play. 

“A few days after I gave him the tape, he stares at me for a second, holds up the tape and says ‘When you gave me this tape, I thought it would stink. It didn’t.’” Sciambi told the Sports Broadcast Journal in 2019. 

Sciambi’s first break in Major League Baseball was getting into the play-by-play chair for the then Florida Marlins from 1997-2004. While in Miami, he hosted talk shows in the city on 790 The Ticket and WQAM. He left the former in 2008 to focus on his new main job, with the Atlanta Braves. 

Boog joined the Braves broadcast team on SportSouth and FSN South in 2007. He was paired with Joe Simpson. Late in the 2009 season Sciambi announced he was leaving the Braves to join ESPN’s Major League Baseball and college basketball coverage full-time. Sciambi is the network as the play-by-play voice for MLB on ESPN Radio, while continuing the same role for college basketball and MLB on ESPN, which he had done since 2005. 

At ESPN, Sciambi served as one of the play-by-play voices of Wednesday Night Baseball telecasts for the network beginning with the 2014 season. Sciambi had contributed to ESPN Radio’s World Series coverage as the on-site studio host since 2007 and provided post-game, on-field interviews for SportsCenter. Additionally, he had done play-by-play for both the College and Little League World Series and in 2020, served as a play-by-play commentator for ESPN’s KBO League coverage. It was announced last season, that Sciambi would take over the broadcasts of the World Series on ESPN Radio, starting with this year’s Fall Classic. 

Sciambi was also tabbed to replace Matt Vasgersian as the play-by-play voice of MLB: The Show video game series, starting with MLB The Show 22. He’s paired with Chris Singleton who used to be part of the Chicago White Sox’s broadcast. 

Sciambi said that he recorded over 200 hours of audio to get in all the player names, types of plays, and other sorts of commentary that might typically be in a game broadcast.

PLAY-BY-PLAY

While Sciambi excels at every sport he does, I think his voice best lends itself to baseball. He’s smooth and polished, but not to the extreme that it sounds forced in any way. Sciambi’s style is all his own. That’s a compliment. 

There are many voices out there today that sound the same, like machines, very ‘announcer-y’. Fake effected voices are a dime a dozen, but ones like Sciambi’s are in a class of their own. He doesn’t try to sound like anyone else. In fact, I’ve had multiple conversations with him over the years and the way he talks off air is the way he talks on air. 

Sciambi has a booming voice that he controls very well. He’s very conversational in between the action, but rises to the occasion when the play warrants excitement, enthusiasm or disappointment. Then there’s his sense of humor. I love the fact that Sciambi isn’t afraid to poke a little fun at himself. Self-deprecation goes a long way with a viewer, especially if a mistake gets made. Everyone is human, so own it right?

I like how Sciambi is able to simplify some of the more complicated details of the new stats and numbers in the game of baseball. He is able to explain them in terms that even those who don’t follow closely can understand. For example, on a Tuesday night broadcast from Cincinnati, Boog was talking about the importance of Exit Velocity. He started by saying something to the effect of “I know this frustrates some people to hear about how hard a ball is hit. But, last year in the Major Leagues, if you hit the ball 95 miles an hour or above you hit .488, that’s why exit velocity matters.” His broadcast isn’t riddled with analytics, but there’s enough there to keep the interested parties happy without driving those that aren’t away. 

I’m a big fan of Sciambi’s work. I’ve known him for a while and he’s as good a person as he is a broadcaster. 

DID YOU KNOW?

Sciambi is passionate about raising awareness for and supporting people who live with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS. His friend, Tim Sheehy, died of ALS in 2007. Sciambi is on the board of directors of Project Main St., which works to improve the quality of life for those affected by the disease. The organization, which has raised over $1 million, hosts an annual Tim Sheehy Gala and Softball Classic support their mission.  

Remember that I told you, Sciambi’s favorite Phillies player growing up was Mike Schmidt? How about this? The night that the Cubs announced Sciambi had taken the job as their broadcaster, he got a call from an unfamiliar number, and low and behold, it was Schmidt himself. 

Sciambi’s nickname, “Boog,” was given to him owing to his physical resemblance to former major league player Boog Powell. 

Pac-12 Media Deal Expected to Put Less Than 50% of Games on TV

BSM Staff
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With the can being kicked down the road for this long with the Pac-12 Conference and a new media rights deal, it appears the clock is running out on the conference being able to feature more than half of its slate of football games on linear television when the new deal begins.

The big five networks are seeing their available inventory to air Pac-12 games disappear, and that’s brought on an outlook that any new deal will see a streaming giant get the majority of the games according to CBS’s Dennis Dodd.

With two less member schools following the departure of UCLA and USC to the Big Ten, the Pac-12 will likely be bringing in less TV money on the next new rights deal, but the hope is that the conference will see the annual figure somewhere around the same $31.6 million number the Big 12 reached in its new media rights deal.

But there’s a belief that networks like ION and CW could potentially come in and help get the Pac-12 over that 50% number. ION is owned by Scripps, which recently launched a sports division that has media rights in mind. Meanwhile CW is owned by Nexstar Media Group, with their largest sports property being LIV Golf.

Hans Olsen: I Wouldn’t Leave Daily Radio Show For National Play-by-Play Job

BSM Staff
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Hans Olsen has made his home in Salt Lake City over the last 16 years, and he’s not leaving home anytime soon.

Olsen recently was announced as the new radio analyst for BYU football. He told the Salt Lake Tribune that it’s an opportunity he’s clamored for and that it still hasn’t fully sunk in yet. Olsen said he still thinks about that surreal moment he got the phone call from play-by-play voice Greg Wrubell offering him the job.

“Yeah, flooring. I mean, I sat there silent. And I got really emotional about it,” Olsen said. “And I was like, ‘Wow, what an incredible honor’. And then you start to think, am I capable? Am I ready? You go through all these different emotions and then you just come down to having a lot of gratitude for the opportunity.”

Olsen co-hosts Hans and Scotty G., which airs daily from 12-3 mountain time on KSL Sports Zone. He’s worked with Scott Garrard since 2014 and been in sports radio in Utah since 2006.

Hans was asked if he had ever been approached with potential opportunities to call games nationally. His answer revealed that his heart is in Salt Lake and his radio show.

“Yes, but there was no way that I was going to be leaving my daily show. Period, couldn’t do it,” Olsen said. “And whether it was a national opportunity, or whatever the case might be, I wasn’t going to leave it.”

“To leave this market, where my family is growing and where I’ve got so many roots. I can’t leave here for at least 10 years,” he added. “And so I kept thinking, how can I stay and still do the in-game stuff? Then Greg called and the timing was perfect.”

Olsen played football at BYU from 1996-2000. He also played three years with the Indianapolis Colts.

Chris Russo Roasts Stephen A. Smith For Short Stephen Colbert Segment

BSM Staff
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ESPN First Take host Stephen A. Smith made an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert this week, and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo couldn’t stand it.

Stephen A. had a brief hit with Colbert promoting his new book Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes. Russo said he was over the incessant promotion of Smith’s book.

“Enough with the book! You saw yourself headlined in the New York Times, that should’ve covered it,” Russo said. “And now he’s gonna go back and forth back and forth on this dopey book with Colbert?!”

Russo added that for Smith, it was ridiculous to even show his face on the show considering how short his appearance was.

“He was on for two and a half minutes!” Mad Dog said. “It can’t be worth it, Steve, to travel 12 hours for two and a half minutes and then blow up this show. We need you here! We need you here!”

Stephen A. has said publicly that he would love to host a late night talk show. Ideally, he said taking over on ABC for Jimmy Kimmel would be the move, but Smith doesn’t see himself staying exclusively in sports media.

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