Breaking News

Up to 200,000 people estimated to travel to Vermont for total solar eclipse How fast will April’s total solar eclipse travel? The UN Security Council demands a ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan Mexico in the emerging world order Pennsylvania State Guard Organizes Lithuanian Foreign Minister US Abstention from UN Security Council Resolution on Gaza – US State Department USA beats Mexico 2-0 thanks to goals from Adams and Reyna to win 3rd consecutive CONCACAF Nations League Mexico x United States | Highlights Meaning | The Case for American Intervention in Haiti Julian Assange to hear results of key US extradition ruling

I’m going on vacation to the Delaware beach next week, which means without a doubt this will be one of the busiest weeks of the year!

Aside from a last-minute change in leadership in the Big Ten’s media rights negotiations, ESPN will be without conference football and basketball games for the first time in 40 years. With Big Ten negotiations nearing completion — I’m told deals could be reached by the end of this week or pushed into next — CBS and NBC have emerged as the clear front-runners to acquire Big Ten rights alongside Fox Sports.

ESPN is still negotiating with the conference, and as long as they are talking there remains the possibility that ESPN could end up with the package. Remember, Bob Chapek was born in Chicago and graduated from Indiana and got an MBA from Michigan State, creating deep Big Ten roots between the conference and Disney leadership that cannot be ignored. There are several reports that explain ESPN is out looking in with a bid that is not big enough to secure the deal. All you need to do is call Chapek to increase the bid.

Fox agreed to the “A” package months ago. As part of its deal, it will carry football games on the network’s network at noon ET, as well as football games on its cable networks FS1 and BTN, in which it owns 60%.

Conference agreements with CBS and NBC have not been finalized. But it looks like the two networks are leading the charge to split the “B” package. CBS would pick up the games for the 3:30pm ET window, and NBC would carry the games in prime time. NBC’s streaming service, Peacock, would also end up carrying more sports. Amazon balked at the packages, but sources described CBS and NBC as the clear front-runners.

The Big Ten is expected to be the first college conference to cover a billion dollars a year in royalties when all is said and done.

If ESPN doesn’t get the package, it will end one of the longest-standing sports media relationships in the business. ABC began carrying Big Ten games in 1966, and ESPN cut its first contract with the conference in 1982.

If ESPN moves away from the Big Ten, look for the company to be aggressive in trying to secure Big 12 and Pac-12 rights, as well as renew its deals with the NCAA Championship and College Football Playoffs.

ESPN personality Paul Finebaum is set to make a $700,000 advance plus taxes on his upcoming book about the Nick Saban-Jimbo Fisher feud, SBJ’s Michael Smith reports.

Finebaum, a longtime executive at the SEC, is working with Penguin Press on a newly-titled book that will delve into what motivated the legendary Alabama coach to pursue his former assistant, who is now the head coach at Texas A&M. ;M, about name, picture and situation. Saban said the Aggies “sought every player” in their top recruiting class.

Fisher fired back, calling Saban’s comments “abhorrent.” Saban later apologized for the initial spat. The salty back-and-forth is one of the most compelling stories in college football, especially given the relationships involved.

When they gathered in Atlanta last month for SEC Media Days, both coaches tried to calm the heated debate. But apparently there is much more to the story, which is the focus of Finebaum’s book. Finebaum’s financial progress speaks to the interest in the matter as well as Finebaum’s status as the SEC’s voice.

AL.com’s John Talty is consulting with Finebaum about the book, which is expected to be ready in time for the 2023 football season.

Pete Bevacqua – former PGA of America CEO who oversees golf coverage for NBC, USA, Golf Channel and Peacock – defended the PGA Tour as it faced threats from LIV Golf.

“We don’t have our heads in the sand – of course, we’re following everything that’s going on in the golf world very closely,” he said. “We want a strong Tour, we want the best players in the world to play week after week on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.”

NBC, which owns the Golf Channel and GolfNow businesses, has more than a vested interest in ensuring that the PGA Tour remains strong, even though many of its players have moved to LIV.

Bevacqua: “We are confident that the best players in the world will continue to compete on the PGA Tour and will continue to try to make Ryder Cup and President Cup teams and continue to play in major golf tournaments. It is where our bread is buttered and where we put all our golf chips for the foreseeable future. “

In this week’s SBJ, Austin Karp and I wrote about the PGA Tour’s ratings performance over the past five years, which has been flat.

Bevacqua said he was happy with the performance of the PGA Tour on NBC, speaking directly to Tony Finau, who recently won two tournaments in a row, and Rory McIlroy, who became the Tour’s most vocal supporter in the face of the LIV threat.

“Sounds aside, golf is having a solid season,” Bevacqua said. “We’re sitting here on the eve of the FedEx Cup, which promises to be amazing, going into the President’s Cup at Quail Hollow which should be great. We’re excited about it.”

In our PGA Tour ratings story, we noted that this year’s Travelers Championship won by Xander Schauffele posted a 36% drop on CBS this year. I heard from Travelers, which revealed that last year’s schedule included an 8-hole playoff that ran in the “60 Minutes” timeslot. “If we compare the same period of 3-6pm year-over-year, our rate of 1.6 in 2022 is compared to the rate of 1.7 in 2021.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *