Sports TV News

Joe Davis: I’ll Always Be Nervous Before I’m on the Air

“I think there are still the same kind of nerves. I really think there always will be as long as I am lucky enough to do this.”

Published

1 month ago

October 25, 2023

Ricky Keeler

Courtesy: LA Times

Joe Davis will get to call his second World Series on Friday when the Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers get their series underway in Arlington, Texas. As he got into his second postseason where he has called the majority of games for FOX and FS1, the moment has not become too big for him.

Davis was a guest on The Marchand And Ourand Sports Media Podcast this week and he said the one thing he found out compared to preparing for last year’s playoffs was that the next postseason game that he calls is just one game in a month full of them.

“What I found was that doing the entire postseason for the first time where it used to just be the Division Series for me. While I had the nervous energy coming on the air that I’m always going to have, it didn’t feel too big because it was just the next big game in a month full of them.”

“I know that Game 1 of the World Series is a bigger deal than the rest of them, but it didn’t need to feel that way. It just felt like the next big game in a month full of them with the same partner and the same crew and the same game on the field. I think that that was a good thing and I’m sure I will feel that this year.”

While the nerves for Joe Davis are always going to be there, he knows that it’s a healthy feeling to have as long as he can channel them in the right direction.

“I think there are still the same kind of nerves. I really think there always will be as long as I am lucky enough to do this. You get into a stadium where there are 40,000 people going crazy as you come on the air. You know that it’s the marquee event in the sport. I think there is going to be nerves and I think that’s healthy. I think as long as you channel them the right way, I think it’s healthy enough to feel that.”

The pitch clock has brought up a change in the way that baseball is played even in the postseason. For Joe Davis, it has changed the way he has prepared for games because he isn’t able to get in as many long stories as he used to, especially when any pitch can change a postseason game.

“I think that there are fewer long stories just because there is not room for them. In the postseason, it’s hard to find spots where that makes sense even without the pitch clock because the next pitch could always be the one so you always have to be careful getting too deep on a guy’s story. But, now that next pitch that could be the one is always around the corner, so you really have to be careful and you have really got to be tight.”

“It’s changed the way I’ve prepped this year doing Dodger games throughout the year. I found myself spending all this time gathering these deep life stories on these guys. I get through a series with the team and be like I didn’t even get to use any of that because there isn’t that much time between pitches. I think it’s a sacrifice that everybody in my chair is happy to have to make.”

Ricky Keeler

Ricky Keeler is a reporter for BSM with a primary focus on sports media podcasts and national personalities. He is also an active podcaster with an interest in pursuing a career in sports media. You can find him on Twitter @Rickinator555 or reach him by email at [email protected].

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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

10 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

11 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

18 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.”