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Gregg Giannotti: Why Is Streaming Sports Such A Problem For Fans?

BSM Staff
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Gregg Giannotti: Why Is Streaming Sports Such A Problem For Fans?

Undeniably, sports television is seeing a shift from strictly linear television to being a valuable asset for streaming platforms. Also, undeniably, for a portion of sports fans, the decision to move games onto streaming platforms is unpopular. But WFAN morning show host Gregg Giannotti asked Wednesday morning during Boomer & Gio just when will it be normal to go to a streaming platform to find the game you’re looking for.

“When do you think we’re gonna get to the point where the streaming stuff is no longer a problem for people? Is that gonna happen in the next year? Two years? Because every time that a game shows up not on cable we’re still getting more complaints than anything else,” Gregg Giannotti said.

“I try to think back to when I first started getting into Netflix. I wanna say it was 2015 or ’16, I’d say. And I really got into all that stuff. Now it’s an easy thing,” co-host Boomer Esiason said. “You just go onto Netflix, you pick what you want, you watch it and I’m very used to it. I just think, for the sports fan, we’re not used to going to find it yet there. Whether it be Amazon or Apple(TV)+ or wherever it may be. We’re just not used to doing that yet.”

“Yeah, but we watch all this other stuff,”Giannoti countered. “Like a Netflix show, like Stranger Things that everybody seems to be watching or everybody’s talking about. Everybody can find it, but why is it when a Yankee game or a Mets game is on a streaming service and people are freaking out? Is it because we’re not used to it or is it because the fan is older?”

“Or because they don’t have the TV that has the function on their TV. You may not have a smart TV. You may not have AppleTV,” said Esiason. “You may not have Roku. You may not have hacked a Fire Stick. You may not have that stuff. You may just have your basic cable package that includes your YES (Network) and your SNY. And you may not have the ability to Chromecast it or project it off your iPad. Maybe you don’t have an iPad. Maybe you don’t have an iPhone.”

Esiason then went on to say that fans just may not want to pay for extra streaming services in the midst of a recession and inflation.

The conversation comes after the New York Yankees played the New York Mets Tuesday night on Amazon Prime Video. Thursday Night Football will be exclusive to Amazon Prime Video this fall. Peacock and AppleTV+ both have exclusive MLB broadcasts, and more and more college football finds its way to ESPN+ every year, leading to consternation from sports fans about the future of linear television.

Len Dawson Dies at 87

BSM Staff
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Super Bowl winning quarterback and Pro Football Hall of Famer Len Dawson has died at the age of 87.

Dawson, who spent most of his playing career with the Kansas City Chiefs, went on to be a broadcaster for KMBC-TV. He started with the station in 1966 while still playing for the Chiefs, stepping away in 2009. From 1977 to 2001, Dawson hosted Inside the NFL on HBO. He also worked as the color commentator on the Chiefs Radio Network from 1985 through 2017.

Dawson, who entered hospice care on August 12th, was presented with the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award for his media contributions to the NFL in 2012.

The broadcast booth at Arrowhead Stadium is named in his honor.

He is survived by his wife, Linda, and his two children.

Jesse Watters: Dr. Anthony Fauci Destroyed This Country

BNM Staff
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Fox News host Jesse Watters questioned why the media isn’t pushing harder to get answers about COVID from Dr. Anthony Fauci. 

Appearing on “The Five” Tuesday, Watters insisted that the media has all the proof that they need to start asking tough questions from Fauci. 

“Why aren’t the journalists treating this guy like a dangerous quack?” Watters asked. “We have all the evidence that the lockdowns destroyed small businesses and a generation of children but didn’t save lives.” 

“While I am moving on from my current positions, I am not retiring. After more than 50 years of government service, I plan to pursue the next phase of my career while I still have so much energy and passion for my field,” Fauci said in a statement Monday. 

“He was letting people cross the border in droves unvaccinated, what is this guy doing?” Watters said. “He Fauci has destroyed this country, you don’t get to ride off into the sunset.”

Fox Nation Premiering Joe Rogan Special

BNM Staff
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Fox News personality Brian Kilmeade will host a program examining Joe Rogan entitled “Who is Joe Rogan,” which will debut Wednesday on FOX Nation. 

According to a release, the film will explore “the life and history of the influential podcaster Joe Rogan. From his early career as a comedian, actor, and fight commentator.” 

Several months ago, Rogan praised Fox News for taking a stance in his defense following his attempted cancellation from Spotify. 

“They had my back through all the crazy s–t that happened to me. It was Fox News that f–king had my back,” Rogan said at the time. 

“Rogan has made himself one of the most listened to podcasters, heard by over 100 million people, though not without scrutiny and condemnation,” the release stated. 

Kilmeade will be joined by comedian Tom Shillue, celebrity life coach Vivace Maxvictor and movie critic Christian Toto.

Learn more about Fox Nation at nation.foxnews.com

Jason Whitlock: Dave Portnoy Is a ‘Fraud’ with ‘No Core Values’

BNM Staff
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Blaze commentator Jason Whitlock criticized Dave Portnoy Tuesday calling him a “fraud” with “no core values” after the Barstool founder attacked conservative comedian Alex Stein online. 

Stein, a BlazeTV contributor, has gained notoriety by mocking public officials and sharing the video across social media.  

Whitlock came to Stein’s defense after Portnoy posted a Twitter video Monday of Stein’s appearance at a Las Vegas City Council meeting. According to Whitlock, Barstool then deleted the post which prompted a response from Stein. 

“It’s so cute that @barstoolsports is owned by Stool Presidente who is accused of the most heinous things, but they are too afraid to keep my content up,” he said. 

Whitlock wrote that Portnoy “has no redeeming qualities other than his wealth. Remove his money, and he wouldn’t have a friend in this world.” 

“If we weren’t living in an era completely hostile to masculinity, Portnoy would be broke in Boston delivering pizza,” Whitlock said. “The prohibition of masculinity is what made heroes and millionaires of men like Portnoy and Tate.” 

Barstool is a popular blog and digital content site founded by Portnoy 19 years ago. Whitlock accused Portnoy of founding the company while “pretending to be a fearless disruptor standing against the wokefication of sports and American culture.” 

“If ESPN wasn’t hostile to masculinity, there would never have been a market for Portnoy’s brand of masculine sports talk,” added Whitlock.

ESPN New York’s Dan Graca Proves You Can Go Home Again

Peter Schwartz
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ESPN New York’s Dan Graca Proves You Can Go Home Again

For Dan Graca, his career in broadcasting began in 2003 as an intern at 1050 ESPN Radio in New York.

“It seems like it was forever ago,” said Graca.

The frequency has changed from 1050AM to 98.7 FM, but 19 years later, Graca is the new weekday night host from 7 pm to 10 pm at ESPN New York.

Graca was hired part-time by 1050 in 2004 and things have certainly come full circle for him in his career being back where it all began.

“It means a lot,” said Graca. “What’s cool about it is having the opportunity to work again with people that you have a relationship with already. It’s not necessarily the case of ‘new kid in school and you have to make all new friends’. These are people who I’ve known for a long time and a lot of people that you began your career with.”

Graca began the new show on August 15th, filling the vacancy left by Chris Carlin when he became the co-host of the national ESPN Radio afternoon drive show with Chris Canty. He had been with Sirius XM’s Mad Dog Radio for the last 12 years and will continue to work in a part-time role for Sirius XM’s MLB Network Radio, but the opportunity to take over a prime piece of real estate in New York radio was too good to pass up.

“You always want to be someplace you’re wanted,” said Graca. “They let it be known that they wanted to bring me back home and after thinking about it, it seemed like it was a perfect fit.”

“I’m really grateful both for the people over at ESPN and the folks over at Sirius XM that they’re allowing me to do both because that was important to me. We had to compromise a little bit and say goodbye to the Mad Dog Radio part but the fact that they’re at least letting me do the baseball is important to me.”

While Graca is now full-time at ESPN New York, he has maintained a working relationship with them over the years as a fill-in host, hosting New York Knicks and New York Rangers pre-and post-game shows and for the last five years as the pre-and post-game host for the New York Jets.

Speaking of the Jets, the team that Graca grew up rooting for, had a busy off-season and the expectations are higher in 2022.

“It would be nice to certainly have a little bit more happy recaps,” said Graca who teams with former Jets linebacker Greg Buttle on the pre-game, halftime, and post-game shows.

“When you have an opportunity to work so closely with a team, you want them to do well for a variety of reasons. It just so happens I grew up as a fan so I want them to do well there but it’s also good for my business. It kind of works hand in hand.”

It’s been a little over a week since Graca began his new weeknight gig and on night one, he let his listeners know that the show was a place for them to hang out after a long day.

And the discussion doesn’t necessarily have to be all about the Xs and O’s of the sports world.

“We can talk sports, we can laugh about things and talk about things outside the sports world,” said Graca.

The show is very much a work in progress as Graca gears up for the pennant races as well as the pro and college football seasons. He’s using the remainder of the summer to tweak a few things and get the kinks out before the fall rolls around.

“I think getting your feet wet is a good way to put it because I still think there are things to tweak and I’m always thinking of things that we can incorporate into the show and we will,” said Graca. “You haven’t seen the final product yet but I think that will be figured out over the next couple of weeks.”

There’s a saying that “You Can’t Go Home Again” based on the novel written by Thomas Wolfe that was originally published in 1934. Bon Jovi shot that saying down with the 2005 song “Who Says You Can’t Go Home?”

It’s appropriate that both Jon Bon Jovi and Dan Graca are from New Jersey because Graca is proof that you can go home again.

Jim Mueller, Former Browns Radio Announcer, Dies at 79

BSM Staff
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Jim Mueller, the iconic Voice of the Browns from 1975-1995, passed away at the age of 79.

Jim Donovan, the current Browns play-by-play voice, announced the news of his passing during the team’s preseason game against the Eagles.

“My condolences, and all of our condolences, go out to Jim’s family, his son Kyle, his daughter Paige,” Donovan said on the air. “Great guy, and a guy that was in this stadium for a long time, and a lot of great games and a lot of great moments.”

Mueller served as a voice for the Browns during some of their most successful eras in franchise history, including the years of the Kardiac Kids and Bernie Kosar era.

“He was a very, very important person in this city because this city was so starving for sports,” Donovan said to CB.com. “They all really relied on the guys who were at the news stations, and Jim was certainly on top of that.

“He had a great voice, and people associated him with those Sunday afternoons down at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.”

Stephen A. Smith To Paul Finebaum: I’d Strongly Consider Running for President

BSM Staff
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On Tuesday Paul Finebaum welcomed on Stephen A. Smith to the show to discuss his new book, Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes.

During the interview, Finebaum asked the First Take star if he’d consider running for President and Smith’s answer did not disappoint.

“If I thought that I could win, yeah,” Smith said. “I would have told you no way in hell years ago.”

“But when I see some of the things that has transpired,” Smith continued, “I can honestly tell you that even though that answer would still be no, but if enough people came to me and said ‘Stephen A., you have a legitimate shot to win the presidency of the United States of America,’ I would strongly, strongly consider running.”

Smith then went into a campaign mode before finishing his answer with Finebaum.

“Because I know two things would happen: I would know how to act, number one. And number two, I would think about America. Of course I’m a black man so I’d think about the Black community. But I have always prided myself and said: I’m not just about black appeal, I’m about mass appeal. Everybody in America would matter. Whatever it would take to make this country better, I would do.”

102.5 The Game and 94.9 The Fan Announces the Addition of High School Football Shows

BSM Staff
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Cromwell Media announced today the return of one of Tennessee’s longest running local sports radio shows, TN Prep Weekly, hosted by Chris Eakes, has a new home at 94.9 FM The Fan.

The show debuted on August 15 and will continue through the rest of the season. The
show originated in Nashville in 1999.

Additionally, at 102.5/106.3 The Game, Game Blitz returns on August 19. The show is hosted by Joe Dubin and Elijah Campbell. The show runs Friday nights from 6p-12a and provides real-time updates on high school games across the state of Tennessee.

Cromwell Media’s Sports Program Director, Chase McCabe, said, “We believe in being hyper-local in our coverage and high school football is near and dear to so many of us. We couldn’t be more excited about the addition of TN Prep Weekly moving to 94.9 The Fan. Phil and his team do an amazing job and we’re delighted to have them join our team. Likewise, the return of Game Blitz is huge and happy that Joe Dubin is once again leading our coverage. We have been asked by a lot of people about when the show would return and we’re thrilled to be able to say…now!”

Amazon Prime Video Making Final Preparations For NFL, Thursday Night Football

Derek Futterman
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Amazon Prime Video Making Final Preparations For NFL, Thursday Night Football

This past offseason, there were various changes pertaining to the 53-player rosters across the National Football League’s 32 teams – some moves that have altered the balance of power in both conferences and could lead to a new Super Bowl champion at season’s end. Similarly, both where and how football fans will consume games each week has also gone through a seismic shift, introducing all-digital counterparts to the traditional linear network packages. In total, the agreements run through the completion of the 2033 season, and are sure to alter the landscape of sports media.

Last year, the NFL and Amazon Prime Video finalized their 11-year agreement to broadcast all Thursday Night Football games on the streaming service, along with one preseason game. The media rights deal is the first of its kind, demonstrating the emphasis being placed on streaming technology and fan accessibility amid other changes in sports media. Amazon Prime Video had been simulcasting Thursday night games produced by Fox for the last few years, and was originally going to start producing broadcasts in 2023. The timeline moved up though, thanks in part to a reported eagerness to get started, and now the time has arrived for a new presentation of Thursday night matchups.

“What we learned mostly from our [simulcast] is the power of the NFL,” Amazon Vice President of Global Sports Video Marie Donoghue said. “That’s one of the reasons we ended up acquiring the exclusive rights. NFL fans are avid and rabid, and they expect quality. That’s what we’ll be doing here.”

A priority for Amazon Prime Video, aside from effectively promoting the broadcasts and continuing to build a working chemistry among its crew, will be to appeal to all types of viewers, whether or not they are football fans. It is one of many factors the team hopes will make its broadcast appointment viewing for those interested in live sports.

“We’re an innovation-first company [and] we approach our broadcasts that way,” Donoghue said. “….A lot of what we’re trying to do is program and cultivate a unique experience for fans…. Not everybody wants to watch the game in the same way. We’re not choosing one type of fan to serve; we’re serving all fans.”

With the primary focus on creating the most high-quality, robust broadcast possible from the onset, Amazon Prime Video has assembled a team with vast experience in sports media and one that looks to pioneer a new chapter in broadcasting. Al Michaels, a long-time play-by-play announcer who has been with NBC for the last 16 years calling Sunday Night Football with the late-John Madden and Cris Collinsworth, signed a contract to join Amazon Prime Video when his deal with NBC expired. He is excited for the opportunity to broadcast games on a new platform to a large audience of NFL fans, and to continue bringing his knowledge and expertise about the game on the gridiron to fans.

“It wasn’t that long ago when I didn’t know what streaming was,” Michaels said. “….I find it to be exciting in the sense that all of my friends and my kids and my grandkids think this is about the coolest thing in the world.”

Michaels will be joined by Fred Gaudelli, who will serve as executive producer for the broadcasts. Gaudelli previously worked with Michaels at NBC on Sunday Night Football broadcasts in the same role, and will remain with the network on its executive team and work as a contributor on their Sunday night broadcast’s editorial and production efforts. His move to Amazon Prime Video was catalyzed by the immense potential the broadcasts have to differentiate themselves through the functionality and modernization made possible by streaming technologies.

“NFL fans have a very definitive expectation when they turn on the television,” Gaudelli said. “The best people in sports television work on the NFL, and when it comes to prime-time, I think their expectations are even heightened. If you don’t come with a real, quality show, they’re probably not going to come back.”

Amazon Prime Video seems to be equipped with the necessary tools on that end, as it plans to utilize various skycams, super slo-mo cameras and other camera angles to better present the game. Additionally, the service will embed augmented reality into the broadcasts and allow fans to choose alternate camera feeds to experience the game. Interactive fan features through Next-Gen Stats powered by Amazon Web Services, along with X-Ray technology will also be available for viewers during each contest to keep them engaged and entertained each Thursday night.

“If you only want to watch the main broadcast, you’re going to have a telecast that has every technical innovation that football fans love,” Gaudelli said. “….It’s going to be as good, if not better, than any football telecast they’re used to watching.”

“Fred has maybe the most difficult job of all because he’s going to bring in a whole bunch of new production people,” Michaels added. “We’re going to have some stumbles along the way, but I think in short order by just a few games into the season, you’re going to see a show that rivals any football telecast I can think of.”

Emmy-winning analyst Kirk Herbstreit will join Michaels in the booth as the color commentator for broadcasts, a role he will balance with his current obligations on ESPN College GameDay. This role will make him a pioneer of sorts in that he will work on both linear and streaming platforms interchangeably throughout the season. Having both jobs, albeit covering different levels of football, will be a challenge, but he and his colleagues know his knowledge of the former will help enhance his analysis and coverage of the latter.

“With streaming becoming more and more mainstream in the future, I don’t know if that’ll be the future [where] people are going to say: ‘Hey, you can’t do both,” Herbstreit expressed, “but I’m very fortunate to be able to do both. It’s going to be very taxing and tiring, but I’m looking forward to the challenge for sure.”

Joining Michaels and Herbstreit as the broadcast’s sideline reporter is Kaylee Hartung, who is moving from working from ABC News as a reporter to Amazon Prime Video. While Hartung has worked within sports media in the past, most recently as an award-winning sports reporter on ESPN, she says her time in news gives her a broad perspective on the task at hand and how to enrich the broadcasts.

“I think what I learned in being away from sports was that, at the end of the day, the craft is the same,” Hartung said. “It comes down to great storytelling…. Hopefully, I can find some stories to shed light on that others haven’t heard about, and give the players a platform to shine aside from their work on the field.”

Crafting a first-of-its-kind, high-quality NFL broadcast is a challenge in and of itself, and by bringing on Gaudelli and Michaels, Amazon Prime Video is relying on a known quantity that is coming off a historic season in terms of ratings on NBC. Bringing on experienced professionals was of great importance to Donoghue, who recalled eyeing Gaudelli early in talks to executive produce the broadcast, and from there, was able to assemble proven production and announcing teams to bring Amazon squarely into the forefront of sports media.

“We’ve been working around the clock [for] the past few months, and I can truly say that not only is this group incredibly talented, but they are absolutely the best teammates we could hope to have,” Donoghue stated. “It’s a pleasure working alongside them, and we can’t wait to get started.”

Amazon Prime Video’s coverage of the National Football League will begin with a preseason matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans from NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas this Thursday, August 25. The broadcast is set to begin with pregame coverage starting at 7 p.m. EST prior to the 8:15 p.m. EST kickoff. Then on September 15, Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video will commence its regular season slate of games with an AFC West matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs.

“I think a lot of people are curious since it’s such a new template on a new platform as to what’s going to go on,” Michaels said. “[It’s] a big tent, [and] we want everyone to come into it…. Come one, come all!”

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