Sports TV News

Al Michaels: ‘I’m Not Doing Access Hollywood’ During Thursday Night Football

“I had to acknowledge it, but what do you do?”

Published

1 month ago

October 17, 2023

BSM Staff

Courtesy: Tom Hauck, Getty Images

Over the last several weeks, the alleged relationship between singer/songwriter Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has dominated headlines. During Thursday Night Football last week, Swift attended the game to support Kelce. Play-by-play announcer Al Michaels knew that he needed to recognize her presence while also carefully allocating how often they would discuss her.

Michaels appeared on the ABC late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday where his interview with host Jimmy Kimmel immediately began with a question about how Amazon Prime Video handled the situation. His reply expressed an understanding for viewers on both sides of the situation; that is, those tuning in to watch the game, and others who just wanted to receive a glimpse of Swift’s suite.

“How much do you show her?,” Michaels said. “She’d been on twice, and football fans are going, ‘Enough,’ but we were praying she’d come into the booth and sing for us and do the whole thing. I had to acknowledge it, but what do you do? You can’t fool around; otherwise people will say that sounds hokey and the whole thing.”

Michaels and Prime Video color commentator Kirk Herbstreit stayed focused on the game at hand throughout the night, and the broadcast utilized shots of Swift occasionally. In the end, a football game is focused on the action taking place on the gridiron rather than specific people in attendance, and he knew that his focus would ultimately be on the Chiefs and their opponent, the visiting Denver Broncos.

When Michaels introduced Swift on the air, he shared that he did not know how to describe her. This prompted Kimmel to inform him that the show had the clip where he referred to her as Kelce’s “good buddy” and “girlfriend.”

“Is she his good buddy or girlfriend, Al?,” Kimmel asked. “It can’t be both.”

“You’re doing a game like that; I know the internet is going to blow up,” Michaels replied. “Page Six is waiting for whatever I say. You know what I really wanted to say? Fiancé. I didn’t because I figured Travis would beat me up at the end of the game.”

Al Michaels and Herbstreit did not overly hone in on Swift, instead discussing the football game and talking about how Kelce was playing despite entering as questionable with an ankle injury. The Chiefs ended up winning the game 19-8, marking the team’s fifth consecutive win and improving their record to 5-1 overall.

“It’s hard because people tune in to watch a football game,” Al Michaels said. “I’m not doing Access Hollywood.”

The matchup continued Prime Video’s successful start to the 2023 regular season with five consecutive weeks of double-digit viewership increases. Nielsen Media Research ratings stated that the matchup averaged 13.83 million viewers, up 57% over the comparable game year-over-year (YoY). When combining the Nielsen figure with internal metrics from Amazon, the average number rises to an average minute audience (AMA) of 14.90 million viewers.

BSM Staff

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Sports TV News

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

9 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