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Turner Gets 3 Stanley Cup Finals & Winter Classic

Other details of the agreement include as many as 72 exclusive regular-season games per year, which will air on TNT and its sister channel TBS. Half of the Stanley Cup Playoffs each year can also be found on both stations.

Kate Constable

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Having announced a seven-year deal with the NHL on Tuesday, Turner officially joined ESPN as one of the league’s TV partners. The deal will begin this fall with the 2021-22 season.

According to Awful Announcing, Turner did not release the yearly fee their paying but noted that Sports Business Journal estimates the total cost at $1.575 billion over the seven years, or $225 million per year.

When adding the $400 million per season that ESPN is paying, the NHL is raking in $625 million per year, which is more than double what NBC – who had been the league’s only national TV partner for the last 10 years before being replaced – and ESPN had currently been paying, as noted by Awful Announcing.

A report by Sportico notes that “TNT will televise the three Stanley Cup Finals not already claimed by fellow newcomer ESPN, as well as the Winter Classic.”

Other details of the agreement include as many as 72 exclusive regular-season games per year, which will air on TNT and its sister channel TBS. Half of the Stanley Cup Playoffs each year can also be found on both stations.

TNT will also have streaming and simulcast rights for HBO, although Sportico notes that WarnerMedia News & Sports chairman Jeff Zucker and his team won’t rush into bringing hockey “over-the-top.”

“We’re really focused on the Turner networks, TNT and TBS, given their full distribution,” Zucker said during a call with sports reporters on Tuesday. “We’re excited to have the optionality to put these games on HBO Max as well, and that will happen in years to come as HBO Max continues to grow. We’re going to skate where the puck is going… but it’s not imminent, and it’s not going to happen this year.”

The report also notes that Turner is assembling a studio show and NHL broadcast team but, between the NBA, MLB and March Madness games, it’s undecided as to which night will serve as the weekly hockey telecast.

An NHL studio show similar to Inside the NBA is also in the works, according to Sportico.

“Obviously, there’s a style to Turner Sports, and we want to bring that same approach to the NHL,” Zucker said, before saying that the show that bows next fall will be “innovative, fun and dynamic.”

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Charles Barkley ‘Was so Mad’ at ESPN Coverage of LeBron James

“We all love LeBron, [but] he didn’t say he was retired yet. It should’ve been all about the Denver Nuggets.”

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When the Denver Nuggets advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in the 47-year history of the franchise, ESPN showed the team’s celebration for all of four seconds. It then quickly switched to a shot of LeBron James, stoic but obviously disappointed, walking through the tunnel back to the Los Angeles Lakers locker room.

Tuesday on ESPN’s First Take, JJ Redick criticized the network’s NBA coverage for highlighting larger markets and a small faction of players considered to be “superstars.” There’s no way to tell if Charles Barkley was watching, but Redick’s point is one he agreed with.

That night on Inside the NBA, Barkley said he was annoyed with the amount of attention put on LeBron James after the game. He wanted to see the reactions of Nuggets stars Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray and head coach Michael Malone to making the NBA Finals. Instead, he and other viewers were inundated with more content centered around the Los Angeles Lakers.

“I was so mad this morning I actually turned the TV off,” Barkley said last night on Inside the NBA, “because the Denver Nuggets sweep and get to the Finals for the first time. We all love LeBron, [but] he didn’t say he was retired yet. It should’ve been all about the Denver Nuggets.”

James, for the record, did not even say that he was seriously considering retiring. In a post-game press conference following the Lakers’ elimination, he said he “had a lot to think about” in the offseason.

The Walt Disney Company has reported its most-watched NBA playoffs on ESPN platforms in the last 11 years, according to data provided by Nielsen Media Research. The games have averaged approximately 5.6 million viewers, a 9% increase from the year prior. Moreover, Game 4 between the Nuggets and Lakers peaked at around 11.5 million viewers from the 11 to 11:15 p.m. EST quarter hour window, and averaged 8.2 million over the duration of the contest.

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ESPN Layoffs Resume, NFL & NBA Talent Likely To See Biggest Cuts

“The company is beginning its latest phase of layoffs this week with Vice President of Research, Insights and Analytics Barry Blyn receiving a pink slip Wednesday morning.”

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ESPN will look to slash $30 million in salary as The Walt Disney Company’s layoffs continue, with a majority of it coming from talent covering the NFL and NBA. The network’s goal is to have the layoffs completed by the end of June according to a report by Front Office Sports.

Through it all, Max Kellerman’s afternoon television show This Just In could be canceled in order to slot Pat McAfee’s show into the daily programming lineup. Kellerman’s show airs from 2 to 3 p.m. EST, meaning more moves could be on the way to hold McAfee’s statement that his show will air immediately following First Take, which concludes at noon.

Employee morale at ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol is reportedly quite low, with people questioning why the company chose to pay McAfee and lay off a litany of its dedicated and longtime staffers.

The company is beginning its latest phase of layoffs this week with Vice President of Research, Insights and Analytics Barry Blyn receiving a pink slip Wednesday morning. More names are surely to follow as The Worldwide Leader looks to do its part to contribute to Disney cutting $5.5 billion in costs. The final round is expected to impact 2,500 employees in different areas of the company.

The company expects to report its own earnings for the first time this November, and sources have stated that the numbers will be impressive. Conducting the layoffs in separate rounds and saving on-air talent for last, however, has certainly played a role in public perception of the moves, and this week’s round will largely impact executives and other personnel behind the scenes.

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Eli Manning: ‘People Enjoy’ When ManningCast Has to Apologize for Language

“We get a lot of curse words, some from Peyton, some from guests.”

Jordan Bondurant

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The ManningCast on ESPN has become appointment viewing for select Monday Night Football games. Eli Manning loves the fun, laid-back nature of the show he and brother Peyton put on for fans.

But with live TV, sometimes unpredictable things happen, and sometimes people use profanity. Eli, speaking on Tuesday at the 4se sports and entertainment event in New York City, said viewers get a kick out of when the two let occasional profanities slip and have to scramble to say sorry.

“We get a lot of curse words, some from Peyton, some from guests,” he said. “I feel like we’re apologizing for a lot of things on the show, but I guess people enjoy that part.”

Manning has said previously that the goal is for viewers to get the sense that Peyton and Eli are right there with them on their couch watching the game. Eli said it’s been fun getting to show some authenticity now that he’s retired.

“When I was playing, there was a conscious effort; I didn’t want either my fans or coaches to think I had a life outside of football,” he said. “Once I retired, I realized I didn’t have to hold back.”

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