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Hershman Steps Down as HBO Sports President

Jason Barrett

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Ken Hershman, president of HBO Sports since 2012, resigned in a surprise move on Friday, although he will remain in his position through the end of the year.

In his role, Hershman, 52, was one of the most powerful people in the boxing business. He controlled an eight-figure annual budget for HBO’s boxing franchise, the gold standard in the sport for decades, and oversaw its pay-per-view division. He decided which fighters the network — the key player in creating most of boxing’s stars since the 1970s — would back and was a key figure in moving fighters to the lucrative HBO PPV platform.

“I am particularly proud of what I accomplished and believe now is the perfect time to hand over the reins to someone new,” Hershman said in a statement released by the network.

Hershman’s resignation comes almost four years to the day after his hiring was announced in October 2011, a few months after Ross Greenburg, who had been with the network for 33 years and led the division for 10 as president, was forced to resign.

Hershman began the job in January 2012, leaving a similar role at HBO rival Showtime, where he also ran the boxing program to much critical acclaim, even if his viewership numbers and budget could never match those of the much larger HBO.

“I’ve had the distinct privilege of having been involved in many of boxing’s biggest and most thrilling moments, including the Mike Tyson era, creating the Super Six tournament [at Showtime], and staging the biggest pay-per-view event of all-time this past May in Floyd Mayweather versus Manny Pacquiao [in a joint deal with Showtime],” Hershman said. “I have also had the privilege to steward over some of the best sports shows on television, including ’24/7,’ ‘Real Sports’ and ‘Hard Knocks,’ and to work with some of the best talent in television, both behind and in front of the camera.”

HBO said that Hershman will work with HBO programming president Mike Lombardo on the transition to a new president, who has not been selected, although Peter Nelson, an HBO Sports vice president, is viewed as a possible successor.

“Ken’s dedication and commitment to our sports division is deeply appreciated,” Lombardo said. “His approach to rebuilding our boxing franchise was strategic and creative, which led HBO Sports to great success. All of us here are grateful and proud of the success Ken and the HBO Sports team have had over the past four years in delivering unparalleled sports programming to our subscribers. We wish him all the best in his next challenge.”

One of Hershman’s most significant accomplishments was bringing Manny Pacquiao back from a one-fight move to Showtime in 2011 — which he oversaw — that was a big part of why Greenburg was forced to resign. Hershman also made the controversial decision to banish all the fighters involved with manager/adviser Al Haymon from the network because of Haymon’s unwillingness to set up tough matches for his fighters. But Hershman was also in charge when recently retired pound-for-pound king Mayweather, Haymon’s top client, left HBO for a nine-figure deal at Showtime.

Also under Hershman’s watch at HBO, the network signed established fighters such as Mexican star Canelo Alvarez and heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko to network contracts. He also signed middleweight titleholder Gennady Golovkin and light heavyweight titleholder Sergey Kovalev and helped build them from virtual unknowns into cornerstones of their boxing program.

Hershman’s final major act in boxing was announced on Thursday night: the signing of super middleweight champion Andre Ward, one of boxing’s pound-for-pound best, to a multi-fight contract that will culminate with a pay-per-view showdown against Kovalev next fall.

“HBO Sports is well positioned for the future, especially in the boxing arena, with nine of the top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in the sport today, including the world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, Canelo Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin, Sergey Kovalev, Miguel Cotto, Andre Ward, Terence Crawford and many others,” Hershman said. “I cannot wait to watch these great fighters exhibit their skills, but from the vantage point of a passionate boxing fan,” Hershman said.

Credit to ESPN who originally published this article

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CBS Sports Host James Brown To Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at Sports Emmys

“I am incredibly humbled by this award. I know full well that it’s not as much about me as it is about all the people with whom…I worked over all these years.”

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James Brown
Courtesy: Mary Kouw, CBS

Longtime CBS Sports host James Brown will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 45th Sports Emmys. The awards show announced the news via its X account last night:

Brown is a three-time Sports Emmy winner for his work on CBS’ The NFL Today and previously FOX’s The NFL On FOX, and HBO’s Inside the NFL. Brown’s career spans more than 30 years and includes numerous accolades such as the Pete Rozelle Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Uncommon Award from Tony Dungy.

He was named “Best Studio Host of the Decade” by Sports Illustrated in 2010 and was honored with the 2009 Dick Schaap Memorial Award for Media Excellence. In 1998 he was awarded the Golden Mic Award by the Black Broadcasters Alliance. Brown was elected into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2021.

“I am incredibly humbled by this award,” Brown said via the Sports Emmys. “I know full well that it’s not as much about me as it is about all the people with whom and for whom I worked over all these years. Thank God for the blessing!”

Sports media came together to honor Brown’s achievement:

Brown and other award recipients will be honored at the Sports Emmys award ceremony in May.

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John Anderson Announces Retirement from SportsCenter on ESPN

“I don’t really know what’s quite next, I have some things in the fire. But SportsCenter will not be it.”

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Photo of John Anderson
Credit: Mediaite

Longtime SportsCenter anchor John Anderson has announced that when his contract comes up at the end of June, he will no longer be doing SportsCenter for ESPN. Anderson, who joined ESPN in 1999 does plan to continue covering certain events, but after 25 years he believes it is time to stop doing ESPN’s flagship show. Anderson spoke on his podcast, The Inside Wisconsin Show and prior to the episode’s release tomorrow, a clip was released:

“My contract runs out at ESPN at the end of June,” Anderson said. “I have decided that that will be the end. I’m going to leave the company. I’m going to sort of retire from ‘SportsCenter.’ I’m going to get to do a few track-and-field things, I’m going to get to continue to do the Boston Marathon and the New York Marathon – which I love – and some NCAA track meets and some SEC stuff.

“I am incredibly excited about that. It’s been a good run…I feel like it’s been a good run. The operation has changed. I don’t know that it’s passed me by, but it’s taken its toll and I still want to be able to do the best shows that I can, and I don’t know that if in years 26 or 27 I have the stamina to do it again.  

“So, I’m done…I don’t really know what’s quite next. I have some things in the fire. But SportsCenter will not be it.”

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Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo: NFL Streaming Games ‘Gets Obscene’

“They’ve got a Wild Card game on Amazon Prime Video, which means you can’t switch with the remotes.”

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Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo
Courtesy: Cindy Ord, Getty Images for SiriusXM

The National Football League has announced that the Philadelphia Eagles opening matchup taking place from San Paolo, Brazil against an opponent to be determined for the 2024 season will stream exclusively on Peacock. Even though the game will be exclusive to Peacock – thus requiring fans to subscribe in order to watch – it will also be broadcast on an over-the-air network in the local markets of the teams involved in the game. Christopher ‘Mad Dog’ Russo is not a fan of this decision by the league.

During his “What Are You Mad About?” segment on Wednesday morning’s edition of First Take on ESPN, Russo expressed his indignation towards the game being exclusively streamed by Peacock. Within his discourse, he presented a hypothetical scenario of an Eagles fan who continues to spend money to see the team at Lincoln Financial Field and how they would not fly down to Brazil to see the game. Russo continued by saying that the fan would then miss the game without having Peacock so the NFL is able to drive more revenue.

“It’s hard to get Peacock; I don’t want to get Peacock, alright?,” Russo said. “I want to watch the game normal. Give me [Joe] Buck and [Troy] Aikman, give me the CBS crew, [Tom] Brady’s going to do it. Give me something! Don’t put the Eagles 9,000 miles away and then put them on a cable thing on Peacock which you’ve got to subscribe to so NBC can make more money.”

NBC Sports will broadcast an opening night game during Week 1 on Thursday, Sept. 5, along with a Sunday Night Football contest on Sunday, Sept. 8. Within its stretch of primetime football matchups, which also includes a Saturday night Big Ten Conference game, the Friday night NFL game seems to be the only one exclusive to Peacock. The streaming platform is coming off a strong performance for its exclusive Wild Card round playoff matchup, drawing an average of 23 million viewers and becoming the most-streamed NFL game in history.

This past season of Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video garnered a 24% increase in viewers compared to its first season, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. These metrics demonstrate that the broadcast property averaged 11.86 million viewers per game during the 2023 NFL season. The OTT streaming platform also presented the inaugural NFL game on Black Friday, which averaged 9.61 million viewers.

Prime Video will reportedly have the exclusive rights to an NFL playoff game next season, and it has continued building out its sports content vertical. The company has reportedly been exploring a potential media rights deal with the National Basketball Association as its national television contract is nearing expiration. The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Discovery are currently in the midst of exclusive negotiating windows with the NBA that conclude on Monday, April 22, after which Amazon will be able to bid.

“They’ve got a Wild Card game on Amazon Prime Video, which means you can’t switch with the remotes,” Russo said, referring to the reported agreement for next season. “I know the NFL prints money – I understand how big they are, but boy this gets obscene.”

“One-hundred percent right,” First Take host Molly Qerim added. “I cannot stand having 8,000 different apps. It needs to be streamlined. It’s annoying – you have to remember all these passwords. I don’t have Peacock; I don’t want Peacock. I completely agree with you.”

ESPN NBA analyst Tim Legler proceeded to convey the dedication of Eagles fans in showing up to the stadium and watching their team. Russo agreed with him that Eagles fans will travel down to Brazil since they pack stadiums and fervently support their team. Off of that point, ESPN NFL reporter Kimberley A. Martin explained that she believes the devotion and zeal from the fanbase is part of the reason why this is a shrewd decision by the NFL.

“This is genius,” Martin said. “You do put the Eagles – that type of team – because they’re going to buy it.”

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