Sports TV News
Bob Myers Reportedly Nearing Deal to Join ESPN’s ‘NBA Countdown’
Published
9 months agoon
By
BSM Staff
Bob Myers, the former general manager of the Golden State Warriors, is nearing a deal to join NBA Countdown as a studio analyst. The addition of Myers would presumably round out the cast, which currently includes Stephen A. Smith and Michael Wilbon. As was divulged on Wednesday, Malika Andrews is reportedly set to be named the program’s new host. News of the transaction was first reported by Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post.
Myers, a four-time NBA champion, would be entering this role with previous media experience. He hosted the Lead By Example podcast, which was produced through Omaha Productions and distributed by ESPN across its platforms. The longtime general manager oversaw the development of superstars such as Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green during his tenure with the Warriors.
At the conclusion of last season, Myers announced that he was resigning as the general manager of the Warriors, affirming that the proper time had come. Throughout his 11-year tenure as the team’s general manager, he helped build and maintain a championship culture while making the team a destination for free agents and young players alike.
Myers was also an important part of planning and executing the construction of Chase Center, the team’s state-of-the-art home arena in downtown San Francisco, Calif. The Warriors won four championships and garnered 23 All-Star selections during Myers’ time with the team – the most under a general manager in NBA history. He is a two-time NBA Executive of the Year and considered to be the “architect” by Warriors fans.
Myers first began his career in the sports industry as an agent and eventually served as the vice president of SFX Sports. Over his 14 years as an agent, he negotiated contracts for prominent NBA stars such as Brook Lopez, Tyreke Evans and Kendrick Perkins. After working as an assistant manager for one year, Myers was promoted to general manager of the organization. He will now look to bring the skills and expertise he learned from being an agent and front office executive to the airwaves as negotiations with ESPN reportedly near a conclusion.
Sports TV News
NFL Draft Ratings Fall After Strong First Round
ABC was slightly down, but ESPN2’s number is a 15% drop from last year while NFL Network saw a 20% decline.
Published
2 hours agoon
April 30, 2024By
BSM Staff
Despite a strong start on Thursday, the second night of the NFL Draft saw a decline in viewership, reaching its lowest Friday audience since 2012 with an average of only 5.1 million viewers. ABC led the way bringing in 2.69 million viewers, followed by ESPN2 at 1.57 million and NFL Network with 793,000. ESPN Deportes adds in another 14,000 for a total that was 9% less than the year before.
ESPN had previously aired part of Day 2 before shifting over to ESPN2, however this year the second day was solely on ESPN2. ESPN carried Game 3 of the NBA playoff series between the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers. According to Jon Lewis from Sports Media Watch, ABC was slightly down, but ESPN2’s number is a 15% drop from last year while NFL Network saw a 20% decline. Lewis notes the NFL Network number for Friday’s draft coverage was their lowest since 2011.
On Thursday, night one of the NFL Draft had its best viewing audience in three years. According to numbers posted by Sports Business Journal’s Austin Karp, ESPN had 5.6 million viewers, while ABC had 4.5 million and the NFL Network and other digital streaming had 1.6 million. Add those numbers to what ESPN Deportes did and it comes out to around 12.1 million. The NFL and Nielsen said that 34.3 million viewers tuned in at some point to watch the first round.
Sports TV News
Report: NBC Could Steal NBA Rights from TNT to the Tune of Around $2.5 Billion Per Year
Published
19 hours agoon
April 29, 2024By
BSM Staff
A report from the Wall Street Journal says NBC is making an offer around $2.5 billion per year to obtain part of the NBA media rights package. Joel Flint, Amol Sharma and Isabella Simonetti all contributed to the story which says Warner Bros. Discovery is making a “last-ditch effort” for TNT to continue as an NBA partner.
The TNT portion of the current agreement, which expires after next season, is an average of $1.2 billion. ESPN had been paying $1.5 billion and that is expected to increase over $1 billion annually.
Last week, reports surfaced from Puck’s John Ourand that ESPN was nearing completion of their portion of the package and that it would include the NBA Finals staying on ABC. All indications had been there would be more than two partners in the next deal and that it would include a streaming network. Andrew Marchand of The Athletic also reported last week that Amazon Prime Video and the league “have the framework of a deal” and that it would include “significant regular season and postseason games, perhaps even conference finals.”
The WSJ report says NBC’s discussions with the NBA have been about carrying two prime-time games a week. This is important as WBD has matching rights in their current agreement. However, they do not own a broadcast network and therefore could not offer something similar to NBC.
Multiple reports have said any new agreements will be for a period of ten years.
The biggest ramification of all this would be the end of Ernie, Kenny, Charles and Shaq. https://t.co/GUmb4EeV2b
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) April 29, 2024
Sports TV News
NFL Draft Night One Averages Over 12 Million Viewers, Best in Three Years
The NFL and Nielsen said that 34.3 million viewers tuned in at some point to watch the first round.
Published
20 hours agoon
April 29, 2024By
BSM StaffOn Thursday, the NFL kicked off night one of the NFL Draft live from Detroit. A record 275,000 people attended, and it had its best viewing audience in three years.
According to numbers posted by Sports Business Journal’s Austin Karp, ESPN had 5.6 million viewers, while ABC had 4.5 million and the NFL Network and other digital streaming had 1.6 million. Add those numbers to what ESPN Deportes did and it comes out to around 12.1 million. The NFL and Nielsen said that 34.3 million viewers tuned in at some point to watch the first round.
The figure for 2024 is up 6% over last year’s draft and is the highest since 2021’s 12.5 million. The record for the most-watched NFL Draft came during the pandemic in 2020 and hit 15.3 million.
According to Karp, ABC had the largest increase as it featured the College GameDay crew including the newest member, former Alabama head coach Nick Saban.
