Sports TV News
NESN Remains Silent On Orsillo

Published
8 years agoon
When Don Orsillo signed what would be his final contract with NESN in November 2011, Sean McGrail, then and still the network’s president and chief executive officer, offered heady and accurate praise via a press release confirming the news:
“Don is one of the preeminent play-by-play announcers in the league and one of the reasons NESN’s Red Sox broadcast is considered among the best in the business. He brings passion and meticulous preparation to his work every night, along with a sense of humor that has endeared him to Red Sox Nation.”
The irony of that statement is hard to miss today. NESN’s reasons for retaining him four years ago are the exact same reasons so many fans are outraged that he’s being dumped — thus far without explanation — at the end of this season.
Red Sox fans and NESN viewers have reacted to Tuesday’s news that Orsillo will not be back next year with a relentless outpouring of support. As of early Thursday evening, a change.org petition asking Red Sox owner John Henry (who also owns the Globe) to restore Orsillo to the role he held since 2001 had nearly 37,000 signatures.
At the e-mail address of your faithful sports media columnist, the response has been overwhelming and without a lull since the much-rumored news broke on WEEI’s “Dennis and Callahan” show, and the message is virtually the same in each piece of correspondence:
“Why would NESN do this? It makes no sense. If they don’t bring him back, I might be done watching NESN.”
For now, NESN’s approach to the backlash seems to be to wait out the storm and hope it all blows over. Multiple requests to Red Sox chairman Tom Werner and NESN spokesman Gary Roy have gone unanswered. Other than a press release confirming the decision and emphasizing the talents of Dave O’Brien, who is moving over from WEEI’s Red Sox broadcasts next year, NESN has gone into full radio-silence mode.
The approach — confirming the news in the middle of a game that Orsillo was calling — was awkward and insulting, and it does no favors for O’Brien, an outstanding broadcaster who has been put in an uncomfortable position. (According to an industry source, O’Brien has decided to refrain from commenting on the situation for the time being out of respect for Orsillo.)
The optics were awful. It’s understandable to some degree if NESN was caught off-guard that the news got out. Yet it was common knowledge that Orsillo’s contract was up at season’s end, and there’s been industry chatter for at least a year that the network was considering a change.
But it’s not the question of “why now?” that has led to so much backlash.
It’s the simpler question that remains unanswered: Why do it at all?
ESPN Boston’s Gordon Edes received the closest thing I’ve seen to an explanation when he cited a source Wednesday saying this: “We wanted to make a change.”
Well, obviously, but Orsillo’s fans aren’t about to relent in their demand for more detail. Here’s how I posed the question to a NESN spokesman in an e-mail:
“One question I still have — and I’ve been hearing over and over from Red Sox fans — is why was the change made? Obviously it’s NESN’s prerogative to do so, and his contract was up, but I figured I’d at least reach out and see if someone there cared to explain it further. O’Brien will be great, but the timing and seemingly callous treatment of Don has people puzzled.”
The response thus far is no response at all. Another irony in all of this is that NESN is entirely responsible for creating the backlash, and not just because of the graceless manner in which the situation has been handled publicly. If the network didn’t entirely create Orsillo and Jerry Remy’s cult of personality, it certainly was happy to emphasize it.
When you consider Orsillo’s most memorable moments in the Red Sox booth, it’s not the calls of big games and big moments that come immediately to mind (mostly because NESN cedes playoff and World Series games to the networks), but the silly moments and often hilarious banter with Remy. Orsillo isn’t just familiar and comfortable to Red Sox fans. It’s more than that. So many laughs have been shared through the years that it feels personal, as if you’re saying goodbye to a friend you wish would stay a little longer.
Barring a highly unlikely reversal of the decision — a reaction to the backlash that would be more shocking than the decision itself — Orsillo’s days and nights as the voice of the Red Sox are dwindling. Thirty-four games remain in the season.
Four years ago, when Orsillo signed what would be his final contract with the Red Sox, the press release touted that he’d called more than 1,400 regular-season games on NESN. Four years later, that number must be in the range of 2,000, a milestone that under most circumstances would be worthy of celebration.
But because of NESN’s bewildering mishandling of the situation, this is no ordinary circumstance. Instead of appreciating all the games Don Orsillo has called, his fans are left wondering, without an answer, why there will be just a few more to enjoy before he’s gone.
Credit to the Boston Globe where this story was originally published

Jason Barrett is the owner and operator of Barrett Sports Media. Prior to launching BSM he served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He has also produced national shows for ESPN Radio including GameNight and the Dan Patrick Show. You can find him on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or reach him by email at [email protected].
Sports TV News
Joe Buck: I’m Not Looking Up Taylor Swift Lyrics for Cute References

Published
6 mins agoon
October 3, 2023By
BSM Staff
Taylor Swift has taken over the NFL world with her reported romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Despite the attention, ESPN’s Joe Buck says he won’t be referencing her on a broadcast anytime soon.
During an appearance on The Michael Kay Show Monday, Buck was asked if he had done any homework on the pop star with the intention of working in references during future broadcasts.
“I would not be the guy looking up lyrics trying to cutely add something in for a tip of the cap to all the Swifties out there. So no, I’m glad to just do a football game. I’m kind of glad to do football tonight,” Buck said as ESPN New York 98.7’s Peter Rosenberg said, “I love you for that”.
“I don’t even think you’d have to look up because I know you’re cool enough that you probably know some of her songs,” replied Kay.
“I’m not cool enough,” Joe Buck joked, “but I do have two daughters in their 20s both living in the great city of New York who went to both the New York Taylor Swift concert and one of them followed her to Kansas City, which from what I’m told it was the genesis of this whirlwind romance with one Travis Kelce.”
Swift was in attendance at Sunday Night Football between the New York Jets and Chiefs. The broadcast was the most-watched Sunday television program since Super Bowl LVII, garnering 27 million viewers.
Sports TV News
MLB.TV Sees Record Numbers in 2023
MLB.TV had nine of its top-10 most-watched days in its 21-year history in 2023.

Published
1 hour agoon
October 3, 2023By
BSM Staff
When MLB.TV was launched in the summer of 2002, the product revolutionized the way people consume the game of baseball, especially for people out of the home marketplaces of their favorite teams. The app has engendered people to become immersed in fandom across the country, a cable television subscription notwithstanding, and has been one of the most successful streaming packages on the market.
In the 2023 season, Major League Baseball reports that there were 12.7 billion minutes of action watched on the platform, up 9% from last year. Furthermore, the outlet has experienced a 14% increase in users, along with a concurrent 17% increase in the games watched. These changes are attributable to the remodeled portal, and likely the rules changes that have hastened play and grown offensive output.
MLB had a 24-minute decrease in the average length of a standard, nine-inning contest and a 7% increase in runs per game, leading fans to come to the ballpark in droves.
The out-of-market streaming service further backed the trend that baseball is on somewhat of a resurgence, with fans ages 18-24 watching 16% more games in 2023 than last season. MLB.TV had nine of its top-10 most-watched days in its 21-year history in 2023, including the top five of all-time. Overall, the number of games watched from start to finish rose by 17%, evidence of the sport being able to more effectively capture the attention of consumers.
Major League Baseball’s postseason coverage begins on Tuesday afternoon with Wild Card round matchups in both the American League and National League on ABC/ESPN.
Sports TV News
Big Ten on Peacock Basketball Schedule Released
In addition to 32 regular season matchups, Peacock will exclusively stream early-round games from the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Published
2 hours agoon
October 3, 2023By
BSM Staff
As part of its new media rights deal, NBC Sports has the right to exclusively stream 47 Big Ten men’s basketball games. For the inaugural season, 34 matchups will be on the streaming service.
In addition to 32 regular season matchups, Peacock will exclusively stream early-round games from the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The announcement of the schedule comes on the heels of reporting that former ESPN analyst Robbie Hummel will serve as one of the color commentators for NBC Sports and Peacock’s coverage of the Big Ten. Additionally, Jordan Cornette, Zora Stephenson, and Noah Eagle are also joining the network for its basketball coverage.
The Big Ten on Peacock basketball schedule is below.
Date | Time (ET) | Matchup |
Mon., Nov. 6 | 7 p.m. | Princeton vs. Rutgers (Trenton, N.J.) |
Fri., Nov. 10 | 7 p.m. | Texas A&M vs. Ohio State |
Fri., Nov. 10 | 7:30 p.m. | UTSA vs. Minnesota |
Fri., Nov. 10 | 8 p.m. | Alabama State vs. Iowa |
Fri., Nov. 10 | 9 p.m. | Tennessee vs. Wisconsin |
Fri., Nov. 17 | 7 p.m. | Morehead State vs. Penn State |
Sat., Nov. 18 | 2 p.m. | USC Upstate vs. Minnesota |
Sat., Nov. 18 | 4 p.m. | Oregon State vs. Nebraska (Sioux Falls, S.D.) |
Tues., Dec. 5 | 7 p.m. | Wisconsin vs. Michigan State |
Tues., Dec. 5 | 9 p.m. | Indiana vs. Michigan |
Sat., Dec. 16 | 4:30 p.m. | Arizona vs. Purdue |
Thurs., Dec. 21 | 7 p.m. | LeMoyne vs. Penn State |
Fri., Dec. 29 | 7 p.m. | Maine vs. Minnesota |
Fri., Dec. 29 | 8 p.m. | Jackson State vs. Northwestern |
Tues., Jan. 2 | 7 p.m. | Purdue vs. Maryland |
Thurs., Jan. 4 | 7 p.m. | Penn State vs. Michigan State |
Thurs., Jan. 4 | 9 p.m. | Minnesota vs. Michigan |
Tues., Jan. 9 | 7 p.m. | Indiana vs. Rutgers |
Tues., Jan. 9 | 9 p.m. | Purdue vs. Nebraska |
Tues., Jan. 16 | 7 p.m. | Purdue vs. Indiana |
Tues., Jan 23 | 7 p.m. | Ohio State vs. Nebraska |
Tues., Jan 23 | 9 p.m. | Michigan vs. Purdue |
Tues., Jan. 30 | 7 p.m. | Illinois vs. Ohio State |
Tues., Jan. 30 | 9 p.m. | Michigan vs. Michigan State |
Tues., Feb. 6 | 7 p.m. | Indiana vs. Ohio State |
Tues., Feb. 6 | 9 p.m. | Michigan State vs. Minnesota |
Tues., Feb. 13 | 7 p.m. | Michigan vs. Illinois |
Tues., Feb. 13 | 9 p.m. | Ohio State vs. Wisconsin |
Tues., Feb. 20 | 7 p.m. | Iowa vs. Michigan State |
Tues., Feb. 20 | 9 p.m. | Maryland vs. Wisconsin |
Tues., Feb. 27 | 7 p.m. | Wisconsin vs. Indiana |
Tues., Mar. 5 | 7 p.m. | Purdue vs. Illinois |
Wed., Mar. 13 | 6:30 p.m. | Big Ten Tournament |
Wed., Mar. 13 | 9 p.m. | Big Ten Tournament |