Connect with us
blank

Sports TV News

Joe Buck on Moving to ESPN: ‘This Bus Was Coming Along One Time’

Buck revealed that he will start at ESPN on May 1 which, as he put it, means he’s technically unemployed for the next seven weeks.

Avatar photo

Published

on

blank

The past week in sports media has essentially been Joe Buck Week and, really, what a seven days it has been.

Going into last weekend, news of Buck leaving Fox for ESPN and Monday Night Football dropped. On Wednesday, ESPN officially announced Buck and Troy Aikman as its new MNF broadcast team. Hours later, Buck was eliminated and revealed on The Masked Singer, which turned out to be a bizarre farewell to his tenure at Fox.

In another example of timing so perfect that it almost seems orchestrated, Buck’s weekly podcast with Oliver Hudson, Daddy Issues, posted its regular Thursday episode and the broadcaster was ready to talk about the whirlwind events of the past week and the absurdity of how events played out.

Buck revealed that he will start at ESPN on May 1 which, as he put it, means he’s technically unemployed for the next seven weeks.

“After 27 years at Fox, my goodbye on-air, on the network, is me singing dressed as a ram,” said Buck. “As the Masked Singer, as a larger-than-life Roman soldier guy.

“It only proves how fast the deal with ESPN happened… that was shot the week after the NFC championship game, which happened to be in L.A. I mean, it couldn’t have worked out any better. And I had no idea that was going to be my last moments at Fox. But those are my last moments at Fox.”

According to Buck, his wife, ESPN reporter Michelle Beisner, “got into a wee bit of trouble” by revealing the move to ESPN on Instagram before any official announcement had been made and some people who probably needed to be notified had received word. (Although the New York Post‘s Andrew Marchand may have broken the news first.)

Buck then recounted the machinations involved in getting out of the final year of his Fox contract to sign with ESPN. Much of this has already been reported, but it’s still intriguing to hear Buck’s perspective on this and his gratitude for network executives letting him out of his deal for a “quality of life” move that would be really beneficial to his family.

“I think what Fox realized… they didn’t want me to go, they have a Super Bowl this year, they have a Super Bowl in two more years, so they have two of the next three Super Bowls,” said Buck. “I’ve done it, so they have experience with me and I was signed through this year knowing that the Super Bowl was there.

“So Fox had to be really… for lack of a better word, kind and let me out of the deal because this bus was coming along one time. And if I didn’t get on it, I may never get on it.”

Buck went on to explain that the original plan was for Aikman to at least do half a season with him at Fox, while he also called Thursday Night Football on Amazon, followed by the postseason and Super Bowl. But those negotiations broke down, giving ESPN the opportunity to swoop in and sign him.

Then ESPN asked Aikman if he thought Buck might be willing to come with him, and that started the sequence of events leading to one of the biggest moves sports media has seen in recent memory, changing NFL broadcast coverage for two networks. Buck met with Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks and president of production Brad Zager and worked the situation out to everyone’s satisfaction.

The entire podcast is worth listening to, which includes Buck hinting that he knows what Fox will do to replace him. And he indicates pretty strongly that the network will make the internal moves of moving Kevin Burkhardt up to the No. 1 NFL play-by-play position and Joe Davis to lead voice of MLB and World Series broadcasts.

Daddy Issues is available on the show’s website, iHeartRadio, and your podcast app of choice including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Sports TV News

JJ Redick: ESPN Sells The NBA As ‘Only 5 or 6 Teams Matter’

“To me, this could be the best thing possible for the NBA and its fans because we have not done a good job of selling the rest of the NBA.”

blank

Published

on

JJ Redick

Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ elimination from the NBA Playoffs, the matchup between the Association’s two most accomplished clubs – the Lakers and Boston Celtics – is no longer a possibility. On Tuesday morning’s edition of First Take on ESPN, JJ Redick suggested how it would be a seminal occurrence for the NBA to have teams from smaller media markets square off for the championship, familiarizing basketball and sports fans at large with new teams and players.

“We somehow have sold the NBA as a league where only five or six teams matter and a league where only five or six players matter,” Redick said on the program. “To me, this could be a watershed moment for the NBA. To me, this could be the best thing possible for the NBA and its fans because we have not done a good job of selling the rest of the NBA.”

Redick pointed out how after Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, the talking points were focused on the Lakers and what the team needed to do to have a legitimate chance to win the series. He reminded people that Nuggets center and two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić had his third consecutive triple-double, posting an unparalleled statline of 34 points, 21 rebounds and 14 assists.

“We don’t do a good job of selling what the NBA is, which is 30 teams, 450 players [and] multiple superstars,” Redick said. “The fact that people are now being like, ‘Oh, I didn’t realize Nikola Jokić was good’…. Well, let’s put him on TV more!”

Stephen A. Smith told Redick that the NBA has not established its games akin to “events” as much as the National Football League. Smith expressed how he has seen pastors change the time of their Sunday sermons in order to ensure they were home to watch professional football games. While football is very much a team sport, Smith offered Redick his perspective that basketball is “built on superstars.”

“The NBA became what it is because it gravitated to individuality,” Smith said. “Even though the Boston Celtics were a great team and the Lakers ultimately were a great team, they sold Magic and Bird. Michael Jordan comes along – they sold Michael Jordan, and obviously, all the names that we don’t need to get into followed. They sold the individual.”

Smith addressed Redick and accentuated the incredible feats of Jokić, but part of what has made him one of sports media’s most prominent personalities is by having a shrewd perception of his audience. ESPN and other major sports networks are fully aware that Los Angeles supersedes Denver in terms of media consumers, and that the Lakers are recognized as an international brand.

“I’m not where I am today if it were not for the NBA,” Smith said. “Basketball has done wonders for my life, and I’m incredibly grateful and thankful, and the NBA will always be promoted on this show. Please understand in the same breath, we also have to pay attention to what the audience wants to hear too.”

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading

Sports TV News

Diamond Sports Group In Danger of Losing Padres TV Rights

“The company has a grace period to deliver the payment that runs through May 30.”

blank

Published

on

blank

Diamond Sports Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March after failing to make a scheduled debt payment to its creditors. At the time, the company had more than $8 billion in debt and was commencing a process of restructuring. Yet the company stated its Ballys-branded regional sports networks would continue to operate as usual. Major League Baseball decided to take action though and establish a plan to broadcast games locally if the company missed a rights payment.

Now, it is looking that is exactly what will happen. Diamond missed a payment to the San Diego Padres last week, meaning the team’s media rights could soon be the property of Major League Baseball. The company has a grace period to deliver the payment that runs through May 30. If it were to miss the payment, it would mark the first time it will relinquish a contract in this way.

“Despite Diamond’s economic situation, there is every expectation that they will continue televising all games they are committed to during the bankruptcy process,” Major League Baseball said in a statement. “Major League Baseball is ready to produce and distribute games to fans in their local markets in the event that Diamond or any other regional sports network is unable to do so as required by their agreement with our club.”

The company’s current contract with the San Diego Padres has nine years and approximately $540 million remaining with an escalator clause built into the deal. This means that the final year of the deal would cost Diamond Sports Group more than $70 million in rights fees, and while the team is in the top five for television deliveries, the entity perhaps may not view it as sustainable. The momentum headed in this direction was first reported by John Ourand of Sports Business Journal.

The company has also pushed Major League Baseball teams to agree to deals to stream the games in order to recoup lost cable revenue. By being granted the rights to stream games directly to consumers, Diamond Sports Group has vowed to pay the rights fees it owes to nine MLB teams. The company currently has the streaming rights for just five of the 14 major league clubs on its regional sports networks.

Some industry experts believe Diamond Sports Group is utilizing this stalemate to be able to exit media rights deals that are losing the company money. For example, the Diamondbacks’ media rights contract garners an annual payment of about $68 million while amassing the second-lowest local television ratings of any Major League Baseball team.

On May 31, a bankruptcy judge will establish how much money Diamond Sports Group owes its clubs for media rights fees while in Chapter 11 bankruptcy and whether it can continue broadcasting games at this time. The Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins filed emergency motions urging the judge to coerce Diamond Sports Group to make their payments. If the company is unable to distribute payments, the emergency motion calls for teams to issue default notices to the regional sports networks, which could permit the termination of media rights contracts.

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading

Sports TV News

Devin McCourty Joining Football Night in America on NBC

“I’m very grateful for this opportunity from NBC Sports to learn from great individuals, chase new goals and provide viewers with my thoughts on the biggest games every week.”

blank

Published

on

blank

NBC Sports has enhanced its roster of football analysts with the signing of Devin McCourty. He will join the cast of Football Night in America leading up to each week’s broadcast of Sunday Night Football.

McCourty is a three-time Super Bowl champion and played his entire 13-year career as a defensive back with the New England Patriots, and has the record for most career playoff games started by a defensive player.

“It’s rare when you have the opportunity to add a three-time Super Bowl-winner to your team, and we’re excited to welcome Devin McCourty to Football Night following an incredible NFL career,” said Sam Flood, executive producer and president of production at NBC Sports. “Devin is a leader in every sense of the word, both on and off the field, and his dynamic personality and passion for the game will be a great addition to the show.”

McCourty’s twin brother, Jason, currently works on the cast of NFL Network’s Good Morning Football, and the two co-hosted a podcast together while playing called Double Coverage. Devin was a guest host on Good Morning Football earlier in the season and also contributed to pregame coverage on The NFL Today and NFL Draft content for CBS Sports.

“I’m excited to be a rookie on the best team in America again,” McCourty said in a statement. “I’m very grateful for this opportunity from NBC Sports to learn from great individuals, chase new goals and provide viewers with my thoughts on the biggest games every week.”

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading
Advertisement

blank

Advertisement

blank

Advertisement

blank

Barrett Media Writers

Copyright © 2023 Barrett Media.