Fang's Bites

Various Monday Links

Let’s do some linkage on this Monday.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch talks with TNT’s Charles Barkley about the next phase of his career.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today notes that Saturday nights are becoming a sports TV bastion.

Chris Chase at USA Today’s Game On blog has video of an NFL referee cursing which surprised CBS’ Kevin Harlan.

Liana B. Baker and Lisa Richwine of Reuters says US cable sports networks are in a scrum for ad dollars.

Kimberly Nordyke of the Hollywood Reporter writes that Time Warner SportsNet has signed Cox, but Comcast, DirecTV and Dish still remain holdouts.

Jon Lafayette of Broadcasting & Cable says Travel Channel has signed a deal with the NFL to produce a show on the Cleveland Browns traveling to road games.

E.J. Schultz of Advertising Age says despite the NHL lockout, hockey marketers are finding ways to find their target audience.

Media Life Magazine says CBS scored with Alabama-LSU in primetime on Saturday.

Chuck Ross at TV Week explains why baseball remains the greatest game despite its ratings.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report talks with CBS/TNT’s Marv Albert about calling games at the age of 71.

Ed wonders where Michelle Beadle will fit in NBC Sports Network’s plans.

CBS Sports reports that Dallas Mavericks announcer Mark Followill got into a bike accident over the weekend.

Radio Ink notes that former NBA coach Stan Van Gundy has joined NBC Sports Radio as an analyst.

Digital TV Europe reports that Al Jazeera’s beIN Sport in France has obtained the rights to air NBA games along with the NFL it previously signed.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe writes that NBC is going all in with soccer.

Phil Mushnick at the New York Post says Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York Road Runners should have admitted fault in attempting to run the NYC Marathon this past weekend.

Sarah Kogod of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog notes that a Wizards beer ad featured an underaged 19 year old Bradley Beal.

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner looks at the NBC deal to air English Premier League games starting in 2013.

Jodie Wagner of the Palm Beach Post talks with a local sports radio personality about working in the local market.

Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas says the Texas Rangers have announced their broadcast teams for next season.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle reports on the local sports radio ratings.

Jeff Balke of the Houston Press provides fans with ways to watch the Rockets for those who don’t have access to Comcast SportsNet Houston.

Neal Rubin at the Detroit News says a group hopes to land ESPN’s X Games for Motown.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Fox’s crew found a lot to praise about the Green Bay Packers.

Danny Ecker at Crain’s Chicago Business writes that the Big Ten Network continues to air the so-called non-revenue sports.

Paul M. Banks at the Chicago Sports Media Watch wonders why the Illinois Sports Facility Authority would hire a former TV reporter to run the agency.

John Vomhof, Jr. of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal provides a look at Fox Sports North’s new studios.

The Denver Post’s Dusty Saunders feels some sports broadcasters make predictions that can’t possibly come true.

Dusty says MLB is trying to spin the World Series ratings.

Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily News writes about the last two holdouts for Time Warner SportsNet.

Tom has the SoCal sports calendar for this week.

Tom has the five things he learned over the weekend.

Sports Media Watch notes that while Alabama-LSU’s overnights were way down from last year, it still had impressive numbers for CBS.

That’s going to do it for now. Squeezed as many links as I could today.

2012 NYC Marathon Canceled; ESPN2 Shuffles Schedule

Amid massive public outcry from New York City residents and heavy criticism from WFAN’s Mike Francesa and others in the media, Sunday’s New York City Marathon has been canceled. Mayor Michael Bloomberg had originally held steadfast to hold the event as scheduled through the city’s five boroughs, but residents expressed their anger to reporters, on talk shows and social media. They said that it was not a good idea to hold the road race as they were trying to clean up from the wreckage from Hurricane Sandy and get their lives back in order.

ESPN which was scheduled to air the marathon on Sunday morning on ESPN2 and then air highlights on ABC in the afternoon will adjust the schedules on both networks accordingly.

The statement from spokesman Mike Soltys.

We were just notified by New York Road Runners that the Marathon has been cancelled and we will adjust our schedule.

— Mike Soltys (@espnmikes) November 2, 2012

According to the Marathon organizer, New York Road Runners CEO Mary Wittenberg on WABC-TV, the event could have been run Sunday, but the City and the NYRR did not want the race to become a distraction.

Wittenberg says she’s looking to reschedule the race for the Spring 2013.

Hannah Storm & John Anderson Lead ESPN’s New York City Marathon Team

In November, ESPN will air live coverage of the annual New York City Marathon that goes through all five boroughs of the Big Apple. It marks the first time the marathon will be aired live across the country. NBC had the rights, but chose to shovel live coverage of the race to its local WNBC-TV affiliate along with Universal Sports and then show highlights hours later.

Now, the entire country will have access to ESPN2′s live coverage on November 4 on TV’s and through WatchESPN. New Yorkers will also see live coverage on WABC-TV.

ESPN2′s on-air team will be led by Hannah Storm and John Anderson. We have the full press release below.

SportsCenter’s Storm, Anderson to Lead ESPN Team for New York City Marathon on November 4

Five-borough Race Returns to National Live TV for First Time in Almost 20 Years

SportsCenter anchors Hannah Storm and John Anderson will lead the ESPN team of commentators as host and play-by-play for ESPN’s live telecast of the New York City Marathon on Sunday, Nov. 4. Nationally, the telecast will be available on ESPN2 and – for fans who receive their video subscriptions from an affiliated provider – on computers at WatchESPN.com and on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app. ABC will also present a two-hour national broadcast at 4 p.m. Locally, New Yorkers can watch the race on WABC-TV and 7online.com. This is the first year of a five-year television package and marks the return of the Marathon to live national TV for the first time in almost 20 years.

ESPN’s Storm and Anderson will be joined by analysts Carrie Tollefson and Tim Hutchings and reporter Lewis Johnson. Tollefson is an Olympian and five-time NCAA champion in track and field and cross country. Hutchings, an Olympian and former international distance runner, and Johnson, an All-American in track, both covered the 2012 Olympic Games. Juli Benson, Ed Eyestone and David Wiley and WABC-TV’s sports anchors Rob Powers and Laura Behnke will also report from the course.

Anderson said, “Short of my first SportsCenter, I have never been more excited about any assignment I’ve had here at ESPN. The New York City Marathon is a 26.2-mile finish line. From gun to tape it’s non-stop exhilaration with support from the entire city. I’ve run the marathon and nothing ever hurt better in my life. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the lead or in 47,358th place, the crowd treats every runner the same – like a champion.”

Storm added, “There is perhaps, no sporting event in America more closely attached to its neighborhoods and city – while at the same time being an instantly recognizable international event – than the New York City Marathon. It’s a part of the fabric of this great city and I’m thrilled to be involved in the broadcast of such an iconic sporting event.”

More than 47,000 runners, including USA Olympians Abdi Abdirahman, Amy Hastings and Meb Keflezighi and Olympic Marathon gold medal champion Tiki Gelana of Ethiopia, are expected to participate.

NYC Marathon Schedule: 

Date	Time (ET)	Show	Network
Sun, Nov 4	7 a.m.-2 p.m.	Pre-Race & NYC Marathon	WatchESPN
	7 a.m.-2 p.m.	Pre-Race & NYC Marathon	WABC-TV, 7online
	9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.	NYC Marathon	ESPN2
	4-6 p.m.	NYC Marathon Show	ABC

*All times ET unless otherwise noted.

There you have it.

Bringing Out Some Tuesday Links

Let’s do some links on this Tuesday.

Michael Hiestand from USA Today writes that a tepid LSU-Alabama rematch drew the BCS National Championship Game’s lowest overnight rating ever on ESPN.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today reports that former ESPN analyst Sean Salisbury has either quit or been fired from his MTV2 Lingerie Football League gig. There’s always a gray area with Sean.

Bruce Horovitz from USA Today says Kim Kardashian has been booted from Sketchers’ Super Bowl ad and replaced by a dog.

Sports Business Daily looks at the reviews of ESPN’s production of the BCS National Championship Game.

At Fox Sports, Brian Lowry feels ESPN did a better job in stepping up than LSU-Alabama last night.

Erin Carlson of the Hollywood Reporter notes that NBC will air the London Summer Olympics in 3-D.

Todd Spangler from Multichannel News reports from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that ESPN admits a lack of 3-D programming for owners of 3-D sets, but the network says that should change.

Ben Drawbaugh of Engadget was at ESPN 3D’s demonstration of the BCS National Championship Game.

Jaymar Cabebe at CNET looks at ESPN Radio now streaming live through Slacker apps.

Erin Griffith of Adweek says the popular sound recognition app Shazam will power almost a third of this year’s Super Bowl ads.

Rich Thomaselli of Advertising Age says Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow could reach the marketing and endorsement stratosphere as long as he keeps winning.

Michael Bradley at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center says a lackluster game between LSU and Alabama should lead the BCS to change its system.

Noam Cohen of the New York Times looks at NBC going 3-D for the Olympics.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY looks at the NYC Marathon’s new deal to have WABC-TV carry the race live starting this year.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union discusses the end of Jim Rome’s tenure at ESPN.

The Washington Post’s Dan Steinberg says in the DC Sports Bog that former WaPo writers Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon say they would take Minnesota’s Ricky Rubio over Washington’s John Wall right now.

David Knox of the Birmingham (AL) News says last night’s BCS National Championship Game drew a big rating locally for Alabama-LSU, but not as big as last year’s involving bitter archrival Auburn.

Doug Segrest at the News says Alabama quickly took the wind out of ESPN’s sails for a close game.

W. Scott Bailey at the San Antonio Business Journal says the Alamo Bowl on ESPN drew good numbers as compared to some of the BCS games.

Mark Dawidziak of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reports that the voice of the Browns and WKYC Sports Director Jim Donovan will co-anchor the 7 p.m. edition of the station’s newscast.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that local ratings for the NFL Wild Card weekend were very good.

Ed Sherman at Crain’s Chicago Business looks at a new series on Big Ten Network.

Ed says the Big Ten Conference remains steadfastly opposed to a Plus One or anything resembling a playoff in college football.

At the Salt Lake Tribune, Scott D. Pierce says NBC and ESPN have snubbed Real Salt Lake in their MLS schedules.

Houston Mitchell of the Los Angeles Times says you can bid on the chance to have NBA Hall of Famer and TV analyst Bill Walton at your house.

At the Biz of Baseball, Maury Brown says it’s best to wait a year before expanding the MLB playoffs.

I’ll end it there for now. If anything warrants, I’ll add some more links.

UPDATE, 6 p.m.: Some more links for you now.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe looks at the record ratings for the AFC Wild Card Playoff Game between Pittsburgh and Denver.

Newsday’s Neil Best says the NFL is seeing more monster ratings.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette notes what Time Warner Cable subscribers are missing on MSG Network in Day 10 of the two companies’ dispute with each other.

Ryan Yoder at Awful Announcing notes that ESPN Radio premieres a new show tonight.

That’s going to do it.

Posting As Many Monday Links As I Can

Been busy again today, but I’ll try to post as many links here as possible. Don’t know if I can do a complete set, but I’ll see what I can do.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand hears from ESPN’s Brent Musburger who calls tonight’s BCS National Championship Game.

Tom Weir of USA Today says Tim Tebow mentions broke a Twitter record last night.

Michael Smith of Sports Business Journal says the winner of tonight’s BCS National Championship Game stands to cash in through licensing of its gear.

Eric Fisher and John Ourand of SBJ report that MLB has to make a decision very soon on an extra round of Wild Card playoff games and the TV network that would air them.

Sports Business Daily recaps the mixed reviews for Charles Barkley’s hosting of NBC’s Saturday Night Live this past weekend.

Eriq Gardner of the Hollywood Reporter says a lawsuit brought forth by basketball legends Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson over their likenesses used in video games now has the TV networks getting involved.

George Winslow at Broadcasting & Cable says LG Smartphone users will gain access to a new ESPN ScoreCenter app that will include exclusive HD video.

John Eggerton at Multichannel News has a quick blurb on ESPN gaining rights for the NYC Marathon.

At Adweek, Anthony Crupi looks at the NFL’s final regular season ratings for 2011.

Glen Davis of SportsGrid cannot believe the religious connotations behind last night’s ratings for Pittsburgh-Denver.

Dom Consentino of Deadspin says the NBC reporter arrested last month  on DUI charges after a party thrown by alleged child molester Jerry Sandusky’s attorney, tried to talk his way out of the arrest.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post goes after Fox’s Charles Davis and NBC’s Mike Mayock for talking too much.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette writes that Saturday’s NFL Divisional playoff action will be split among two local radio stations.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union says MSG Network will be throwing a local viewing party to drum up support in its dispute with Time Warner Cable.

Ken McMillan with the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record writes about the NYC Marathon running to ESPN from NBC.

At the DC Sports Bog, the Washington Post’s Dan Steinberg notes that Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic will begin airing a new live show modeled after NBC Sports Talk.

Tom Jones from the Tampa Bay Times reviews the weekend in sports TV.

David Barron at the Houston Chronicle notes that the Texans had their best local ratings since their inaugural game back in 2002.

John Kiesewetter at the Cincinnati Enquirer says on Saturday, the Bengals did not do as well locally as its regular season games.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that NFL Network will re-air two Giants-Packers games.

Dusty Saunders at the Denver Post writes that CBS stepped up for last night’s Pittsburgh-Denver game.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has your sports calendar for this week.

Bruce Dowbiggin of the Toronto Globe and Mail continues to go after CBC’s Don Cherry.

Raju Mudhar from the Toronto Star says Toronto is not the only hockey hotbed around.

I’ll try to add more stuff later.

UPDATE, 5:50 p.m.: I’ll add some more links now.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell notes that the top selling sports book of last year was not the ESPN book, but Tim Tebow’s autobiography.

Dave Zoren of the Delaware County Times notes that the NHL Winter Classic Alumni Game did well on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.

Scott Sloan from the Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader says a Kentucky-based high school sports TV and online provider has filed for bankruptcy.

At the Austin American-Statesman, Kirk Bohls says despite a lack of carriage agreements and viewers, ESPN remains committed to the Longhorn Network.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News writes that legendary Dodgers voice Vin Scully finally gets his own bobblehead this season.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog says theScore has signed a deal to pick up a whole host of college sports.

Sports Media Watch tells us that the Sugar Bowl had its worst ratings in 18 years.

Sports Media Watch says the Orange Bowl had its worst ratings in the BCS era.

The Waiting for Next Year blog notes that ESPN’s Erin Andrews will replace Scott Van Pelt as host of the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards. That’s a huge upgrade.

Awful Announcing has the Broncos radio call of last night’s overtime win over the Steelers.

Joe Favorito wonders if MMA fighter Gina Carano is about to crossover to become a mainstream star.

The Sports Business Digest notes that the Lingerie Bowl will be played in Las Vegas.

NBC will partner with Panasonic to air the London Olympics in 3-D which only 145 people across the country can watch.

And that will do it for the links today.

ESPN2 To Air NYC Marathon Nationwide; WABC To Air Coverage in NYC

Reported in the New York Times last week and made official today, ESPN2 will air live coast-to-coast coverage of the New York City Marathon starting this year. NBC had the rights and had aired the marathon on tape delay, but aired the race live locally on WNBC-TV and also on Universal Sports, however, that channel had limited distribution.

In November, the New York City Marathon will be seen live across the nation on ESPN2 and streamed on the Watch ESPN app for three hours, locally on WABC-TV plus its website for five. ABC will have a two hour highlight show that will be seen later in the day.

The New York City Marathon has not had this wide a distribution dating back two decades when ABC had the rights from 1981 through 1993.

It’s part of a five year agreement between ESPN and New York Road Runners. We have the press release from ESPN.

New York City Marathon Returns to Live National TV in 2012 as Part of Five-Year Deal with ESPN/WABC-TV

ESPN2 to televise live race coverage beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET Marathon-day coverage to include live five-hour local show on WABC-TV and two-hour national highlight show on ABC

New York, January 9, 2012—The New York City Marathon will be shown on live national television in 2012 for the first time in almost 20 years as the cornerstone of a new comprehensive year-round national and local five-year television package jointly announced today by WABC-TV/ESPN and NYRR officials. The Marathon will be televised live nationally on ESPN2 and available through WatchESPN from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET/6:00 to 9:30 a.m. PT, and in New York on WABC-TV and 7online.com from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. That same afternoon, ABC will broadcast nationally a two-hour Marathon highlight show. The agreement begins with this year’s event on Sunday, November 4.

The unprecedented partnership will also feature coverage of New York City Marathon weekend events and other marquee NYRR races throughout the year, as well as quarterly public service announcements on WABC-TV that highlight NYRR’s efforts to encourage running as part of a child’s healthy lifestyle. The deal reunites NYRR with ABC, which carried the first live national broadcast of the Marathon in 1981 and where it aired until 1993.

“The New York City Marathon is one of the greatest spectacles in all of sport, and today’s announcement is a huge step forward in bringing all of the event’s passion and excitement into homes, live, across the country,” said Mary Wittenberg, president and CEO of NYRR and race director of the New York City Marathon.

“We’re thrilled that for the first time in almost 20 years, a nationwide audience can experience the 26.2 exhilarating miles that combine the spectacle of great racing with the triumphant celebration of the human spirit—a captivating drama starring  more than 47,000 runners, including the world’s best, played out on the vibrant streets of New York City,” said Wittenberg. “The scope of this agreement, which also showcases the events surrounding the Marathon as well as other marquee NYRR races throughout the year, is a significant step forward as we seek to develop and promote our sport.”

Dave Davis, president and general manager of WABC-TV, said, “As New York’s number one station we are proud to be the home of New York’s biggest sporting event. It’s great to have the New York City Marathon back where it belongs and in a way that more people than ever before will be able to see it.  We also look forward to helping NYRR spread its message about the health benefits of running to all New Yorkers.”

John Wildhack, ESPN’s executive vice president of program acquisitions and strategy, said, “From all over the world runners come to New York to participate in one of road racing’s signature events. Working with our partner and New York affiliate WABC-TV, we will provide sports fans with first-class coverage of the New York City Marathon and showcase the athleticism and heart of its competitors live on our national platforms.”

The ESPN2 telecast will be the centerpiece of a robust schedule of programming. The 26.2-mile race annually draws the world’s top professional runners, a field of more than 45,000 participants from all 50 states and more than 125 countries, and 2.5 million spectators against the backdrop of all five boroughs of New York City, while raising tens of millions of dollars for charity and having an economic impact of more than $340 million. In addition to the telecast, the event will be available online at WatchESPN.com and on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app. Programming will begin with a two-hour pre-race show from 7:00–9:00 a.m. on WABC-TV. All of WABC-TV’s local coverage will be streamed on its website, 7online.com, and on authenticated mobile devices.

WABC-TV’s commitment includes coverage of several NYRR events surrounding the New York City Marathon Road to the Finish, including Marathon Opening Day in April and the Marathon Opening Ceremony featuring the Parade of Nations on Friday, November 2,  as well as a half-hour Countdown preview show on Marathon Eve, Saturday, November 3.

A combination of live and tape-delayed coverage of select NYRR marquee events throughout the year is also part of the extensive broadcast package, including the NYC Half on March 18 and the Fifth Avenue Mile in September.

That will do it.