Sports TV News

MLB on TBS Unveils Alternate Broadcast for NLCS

The first-of-its-kind experience will center on cultural conversations through the game of baseball featuring both current and former Latino MLB players.

Published

1 month ago

October 16, 2023

BSM Staff

Courtesy: Warner Bros. Discovery

Coverage of the 2023 National League Championship Series begins on Monday night from Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Penn. in a matchup between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies. The victor of this best-of-seven series will advance to the World Series, granting them a chance to hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy and claim ultimate glory within Major League Baseball. As part of its seven-year media rights deal with the league, worth a reported $535 million annually, Warner Bros. Discovery network TBS will be the home of the proceedings.

The traditional broadcast booth includes Brian Anderson delivering the play-by-play, with analysts Ron Darling and Jeff Francoeur and reporter Matt Winer. Utilizing traditional linear cable television or B/R Sports Add-On through Max, the company’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming service, fans will be able to watch the action in real time.

For viewers who prefer a different viewing experience, the network will air a secondary viewing presentation – titled Postseason ALTcast: Peloteros. The first-of-its-kind experience will center on cultural conversations through the game of baseball featuring both current and former Latino MLB players. MLB on TBS analysts Pedro Martínez and Albert Pujols will be on this feed for every game of the NLCS, along with MLB Network analyst Yonder Alonso. MLB Network personality and former Los Angeles Dodgers reporter Alanna Rizzo will serve as the program’s host.

Current players slated to join include New York Yankees starting pitcher Néstor Cortés Jr. and Los Angeles Dodgers utility player Enrique Hernández. These broadcasts will be available through the sports tier on Max, and will also air on cable television through truTV.

Pujols will join the MLB on TBS Leadoff studio team throughout the series, which makes its planned transition to Lauren Shehadi as the host. Ernie Johnson, who had hosted the program throughout the divisional round, is preparing to launch another new season of Inside the NBA with Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny “The Jet” Smith and Charles Barkley. Shehadi will be joined by Martínez and Pujols, in addition to Jimmy Rollins and Curtis Granderson, to synthesize the action, present highlights and interview players and personnel. All broadcasts follow with MLB on TBS Closer, which contains the same cast as the pregame show.

Coverage of the NLCS begins on Monday night with the Diamondbacks-Phillies matchup with MLB on TBS Leadoff at 7:30 p.m. EST/4:30 p.m. PST. Game action, which will be covered by both the traditional broadcast and Postseason ALTcast: Peloteros, gets underway at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST on TBS and truTV, respectively, with both properties airing through the B/R Sports Add-On through Max.

BSM Staff

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Scripps Sports Exec: Teams Are Making Contingency Deals For After Bally Sports Bankruptcy

Lawlor said that Scripps Sports “already has deals in place with at least a couple of teams as a contingency in case Bally halts broadcasts before the end of the 2024 season.”

Published

8 hours ago

November 30, 2023

Jordan Bondurant

With the writing on the wall that Diamond Sports Group will drop its regional sports contracts after next year, entities like Scripps Sports are bracing for additional opportunities to work with various teams.

Scripps Sports president Brian Lawlor recently said teams and leagues are already thinking ahead.

“There’s a lot of contingency planning by teams and leagues to have distribution options if the creditors pull the rug out early,” Lawlor told Cincinnati Business Courier. “It’s really messy right now.”

Lawlor added that Scripps has already been involved in contingency planning with those leagues and teams, with talks having gone on for months in some instances.

“(Scripps) already has deals in place with at least a couple of teams as a contingency in case Bally halts broadcasts before the end of the 2024 season.

Scripps Sports already stepped in to help provide a new TV home for both the Vegas Golden Knights and the Arizona Coyotes. Lawlor said returns with those teams, particularly in Vegas, have been great.

“We’ve been blown away by the Golden Knights over-the-air ratings and the number of people who have subscribed to direct-to-consumer,” he said.

Jordan Bondurant

Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett Sports Media. He’s a multimedia journalist and communicator who works at the Virginia State Corporation Commission in Richmond. Jordan also contributes occasional coverage of the Washington Capitals for the blog NoVa Caps. His prior media experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, WRIC-TV 8News and Audacy Richmond. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.

Sports TV News

Bob Iger: ESPN Could ‘Go It Alone’ and Not Take Financial Partners

“We are fully prepared to do that. It would be a little more challenging if we did.”

Published

9 hours ago

November 30, 2023

Jordan Bondurant

Courtesy: CNBC

As Disney continues to consider selling an ownership stake in ESPN, Disney CEO Bob Iger told employees he’s not ruling out the possibility of not bringing in new financial partners.

Front Office Sports reported Wednesday that Iger spoke at a Disney town hall on Tuesday and there’s no requirement in place that says Disney must seek out new investors to maintain ESPN’s financial future.

“We could go it alone,” he said. “We are fully prepared to do that. It would be a little more challenging if we did.”

Disney has already had some level of conversations with potential partners including pro sports leagues and big tech companies.

Jordan Bondurant

Sports TV News

NASCAR to Announce $1.1B Rights Deal with FOX, NBC, Prime Video, TNT

The $1.1 billion figure represents a nearly 40% increase in what the organization receives from its current deals.

Published

16 hours ago

November 29, 2023

BSM Staff

A photo of the NASCAR Cup Series, FOX, Prime Video, TNT, and NBC Sports logos

NASCAR is on the verge of announcing a new TV rights deal that will see the racing organization bring in $1.1 billion annually from five TV partners.

The $1.1 billion figure represents a nearly 40% increase in what the organization receives from its current deals.

Beginning in 2025 and running through the 2031 season, NASCAR will air its first 14 Cup Series events with FOX and FS1. The next five events will air on Amazon Prime Video, making the first time a NASCAR event will be shown exclusively on a streaming service.

Following Amazon’s portion of the schedule, another five events will be broadcast on both TNT and the B/R Sports tier of the Max streaming service. The final 14 races of the year will be broadcast with NBC, USA Network, and Peacock, according to reporting from Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern.

Previously, FOX Sports aired 18 races, while NBC aired 20, which includes two exhibition events.

In addition to its new deals with Amazon Prime Video and TNT for the Cup Series, NASCAR also has a previously announced new broadcast agreement with The CW to air each race of the Xfinity Series.

The upcoming announcement, which is expected either Wednesday or Thursday, comes on the heels of NASCAR President Steve Phelps admitting new TV partners would be entering the fray in the next contract.

“We are going to have an additional partner and we may have two additional partners,” Phelps told NBC Sports. “That’s kind of where we’re trying to figure out in these last few weeks — what that’s going to look like, but we already know we’re going to have more partners.”

BSM Staff