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WWE Wants To Follow Marvel Model

WWE is leaning more and more into an entertainment business model.

Russ Heltman

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Courtesy: WWE

Marvel laid the groundwork, and WWE is following the blueprint. Sources have told Front Office Sports that the wrestling giant sees a similar growth plan between the two companies.

“At first glance, WWE’s a wrestling company. But it’s really a media/content company with a treasure trove of IP that appeals to young demos,” the source told FOS.

Marvel wasn’t always the titan it has grown into today; the company only recently capitalized off of wildly popular comic book IP. 2008 is a fork in the road for the company when it released “Iron Man” in theaters. The film kicked off their decade-plus run of entertainment dominance. Now sources around the sports industry believe WWE is trying to capitalize on its content in the same way.

2020 was a record year for WWE, even with the pandemic. The company’s programming now reaches 900 million homes worldwide, and the company posted record revenue of $974.2 million last year. A big marker in its growth has been the new deal with NBC Universal’s Peacock. The streaming service unveiled the new partnership around Wrestlemania 37 and sparked the night into its most-watched live event ever. The five-year, $1 billion deal with Peacock helped bolster the streaming service’s subscriber numbers.

The relationship with Peacock includes the WWE Network in the streaming service’s library. Fans even got a discount on pay-per-view matches with the inclusion. Customers buy pay-per-view fights for $4.99, compared to the WWE Network’s $9.99 price point.

WWE has also added voices from outside the wrestling world to help lead the company. Barstool Sports CEO Erika Nardini became the third woman to currently hold a board position at the media and entertainment company last October. 

Yesterday the company announced the hiring of Jamie Horowitz as WWE’s new executive vice president of development and digital Tuesday. Horowitz previously worked as the executive vice president of global content with DAZN streaming service since 2018. Step by step, WWE is leaning into their identity as an entertainment brand above all.

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Cory Provus: Moving From Minnesota Twins Radio to TV ‘Ultimate Challenge’ of Career

“I’m just excited for the opportunity, I really am, to be able to challenge myself in a way I haven’t before.”

Jordan Bondurant

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Cory Provus

The Minnesota Twins have found their new TV play-by-play announcer. They didn’t have to look far to tap Cory Provus for the role.

Provus has been the Twins radio play-by-play voice for 12 years. Following the exit of longtime announcer Dick Bremer, Cory will become the guide for Twins fans on television.

“It’s an exciting day, a humbling day, an emotional day on many fronts,” Provus told TwinCities.com. “I’m just excited for the opportunity, I really am, to be able to challenge myself in a way I haven’t before.”

A radio guy the vast majority of his career, Provus begins the transition into television. Though it requires making a few adjustments, the thought of reaching additional fans now that local blackout restrictions are being lifted was a big selling point to Provus.

“I’ve always thought of myself as being ambitious and challenging myself, and this, to me, is the ultimate challenge by far,” he said. “And the idea of joining this group in this way now, I think I would regret at least not trying.”

Provus will hand over the reins on the radio side to Kris Atteberry. Kris has been with the team since 2007 as the team’s radio color commentator. Now he finally earns his chance to be on the call.

“Let’s be honest: I’ve been calling big-league games for 17 years, not as the lead guy,” Atteberry said. “There is a difference. I’ve called a billion games in my life. But to be the lead guy, that’s what everybody wants. That’s what I’ve wanted to be since I was a 6-year-old kid.”

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Marquee Sports Network GM Mike McCarthy Stepping Down

McCarthy joined Marquee Sports Network upon its launch after previously leading MSG Networks.

Jordan Bondurant

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Marquee logo

Marquee Sports Network will soon need a new general manager. Longtime GM Mike McCarthy announced over the weekend he is stepping down.

McCarthy helped oversee the launch of the Chicago Cubs-owned regional sports network in 2019, but Chicago Sun-Times media columnist Jeff Agrest shared on X on Friday that McCarthy needed time to focus on his health.

McCarthy was tapped to work on Marquee given his track record at MSG. He rose from coordinating producer in 1982 to the network president in 2000, overseeing the merging of MSG Network and SportsChannel New York.

Between 2005 and 2019, McCarthy enjoyed stints with the St. Louis Blues as the team’s vice chairman and CEO and with the Milwaukee Bucks as chief operating officer. The Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019.

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Sports Media Reacts to Final SEC on CBS Broadcast

The network began airing SEC broadcasts in 1996.

Jordan Bondurant

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SEC on CBS logo

Saturday marked the final SEC broadcast for CBS, as Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson called Alabama’s upset victory over Georgia for the conference championship.

CBS is moving on to become a media partner for the Big Ten for the next decade, but not before Nessler and Danielson could offer their final thoughts on Saturday’s broadcast.

“It’s been quite a ride for us, our entire crew, Gary and I,” Nessler said. “The people that have come before us, all the places we get to see and the people we get to meet and the coaches we get to be around. Some roads have to end somewhere and our road comes to an end tonight with the SEC.”

Danielson credited CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus for developing the concept of a national college football game of the week for a conference and having the vision to make sure the best people were in place. He also complimented McManus for developing the now iconic theme song. The longtime analyst was appreciative of the opportunity to succeed Todd Blackledge, and shared that though CBS’s run deserved to be celebrated and recognized, all he did was his job.

“What we really did is nothing new, and I’m going to steal another line from another network. But I think it’s going to have a pass here,” Danielson said. “What we did was follow the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”

“Whether you were in your favorite bar having a beer or in your easy chair at home or watching us on your streaming devices, whatever, we want to thank you, the fans, the viewers, everybody that’s been with us every Saturday at 3:30 for the SEC on CBS,” Nessler concluded.

Several across sports media had their own reactions to the network’s final broadcast, which included using former play-by-play voice Verne Lundquist in the opening element.

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