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Marcellus Wiley Could Replace Cowherd on Speak for Yourself

Brandon Contes

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According to Michael McCarthy of Sporting News, ESPN’s Marcellus Wiley could be headed to replace Colin Cowherd on a national television show for the second time. With Cowherd reportedly planning to leave Speak for Yourself, Fox Sports 1 could be targeting Wiley to pair with co-host Jason Whitlock.

Wiley is currently the longest tenured host on ESPN’s SportsNation, joining the show in 2013 following Cowherd’s 2012 departure. The move allowed Colin to focus on his radio show and other projects, which will be similar to the reasoning for why he’ll soon leave Speak for Yourself.

With a weekday lineup boasting First Things First from 6:30 AM – 9:30 AM followed by Undisputed (9:30 AM – noon), The Herd with Colin Cowherd (noon – 3 PM) and Speak for Yourself on from 5 PM – 6 PM, there is an obvious hole between 3 PM and 5 PM. FS1 could move Speak for Yourself to the 3 PM – 5 PM hole, making it difficult for Colin to go directly from The Herd into a two hour television show.

Kristine Leahy recently left Colin’s three hour radio show, announcing she will be hosting her own show on FS1 beginning late this summer or early fall. Leahy leaving The Herd means her new program will most likely air at a time that would make it difficult for her to remain on Colin’s show. While she could wind up headlining an entirely new project, it’s also possibly Leahy might be joining Wiley and Whitlock on Speak for Yourself in the shows anticipated new 3 PM timeslot.

ESPN’s SportsNation has struggled to keep a steady cast in recent years. Cowherd left in 2012, Michelle Beadle has departed the program twice, Max Kellerman went to First Take after three years on the show and now ESPN may soon need to find a replacement for Marcellus Wiley. Wiley’s current contact situation with ESPN was not reported.

Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.

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Sports TV News

Scripps Sports Exec: Teams Are Making Contingency Deals For After Bally Sports Bankruptcy

Lawlor said that Scripps Sports “already has deals in place with at least a couple of teams as a contingency in case Bally halts broadcasts before the end of the 2024 season.”

Jordan Bondurant

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Scripps Sports

With the writing on the wall that Diamond Sports Group will drop its regional sports contracts after next year, entities like Scripps Sports are bracing for additional opportunities to work with various teams.

Scripps Sports president Brian Lawlor recently said teams and leagues are already thinking ahead.

“There’s a lot of contingency planning by teams and leagues to have distribution options if the creditors pull the rug out early,” Lawlor told Cincinnati Business Courier. “It’s really messy right now.”

Lawlor added that Scripps has already been involved in contingency planning with those leagues and teams, with talks having gone on for months in some instances.

“(Scripps) already has deals in place with at least a couple of teams as a contingency in case Bally halts broadcasts before the end of the 2024 season.

Scripps Sports already stepped in to help provide a new TV home for both the Vegas Golden Knights and the Arizona Coyotes. Lawlor said returns with those teams, particularly in Vegas, have been great.

“We’ve been blown away by the Golden Knights over-the-air ratings and the number of people who have subscribed to direct-to-consumer,” he said.

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Bob Iger: ESPN Could ‘Go It Alone’ and Not Take Financial Partners

“We are fully prepared to do that. It would be a little more challenging if we did.”

Jordan Bondurant

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Bob Iger
Courtesy: CNBC

As Disney continues to consider selling an ownership stake in ESPN, Disney CEO Bob Iger told employees he’s not ruling out the possibility of not bringing in new financial partners.

Front Office Sports reported Wednesday that Iger spoke at a Disney town hall on Tuesday and there’s no requirement in place that says Disney must seek out new investors to maintain ESPN’s financial future.

“We could go it alone,” he said. “We are fully prepared to do that. It would be a little more challenging if we did.”

Disney has already had some level of conversations with potential partners including pro sports leagues and big tech companies.

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Sports TV News

NASCAR to Announce $1.1B Rights Deal with FOX, NBC, Prime Video, TNT

The $1.1 billion figure represents a nearly 40% increase in what the organization receives from its current deals.

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A photo of the NASCAR Cup Series, FOX, Prime Video, TNT, and NBC Sports logos

NASCAR is on the verge of announcing a new TV rights deal that will see the racing organization bring in $1.1 billion annually from five TV partners.

The $1.1 billion figure represents a nearly 40% increase in what the organization receives from its current deals.

Beginning in 2025 and running through the 2031 season, NASCAR will air its first 14 Cup Series events with FOX and FS1. The next five events will air on Amazon Prime Video, making the first time a NASCAR event will be shown exclusively on a streaming service.

Following Amazon’s portion of the schedule, another five events will be broadcast on both TNT and the B/R Sports tier of the Max streaming service. The final 14 races of the year will be broadcast with NBC, USA Network, and Peacock, according to reporting from Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern.

Previously, FOX Sports aired 18 races, while NBC aired 20, which includes two exhibition events.

In addition to its new deals with Amazon Prime Video and TNT for the Cup Series, NASCAR also has a previously announced new broadcast agreement with The CW to air each race of the Xfinity Series.

The upcoming announcement, which is expected either Wednesday or Thursday, comes on the heels of NASCAR President Steve Phelps admitting new TV partners would be entering the fray in the next contract.

“We are going to have an additional partner and we may have two additional partners,” Phelps told NBC Sports. “That’s kind of where we’re trying to figure out in these last few weeks — what that’s going to look like, but we already know we’re going to have more partners.”

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