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Cameron Maybin Excited to Join YES Network: ‘I Couldn’t Turn It Down’

“After three innings, that’s all they wanted us to do, I put down the headset, Peter [Rosenberg] and I turned to Cameron and said ‘You are going to be a huge star.'”

Ricky Keeler

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Once the 2022 Major League Baseball season actually begins, there will be a new addition to the YES Network booth. Cameron Maybin will be one of the new in-game analysts calling New York Yankees games this season (joining Carlos Beltran)

His broadcasting agent, Mark Lepselter, told BSM that Cameron Maybin is scheduled to be the analyst on 40 games this season working alongside Michael Kay, who auditioned him.

Maybin had a 15-year MLB career, which included one season with the Yankees in 2019 (batting .285 with 11 home runs and 32 RBIs in 82 games) where he became a fan favorite.

Maybin was the fill-in host for CC Sabathia this week on The Ringer’s R2C2 podcast with Ryan Ruocco, who could be the play-by-play announcer on some of the games Maybin broadcasts this season. Ruocco said he knew that Maybin was going to be a star in this industry:

“I know the kind of career you are about to have in this business. For me to just be a part of the spark, I take great pride in that,” said Ruocco.

“When you came in and did your audition for YES, as soon as you were done, I had Troy Benjamin [lead producer for Yankees]… When you were a Yankee, I told him, dude, we should be tracking Cam when he’s done, he’s going to be a great analyst. He texted me the second you were done and he was just like, ‘Cam was incredible. He crushed his audition.’”

Michael Kay also talked about Maybin’s audition on The Michael Kay Show on Thursday. Kay and Maybin did three innings of a Yankees-Mets game from last year as part of Maybin’s audition and Kay enjoyed every second of it.

We sat in a studio in Stamford and we did the first three innings of a Yankees-Mets game from last year,” Kay explained. “After three innings, that’s all they wanted us to do, I put down the headset, Peter [Rosenberg] and I turned to Cameron and said ‘You are going to be a huge star.’ People are going to be shocked at how good this guy is. The first time he ever put on a headset, totally natural, funny, engaging, handsome, current, young. He’s going to be a star.”

“It’s a tremendous opportunity working with John Filippelli [President of Production and Programming] over at YES,” Lepselter said. “I know Cameron was very appreciative of Michael Kay’s guidance in the audition process.”

Maybin mentioned that he loves listening to baseball games and he wants to bring something different to the games in the booth this season because of the experience he had playing the game:

“I love listening to the game. I really enjoy listening to Michael Kay, David Cone, Nate Burleson. Even the guys who don’t do the broadcast,” said Maybin.

“I’m a people person. I love everyone. I thought what an opportunity to give people a different perspective, different voice, different flavor. 15 years of experience, I’ve been in three different decades of baseball… The opportunity that I had, the experience I was able to have, I want to share that with people. I enjoy sharing moments so why not share those moments with the fans.

“I fell in love with New York playing for the Yankees. So to have the opportunity to cover the Yankees, I think one of the more historic franchises in sports history… The opportunity to come to the YES Network, continue to feel like I am still somewhat a part of the Yankees family. The opportunity couldn’t work out better for me. I couldn’t turn it down. I am excited about the journey and doing it at the highest level.”

Even though baseball has been a game focused on analytics in recent years, Maybin wants to bring to the viewer what he is seeing as a former player:

“I’m by no means the smartest guy in the room,” he said. “I want to be able to connect with those fans that don’t know all the numbers. Tell me what’s going on, tell me what’s happening, why it’s happening. A lot of fans, they just want you to tell them what’s going on in the game. I want to bring that organic aspect.” 

This is just the first major deal for Maybin. Lepselter says his client will have two more announcements in the near future.

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Final ‘Good Morning Football’ Episode from New York Studio Airs Before Hiatus, Move to LA

After today, ‘Good Morning Football’ will take a brief hiatus, then move to LA. But outside of host Jamie Erdahl, who else will join the show on the West Coast?

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Good Morning Football

Today marks the last Good Morning Football episode to air from its New York studios on NFL Network. After today, the show will take a brief hiatus, then move across the country to Los Angeles. But which of the shows beloved cast members will move along with it?

We already know host Jamie Erdahl will be there once she gives birth to her child. The newest GMFB show member gave an emotional send-off to the show’s New York studios before announcing she was headed for maternity leave and would see everyone in LA.

Host Kyle Brandt delivered this message late last night, saying that viewers should tune in to he and his colleagues and that “he has a lot to say.”

As the show ended today, Brandt said, “I am not saying goodbye to any of you…Candidly, I have a lot of questions myself. Here’s what I know: I personally will be intensely involved in Good Morning Football moving forward. And I want to spend the rest of my career with the NFL. And Good Morning Football is not ending, it is expanding. And it’s exciting because it’s a bigger show and it’s more show…It’s all in and it’s all happening and yes, we will be covering the draft. GMFB is leaving home for college…it’s time to evolve. And we are flattered that you are wondering and maybe worried about what’s coming next with the show…I am very proud of what we have built here…it has been a dream job and I know we are going to make a fantastic show from Los Angeles…I’ll see you this summer.”

Earlier this week host Peter Schrager delivered his own goodbye message — one that may sound like a man who’s not ready to move his family across the country at a moment’s notice:

However, no hosts outside of Erdahl have given confirmation that they’re either staying or going.

The NFL’s move to take the show from New York to Los Angeles has been widely criticized by fans and media members alike. Bill Simmons wondered if the move wouldn’t spell just the end of GMFB but the NFL Network as a whole. It has some wondering if this is the end of football’s best show.

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Sports TV News

ESPN Coverage of Men’s NIT Tournament Quarterfinals Up 33% vs. 2023

Viewership of the Men’s NIT Quarterfinals on ESPN were up 33 percent compared to last year and featured two games that averaged over one million viewers.

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Even the NIT is riding the recent hot streak of live sports viewership numbers. According to data provided by ESPN, the 2024 NIT Quarterfinals are up 33 percent compared to last year’s tournament. Perhaps more surprisingly, two NIT quarterfinal games topped one million viewers.

The network’s Georgia/Ohio State matchup averaged 1.03 million viewers, while the Cincinnati/Indiana State contest averaged 1.02 million viewers. These two games were the most-watched NIT games since 2017 — including title games. Both Georgia and Ohio State have rabid fanbases, while many thought Indiana State was unjustly left out of the March Madness tournament, which could be a reason why viewers tuned in.

Much of the focus this season has been on the women’s game, thanks to Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks, led by Dawn Staley. ESPN just had its most-watched women’s college basketball season since 2008-09 because of the increased interest in the women’s game. The men’s game, however, hasn’t been heralded as much this season for whatever reason, mostly because numbers seem to be holding steady compared to previous years. However, if the NIT is posting viewership wins, that should bode well for the NCAA Tournament’s incoming viewership totals.

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Report: NFL to Put Christmas Day Doubleheader Up For Bids

Bidding is expected to start at $50 million among the current NFL media partners but some think the games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

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The NFL will reportedly put its Christmas Day games up for auction, allowing its current media partners to bid for the games. Now, it’s up to CBS, FOX, ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video to pay up for rights to one of these two marquee games.

According to Front Office Sports Michael McCarthy, preference will be given to linear networks, so Prime Video and Peacock may sit this one out. Bidding is expected to start at $50 million but McCarthy and his sources expect that number to rise. John Kosner, the former ESPN executive, thinks the new Christmas Day games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

The NFL announced a Wednesday Christmas Day doubleheader during its annual league meetings. The league originally said it wouldn’t force games on Christmas Day if the holiday fell on an odd day of the week, though as the NFL continues to put games on days outside of Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays, and sometimes Saturdays, we’re running out of days that don’t feature NFL football.

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