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Looking at the Next Generation of Olympic Announcers

As we go into the second week of the 2012 London Olympics or the Games of the XXX Summer Olympiad, I thought I would take the opportunity on this middle Sunday to look ahead for the next set of Games on television.

We know that NBCUniversal will carry the Olympics through 2020, that’s two Winter and two Summer Games in that timespan. While the network has been served well by its current crop of announcers, some of whom date back as far back as 1988, it’s time to replace them with a new generation of hosts, play-by-play callers and analysts who can carry the network through 2020 and possibly beyond.

I’ll focus this post on the Summer Games since that’s what we’ve been watching for the last 8 days. I’ll do a Winter Olympics announcing post at a later date. I’ll start with hosts, then go by the glamor sports.

HOSTS

Bob Costas — Bob is 60 this year and while his youthful look betrays his age, he’ll be 64 in 2016 for Rio and 68 in 2020 at a site yet to be determined. ABC’s Jim McKay hosted his last Olympics in 1988 at age 65. Costas remains the best interviewer on sports television and should be allowed to host the Olympics on NBC for as long as he wants. I don’t think he’s going anywhere.

Dan Patrick — Dan is just four years younger than Bob, but if Costas decides to leave, DP could step into his shoes as Primetime host.

Liam McHugh — For 2016, I would think this is where NBC could tap Liam McHugh and put him in Al Michaels’ place on Daytime. Al would be 71 in Rio and while he would still be very good at calling Sunday Night Football in four years, I would not put him in the host’s chair in Rio. McHugh has proven he can be very versatile hosting the NHL Postseason, the Stanley Cup Final, the Tour de France and the Olympics over a four month span. That is not easy, but Liam has made it look easy and that’s the sign of a very good host.

Bonnie Bernstein — ESPN’s Bonnie Bernstein is the best personality not to have an Olympic gig. This is like saying she’s the Best Golfer Not To Win A Major. She has proven as a substitute host for Dan Patrick and on Twitter that she can discuss multiple sports. And Bonnie’s also a former gymnast. Watching BBC’s coverage of the London Games, the network utilizes both studio and venue hosts. Making Bonnie a venue host at Gymnastics with Nastia Liukin as her analyst would work to one of her strengths. She was a five-time host of the NCAA Gymnastics Championship when she was at CBS. I would love to see her work an Olympic Games.

Ryan Burr — Ryan will be coming to the NBCUniversal family to work at Golf Channel and at NBC Sports Network. We could see him host on either MSNBC or NBCSN.

Michelle Beadle — Michelle’s done a great job thus far in London. She has shown she can talk Olympic sports and bring some humor as well.

Kelly Tilghman — I’ve liked her work on MSNBC. I can see her on future Olympics as well.

ANNOUNCERS

Let’s do this by sport.

BASKETBALL — If the NBA continues sending players to the Olympics, then NBC could continue utilizing Bob Fitzgerald from Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and Chris Carrino. This is where NBC should tap Turner Sports for a Steve Kerr or even Reggie Miller for analysts.

If basketball becomes an Under 23 tournament as speculated, NBC may have to hire college basketball announcers. Borrowing Ian Eagle from CBS and YES to call games would be a good move. Jay Bilas from ESPN would forge a strong team with Ian throughout the Games. And NBC should still utilize Craig Sager as the reporter although he looks muted with a regular wardrobe.

On the women’s side, if NBC could get Doris Burke on loan from ESPN, that would be ideal. She could work men’s games too as she’s proven over the past few years. If NBC can’t get Doris Burke, why not former ESPN’er Stacey Dales or Fox Sports Net’s Debbie Antonelli?

BOXING — Bob Papa and Teddy Atlas are a very good team and should remain, but I’d love for NBC to bring in its old friend Jim Lampley with Larry Merchant and Emmanuel Steward from HBO to call one or two bouts a day. What could be better than that? And bring in Harold Lederman for judging analysis while we’re at it.

Host Fred Roggin should be replaced with boxing fan Brian Kenny of MLB Network.

CYCLING — If it’s not Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, NBC should go announcer-less.

DIVING — Can you believe Cynthia Potter has worked every Summer Olympics on network television since 1984? She’s been solid, but it’s time to bring in some new blood. 2000 gold medalist Laura Wilkinson who worked the Diving Trials for NBC Sports Network in June is a potential candidate.

GYMNASTICS — Utilizing a favorite word of Tim Daggett’s, the announcing on this sport over the last two Olympiads has been catastrophic. Normally, I like Al Trautwig, but his calls of gymnastics in 2008 in Beijing and this year in London is reaching John Tesh disastrous proportions in 1996. Al makes everything seems at life or death levels. In addition, his penchant to focus on crying gymnasts borders on creepy.

Tim Daggett’s constant talking and use of the word “catastrophic” is annoying. Elfi Schlegel has been reduced to short sentences. NBC needs to replace this team for 2016.

This is where NBC can utilize a venue host (see Bonnie Bernstein above) with an analyst. Nastia Liukin could fill that role very nicely. Bela Karolyi has proven to be Must See TV and should be one of the studio analysts. And if his wife, Marta retires, imagine the fireworks on the set between those two.

NBC is using Terry Gannon this year to call rowing. Why not have Terry call Olympic Gymnastics in 2016? He has called the sport for ABC and did it well. And having watched the World Feed this year through NBC’s Olympics Live Extra app, I’m very impressed with Shannon Miller from 1996′s Magnificent Seven Team. She’s been the sole analyst for Olympic Broadcasting Services and has done very well in explaining certain moves, the scoring system and their implications without sounding overdramatic. Terry Gannon and Shannon Miller would make an excellent team.

GOLF — Remember, golf makes its return to the Olympics in Rio in 2016, having made its last appearance in 1904. NBC/Golf Channel has an established team with Dan Hicks, Johnny Miller, Nick Faldo, Roger Maltbie, Brandell Chamblee, Frank Nobilo, Rich Lerner, the aforementioned Kelly Tilghman, David Feherty, the incoming Ryan Burr and so many others who could work this event.

Some people have asked me on Twitter if Dan would stop calling swimming to do golf. I think Dan could do both especially if the IOC (with the help of NBC) decides to schedule golf in the second week of the Olympics, so that it doesn’t interfere with swimming, tennis, gymnastics and other sports in the first week. This is where a venue host would come in handy, perhaps Kelly or Ryan with one or two of the many Golf Channel analysts. And we could expect Golf Channel to have a role in picking up the first two rounds of Olympic Golf with NBC coming in for the last two rounds.

SOCCER — NBC used its MLS crew, Arlo White and Kyle Martino on the men’s games along with JP Dellacamera, Glenn Davis, Steve Cangialosi and Allen Hopkins. I’d love to see English Premier League announcers Martin Tyler and Ian Darke on US TV calling some Olympic action.

Brandi Chastain despite Hope Solo’s complaints last week is doing well on women’s games and I would keep her in the booth.

SWIMMING — Dan Hicks has made this one of his signature sports along with golf throughout his career at NBC. I can’t see him leaving the sport unless golf is scheduled in the first week, but I don’t think that would happen. Rowdy Gaines has been a good salesman for swimming and he’s doing yeoman’s work to raise money for the sport to establish a training center. However, I’ve grown tired of his screaming and his voice raising over 50 octaves. This is where NBC could bring in a plethora of gold medalists to replace Gaines. This is also a sport that could utilize a venue host and it’s where Liam McHugh could go if NBC decides to keep Al Michaels in Daytime.

While Phelps has said he’s retiring, NBC would like to see him in Rio either as a swimmer or perhaps an analyst. If the network uses him on TV, I’d prefer to see him in the studio. At first thought, I felt putting Phelps on camera would be a bad move, but this was based on his interviews in Beijing where he looked uncomfortable. During his NBC interviews in London, Michael has looked more at ease, but that does not necessarily make for a good analyst. If he wants to go the TV route, putting him in the studio for short spurts might be best for 2016.

As for the races, I’d go with Amy Van Dyken to replace Rowdy. For the past year, Amy has been co-hosting Fox Sports Tonight with Rob Dibble on Fox Sports Radio and she’s been in London analyzing the Olympic swimming for FoxSports.com. Amy is not only funny, but she speaks her mind. She knows the mind of an Olympic athlete and I think she’d be perfect with Dan in calling the races.

TENNIS — This sport finally received some glamor treatment from NBC this year. However, it was treated badly with Pat O’Brien as the venue host. Not only did Pat demonstrate a huge lack of knowledge, he conducted awkward interviews as well. Brett Haber and Andrew Catalon did very well on the play-by-play and I liked Rennae Stubbs to want her to return in Rio. Justin Gimelstob was a weak link in the crew. I’d replace him with ESPN’s Darren Cahill or have John McEnroe call more matches.

TRACK & FIELD — There’s not much I would replace here. Tom Hammond is about as classy an announcer as you will find. Ato Boldon has become a very strong analyst. And NBC has brought back Craig Masback, long a staple of track coverage in the 1980′s and 1990′s. But for 2016, I think Lolo Jones would make for a good studio analyst. And Michael Johnson who has been on the last few Olympics for the BBC would work well too. Having Bob host Primetime from the Athletics venue would be a nice change of pace from being in the studio. And he could mix it up with Lolo and Michael.

Those are my suggestions. If you have some of your own, put them in the comments below.

Some Quick Monday Sports Media Thoughts

Time for some quick sports media thoughts. As always, they come in bullet form.

• The free agent frenzy at ESPN is over. Overall, ESPN lost two out of three major free agents, Erin Andrews and Michelle Beadle while keeping Scott Van Pelt. Beadle and Van Pelt were not surprises, but Andrews’ departure can be classified as a mild one. The fact that Erin decided to leave and part ways after ESPN aggressively tried to keep her shows me that the network still valued her, however, Fox stepped up wupith a role she felt comfortable with.

  As Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch reported on Sunday, one of Erin’s goals was to work on the NFL, an opportunity that she was passed over at ESPN. She’ll now have that chance at Fox plus some postseason MLB work as well.

  ESPN tome co-author James Andrew Miller tweeted that one could consider that both Erin and Micelle came out winners.

• Nice to see that NBC pulled tape delayed shenanigans for the U.S. Olympic Trials. The West Coast had to wait three hours to watch the gymnastics, swimming, and track & field trials over the last week. NBC will argue that the trials were available live across the country online, but that’s not good enough in this age.
• Great job by ESPN’s soccer unit on EURO 2012. Great coverage. World Cup 2014 in Rio is next.
• Starting today and going through Wednesday, ESPN and ESPN2 will have simultaneous coverage of Wimbledon with the Mothership focusing on Centre Court and the Deuce airing outer court action. It will be a tennis smorgasbord.
• Is there a more overblown event than The ESPY’s? Who votes on the awards? Does anyone think they make any sense?
• A couple of non-sports media thoughts: Ann Curry got screwed by NBC over the Today show and I like “The Newsroom” on HBO.
• Lastly, can we get Bonnie Bernstein a role on the Olympics? Or at least have her host a major network NFL studio show? Please?

Enjoy your Monday or least try to enjoy it.

Providing Your Thursday Linkage

Looks like I’m going to be busy today so I’m going to do the linkage a bit early for me at least.

David Bauder of the Associated Press writes that even though he’s no longer NBC Sports Emperor, Dick Ebersol’s presence will still be felt at the London Olympics.

Michael Hiestand at USA Today says NBC will utilize Late Night’s Jimmy Fallon and Shaun White as guest commentators during the Olympics.

Reid Cherner of USA Today writes that ESPN the Magazine has released the roster for its annual “Body” issue.

Alex Sherman of Bloomberg says NBC Sports Network is the key to Comcast turning a profit when NBC’s new Olympic deal begins in 2014.

Marisa Guthrie of the Hollywood Reporter says NBC is hoping the Olympics will give its struggling Today show a ratings boost.

Scott Roxborough in the Reporter writes that the EURO 2012 semifinal between Spain and Portugal set a ratings record in Europe.

Neil Reynolds of Sky Sports in the UK has New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft lobbying for an NFL franchise in London and increasing the amount of regular season games in the UK from one to two.

George Winslow of Broadcasting & Cable reports NBC expects to lose money on the London Olympics.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says NBCUniversal is pushing people to authenticate in order to watch the Olympics online.

Anthony Crupi at Adweek looks at NBC’s nearly $1 billion take from Olympic ad sales.

Rocco Pendola of The Street wonders if NBC can make a run at ESPN.

Ed Sherman at the Sherman Report notes how polarizing Chris Berman can be.

Eric Goldschein of SportsGrid doesn’t quite understand the vitriol thrown Berman’s way.

Natan Edelsburg at Lost Remote says NBC is making the London Olympics a truly social media experience. That will make Bob Costas so happy to read Twitter and Facebook promos.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says NBC’s going all in online at the Olympics.

Jack Bell at the Times looks at ESPN’s EURO 2012 ratings.

Jerry Barmash of Fishbowl NY notes that the NBA Finals beat Mets-Yankees in New York.

Jerry talks with the first voice ever to be heard on WFAN when it launched 25 years ago.

Ken Schott of the Schenectady Gazette says Buffalo Sabres TV voice Rick Jeanneret will do the entire team’s schedule.

Ken McMillan at the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says even with a new playoff system, there will still be debates in college football.

In the Washington Examiner, Jim Williams talks with ESPN’s Jay Bilas about tonight’s NBA Draft.

Ron Green, Jr. of the Charlotte Observer also talks with ESPN’s Jay Bilas about the Bobcats’ choices at the Draft.

David Barron in the Houston Chronicle reports that the Rockets have changed flagship radio stations.

W. Scott Bailey of the San Antonio Business Journal says local native Michelle Beadle has come a long way from covering Professional Bull Riding.

Ryan Sharp at The Oklahoman has proof that the Big 12 pursued Notre Dame to increase its TV value.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman reviews the weekend’s TV ratings.

Paul M. Banks in Chicago Sports Media Watch wonders what will happen to the BCS brand now that a college football playoff is firmly in place.

Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune says Fox Sports San Diego will air November’s Syracuse-San Diego State college basketball game on board the USS Midway.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says the West Coast is getting screwed again with NBC’s coverage of the Olympic Trials.

Sports Media Watch has some ratings news and notes.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says the viewership for the NHL Draft and NHL Awards Show was down.

The Brothers Yoder at Awful Announcing have some random sports that ESPN should televise and I totally agree with the number one choice.

And that’s going to do it for the linkage today.

2012 NBC Olympics Hosts and Commentators

Ok, NBC’s press release on its 2012 Olympics hosts and announcers has yet to arrive. Thanks to an alert reader, I was tipped off to NBC Sports Group’s press release website which has the talent bios of its announcers for London. I’m not sure if NBC wants to make that site public, so I won’t link to it for now. But through this website, I’ll be able to piece together the announcing teams for you.

We already know the hosts for NBC and the hosts for Bravo (tennis), CNBC (boxing) and MSNBC. And this week, we learned the hosts for NBC Sports Network.

Ok, let’s list everything I’m able to compile. This is not complete as some sports are missing analysts and one is missing a play-by-play person, but it’s based on what I’ve been able to piece together from NBC’s PR site. I’ll provide reactions to the announcers later.

Randy Moss and Steve Schlanger will call multiple events during the Olympics. There are a couple of analysts who will provide color on multiple sports.

And when NBC finally sends its official press release with the complete announcing teams, I’ll publish that in a separate post.

Here we go.

STUDIO HOSTS

NBC
Today at the Olympics: Matt Lauer, Meredith Viera, Ann Curry, Al Roker
Weekdays/Weekend: Al Michaels, Dan Patrick
Primetime: Bob Costas
Late Night: Mary Carillo

Correspondents: Mary Carillo (primetime), Jimmy Fallon (primetime), Bela Karolyi (primetime) John McEnroe (primetime), Jimmy Roberts (daytime), Ryan Seacrest (primetime),  Shaun White (primetime)

MSNBC
Kelly Tilghman

NBC Sports Network
Morning: Michelle Beadle
Midday: Willie Geist
Afternoon: Liam McHugh

Olympic Sports Desk Reporters
Tamron Hall
Marshall Harris
Lester Holt
Carolyn Manno
Pierre McGuire
Carolyn Peck
Dr. Nancy Snyderman
Michele Tafoya

VENUE COMMENTATORS

Badminton
Jim Kozimor (play-by-play)
Steve Kearney (analyst)

Basketball (men’s & women’s)
Chris Carrino (play-by-play)
Bob Fitzgerald (play-by-play)
Dave Strader (play-by-play)
Doug Collins (analyst)
Lisa Leslie (analyst)
Ann Meyers (analyst)
Craig Sager (reporter)

Beach Volleyball
Chris Marlowe (play-by-play)
Kevin Wong (analyst)
Heather Cox (reporter)

Boxing (CNBC)
Fred Roggin (venue host)
Bob Papa (blow-by-blow)
Teddy Atlas (analyst)
Russ Thaler (reporter)

Canoe
Randy Moss (play-by-play)

Cycling
Todd Harris (play-by-play)
Steve Schlanger (play-by-play)

Diving
Ted Robinson (play-by-play)
Cynthia Potter (analyst)
Alex Flanagan (reporter)

Equestrian
Tim Ryan (play-by-play)
Melanie Smith Taylor (analyst)

Field Hockey
Mike Corey (play-by-play)
Missy Meharg (analyst)

Gymnastics
Al Trautwig (play-by-play)
Tim Dagget (analyst)
Elfi Schlegel (analyst)
Andrea Joyce (reporter)

Handball
Mike Gorman (play-by-play)
Dawn Allinger Lewis (analyst)

Judo
Leo White, Jr. (analyst)

Open Water
Steve Schlanger (play-by-play)
Rowdy Gaines (analyst)

Race Walk
Randy Moss (play-by-play)
Chris Maddocks (analyst)

Rowing
Terry Gannon (play-by-play)
Yasmin Farooq (analyst)

Shooting
Shari Legate (analyst)

Soccer
Steve Cangialosi (play-by-play)
Glenn Davis (play-by-play)
JP Dellacamera (play-by-play)
Arlo White (play-by-play)
Marcelo Balboa (analyst)
Brandi Chastain (analyst)
Allen Hopkins (analyst)
Cobi Jones (analyst)
Kyle Martino (analyst)
Shep Messing (analyst)

Swimming
Dan Hicks (play-by-play)
Rowdy Gaines (analyst)
Andrea Kremer (reporter)

Synchronized Swimming
Randy Moss (play-by-play)
Heather Olson (analyst)

Table Tennis
Ari Wolfe (play-by-play)
Sean O’Neill (analyst)

Tennis (Bravo)
Pat O’Brien (venue host)
Andrew Catalon (play-by-play)
Brett Haber (play-by-play)
Ted Robinson (play-by-play)
Justin Gimelstob (analyst)
Rennae Stubbs (analyst)
Jon Wertheim (reporter)

Track & Field
Tom Hammond (play-by-play)
Ato Boldon (analyst)
Craig Masback (analyst)
Dwight Stones (analyst)
Tim Hutchings (analyst -Marathon)
Lewis Johnson (reporter)

Trampoline
Al Trautwig (play-by-play)
Tim Dagget (analyst)

Triathlon
Steve Schlanger (play-by-play)
Julie Swail (analyst)

Volleyball
Paul Sunderland (play-by-play)
Kevin Barnett (analyst)

Water Polo
Mike Emrick (play-by-play)
Julie Swail (analyst)
Wolf Wigo (analyst)

Weightlifting
Jim Watson (play-by-play)

White Water
Randy Moss (play-by-play)

Wrestling
Jason Knapp (play-by-play)

That is your list for now. As stated above, when NBC provides the press release with the complete teams, I’ll put that on the site.

UPDATE, 1:35 a.m.: Through a check of Twitter and hearing from sources, I’ve added NBC MLS voice Arlo White to soccer, and through Drea Avent’s account and in particular, her tweet to me directly, she’ll be a reporter during the Games, in what capacity, we have not been able to confirm just yet. More to follow when it becomes available.

Michelle Beadle To Host Olympics on NBC Sports Network; ESPN Makes Personnel Moves on College Football

Wednesday’s sports media column from USA Today’s Michael Hiestand is chock full of information.

Like the sports media thoughts, we’ll handle them in bullet form.

• First, NBC will announce its Olympic talent roster along with its programming schedule. And Wednesday’s announcement will mark a month until the Opening Ceremony in London. That will be fun to watch. In Hiestand’s column, we find that Michelle Beadle will be the morning host for NBC Sports Network’s Olympic program which will begin at 4 a.m. ET. Other hosts on NBCSN will be Willie Geist (why?) of MSNBC’s Morning Joe and Liam McHugh. NBCSN’s coverage will last until the NBC Mothership hits the air in primetime.

  NBC will unveil other plans during a media conference call to be held Wednesday in New York. I already know of a couple of announcing assignments, but I’ll wait until the press release is published.

• Hiestand also reports that ESPN has made a couple of changes in its Thursday Night College Football crew. We already knew that failed Texas U.S. Senate candidate Craig James would not return to the booth. ESPN had already declared that the Butcher of Texas would not be coming back. So David Pollack who has mostly been on ESPNU and the first hour of College GameDay with Erin Andrews, will be the second analyst in the booth joining incumbents Rece Davis and Jesse Palmer. ESPN is also expected to announce that Samantha Steele of the Longhorn Network will be the Thursday night sideline reporter replacing Jenn Brown. Samantha had a few assignments on ESPN’s Friday night games last season.

I expect an NBC press release on Olympic plans later today and I’ll be posting that when it finally arrives in the Fang’s Bites inbox.

A Few Tuesday Sports Media Thoughts

Time for some sports media thoughts. These have been percolating in my head all day Monday. It’s fine time to pour them out and have you peruse through them. As always, they’re in bullet form.

• Monday’s announcement from NFL Network regarding its new morning show could be a game changer for sports television. If “NFL AM” is successful, it could lead other sports networks to follow NFL Network’s lead. But if the show fails to catch on, then it will be back to the status quo with repeats of the previous night’s highlights program. With “NFL AM” set to launch on July 30 from 6-10 a.m. ET, one wonders if there will be enough content to fill the time, but as a director once told me when I was working at a Providence TV station, “Have no fear. We’ll find a way to fill the show. I’ve never had a half-hour of black,” meaning he never had to show a blank screen. That will have to be the philosophy of NFL Network for “NFL AM”. Plus with people going to work and school, not everyone will see the entire four hours.

  If the show works, I can see other league-owned channels attempting similar ventures. MLB Network’s Quick Pitch airs on a loop on most days from 1 a.m. – noon ET. That’s too long. An MLB Network morning show could work as would a morning NBA program.

  But before we get to the point of multiple live morning sports programs, “NFL AM” has to get off the ground successfully. By this time next year, we’ll have an idea whether NFL Network’s “NFL AM” is a success or a failure.

• When I began this site five years ago, Erin Andrews was the darling of the sports blogosphere. Any picture or even a slight mention of her would increase a site’s traffic. There was a reason why she was nicknamed “Erin Pageviews”. Before she re-signed with ESPN in 2010, Erin seemed to be in demand. Her star never shone brighter and it appeared that she could have the pick of any job.

  Now cut to 2012 and it appears Erin is no longer the darling of sports bloggers. Others like Michelle Beadle, Jenn Brown, Charissa Thompson and Molly Qerim et.al. have become favorites as well. This isn’t to say that the Internet is ignoring her, TMZ still pays attention even speculating that she had a boob job. And she was referenced twice in the premiere of the new HBO series, “The Newsroom”.

  Deadspin which once championed her (and was the first to link to the infamous hotel room video in 2009) came out with an article this month pointing out that Ms. Andrews seemingly has no place to go other than ESPN.

  Deadspin reported that Erin is no longer working for Good Morning America and she’s removed the reference to GMA from her Twitter bio.

  Does this necessarily mean that Erin has no other place to go than ESPN? If you believe the speculation from Deadspin and The Big Lead, the answer is yes. But does it mean that she hasn’t had any other offers or couldn’t get work if she decided to walk away from Bristol, CT?

  She can still attract viewers and page views. The NHL thought Erin had enough star power to invite her to its annual awards show last week and present two trophies. Could a league-owned channel like NHL Network find room for Erin? I’m sure it could if the opportunity was presented. But we have not heard of any offers asides from her present employer.

  Overall, I still think Erin can move the meter on the Internet and she’ll continue to so for a while. Just for how long she’ll be at ESPN is anyone’s guess.

• Without any EURO 2012 action until Wednesday’s semifinal game between Spain and Portugal, I went into soccer withdrawals. International soccer is a sport that ESPN continues to excel. Understated coverage with Bob Ley heading the studio and Ian Darke the main play-by-play man, I can easily say this is a Golden Age for soccer on American television. Couple this with having Martin Tyler calling English Premier League games on Fox Soccer and fans have been hearing some of the best announcing of the sport.

  Granted, we get hiccups like Fox’s silly dumbing down of the Champions League Final last year, but overall, the coverage on ESPN, Fox Soccer and Gol TV has been good.

  With ESPN having just the FIFA World Cup in Brazil left to broadcast, it is setting the bar very high. Fox will have a long ways to go to match ESPN’s coverage and while this year’s Champions League Final was an improvement over 2010, the network will have a big hill to climb to equal or surpass the Alleged Worldwide Leader on soccer.

• Count me as one who loved the premiere of “The Newsroom” on Sunday. I enjoyed Jeff Daniels as the erascible anchor Will McAvoy and Emily Mortimer as his idealistic Executive Producer MacKenzie McHale. Yes, in typical Aaron Sorkin fashion, some of the dialogue was overwritten, but I enjoyed the show and I hope it has a long life on HBO. As long as Sorkin doesn’t go overboard on preaching, I think the show will do just fine.

I went longer than I expected on the thoughts. That’s to your benefit.

Michelle Beadle To Make Her NBC Sports Debut on Friday

After saying goodbye to SportsNation last month and then making a splash while on vacation in the Virgin Islands, Michelle Beadle makes her NBC Sports debut this weekend during the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials. According to Michael Hiestand of USA Today, Michelle will be seen hosting features and filing reports during the action that will be aired both on NBC and NBC Sports Network.

The Track & Field Trials will be aired in primetime throughout the weekend so NBC will not only be showcasing the athletes but also its newest talent as well.

This week, Michelle will also make her Access Hollywood debut if she hasn’t already. I don’t watch Access Hollywood so forgive me if I missed Michelle’s appearance.

We expect a press release on this shortly and as soon as it’s received, it’ll be posted here.

Guest Column: Announcer Moves and League-owned College Networks

We continue with the guest columns. This one comes from reader Corneilus Green. Three columns in one for you.

Sports Broadcasting Talent Moves

The summer is definitely heating up with the speculation of who is staying or who is going to new networks.

Michelle Beadle is the most high profile talent to leave ESPN (which was mostly expected) and she gets to do more at NBC. It was definitely a shocker that Michelle Bonner left ESPN and the same for Dana Jacobson.

Scott Van Pelt whom I would have preferred leave for NBC/Comcast, remained at ESPN which is good for him, however, his radio partner, Ryen Russillo is near the end of this contract and who knows where he might go.

Doug Gottlieb, whose contract is up in September, could have a contract offer from CBS Sports according to SportsbyBrooks. Whatever CBS offers to Gottlieb has to be astronomical for him to leave the Worldwide Leader, though I think he should go if the opportunity was presented.

I feel Erin Andrews will stay at ESPN. Her stock has fallen since a few years ago and thus does not have value to another network should she still want to cover sports.

The lowest profile re-signing was John Buccigross. Buccigross stayed at ESPN mainly because he would the #1 voice for NCAA Frozen Four replacing Gary Thorne. Buccigross is one of the few at ESPN along with Linda Cohn and Steve Levy who trumpet hockey, which is amazing because as we know, it gives little to no coverage to the sport.

Had Buccigross not stayed with ESPN, it was expected that NHL Network would have offered him the chance to be its main anchor and be the face of the network. It will be interesting to see where all the sports talent lands.

NBA TV and MLB Network should utilize field reporters who can report from the various team’s headquarters instead relying on the insiders and the writers on the dot-com side.

I will be watching to see who the Pac-12 Network hires in addition to Summer Sanders, Ronnie Lott, and Rick Neuheisel. I would like for the Pac-12 Network to hire Tom Ramsey. I miss hearing him call college football. I fully expect Fox to elevate Craig Bolerjack, Joel Klatt, and Petros Papadakis as the main team for college football on FX, also make Gus Johnson its main voice for the Pac-12 on Fox and move Steve Physioc to part-time on Pac-12 football and become the main voice for college basketball for the Big Ten Network.

Fox should replace Kevin Frazier with Fran Charles on as college football studio host and also add another analyst to Marcus Allen.

Never has there been more interest in sports media and who’s staying or who’s going. This year has unofficially been the year of the media rights deals and sports talent moves. Do not expect that to change during the summer.

SEC Network

An SEC Network could become reality in 2014. The SEC has called this Project X. It’s one of a number of things that has come up during the renegotiation the conference’s media rights deals with CBS and ESPN. With the addition of Missouri and Texas A&M to the SEC, it opened the league to an increase of its media rights fees.

An SEC Network was close to starting in 2009 but ESPN threw a boatload of money at the conference not to start one. It appears that the SEC added two schools just for the sake of addition. The conference was already recruiting Texas and Missouri which wanted more money though they should have gone to the Big Ten had an offer been extended to both, but they were wishy-washy while Nebraska was jumping to the Big Ten without any hesitation. Texas A&M kicked and screamed its way to the SEC, but I’ll save that for another day.

The SEC is close to agreeing to an increase its TV rights fees, but the holdup has been CBS. The Tiffany Network has balked at paying more because its game inventory will not change. CBS is justified in balking. Mizzou and Texas A&M do not have the same attraction as Nebraska.

ESPN, which has been trying to establish a monopoly on televised college athletics, will most likely try to buy CBS’ slate of SEC games if CBS does not change its stance. CBS should hold out to the very end and get more doubleheaders and more night games to justify paying more for SEC games.

It’s being speculated that ESPN will partner with the SEC to establish an SEC Network. This would be likely picked up within a year on all the cable, digital cable, and satellite companies in the conference’s footprint because of the league’s popularity. The SEC has a bigger footprint than all of the conferences and the most rabid fan bases.

An SEC Network would most likely be modeled after the Big Ten Network. Many observers thought the SEC should have started its own network instead of allowing ESPN to talk them out of it by dangling more money. This makes Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany look a lot smarter than SEC head honcho Mike Slive in that perspective.

If the conference agrees to establish a TV network, this would put more cash in the SEC membership’s coffers, surpassing the Big Ten in revenue. The conference has enjoyed six consecutive years of a school wining the BCS National Championship Game.

It’s high time the SEC gets its own network. In my opinion, NBC/Comcast would be a better equity partner for the league in establishing an SEC Network than ESPN.

 

Pac-12 Network

The Pac-12 Network was the crown jewel when it came to the historic media rights deal between the conference and ESPN/Fox. Even more historic was the creation of seven networks, the main Pac-12 Network and seven regional channels.

Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott has proved himself to be a power broker in college athletics and he has grown the conference into a financial power. In addition, his experience in negotiating TV contracts brought four digital cable companies as partners to carry the networks when he announced their formation.

While this all sounds good in theory, the hard part will be trying to convince all of the cable and satellite companies to carry all seven networks. Most likely all will carry the main Pac-12 network, but not the other six. Thus, the challenge of starting a sports channel and ensuring most of the country can watch it.

The Mtn. went dark on May 31 because it could not get distribution beyond DirecTV and various smaller cable providers in the West. Longhorn Network is having difficulty gaining carriage in Texas.

Time Warner Cable will have a tough time convincing cable and satellite companies to pick up its two new regional networks it is starting with the Los Angeles Lakers. As reported by John Ourand from the Sports Business Journal, Time Warner is charging companies $3.95/subscriber fee. That’s insane.

DirecTV President and CEO Mike White said that the satellite provider will not carry the Longhorn Network. Another statement could potentially spell bad news for the Pac-12 Network. White said DirecTV will most likely not carry all seven Pac-12 Networks. If you’re Larry Scott, you should be concerned. It appears DirecTV will only carry the main network and not the regional channels. Dish Network and AT&T U-Verse are probably thinking the same thing.

While Larry Scott’s thinking was out of the box, it could be a bad move for now. The Big Ten Network has been largely successful, but it was just one network. The Pac-12 Networks will have major challenges in gaining carriage. As a U-verse customer, I would like to be able to watch all of the networks from their inception. The question is: Can the Pac-12 convince every digital and satellite company to carry all seven networks? Good luck, Larry Scott.

Corneilus Green resides in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Currently unemployed, but Corneilus is a sports enthusiast who once had a dream of being a sports broadcaster and commentator. He still might do it.

Thanks to Corneilus for the column. More guest columns will published throughout the week.

http://articles.latimes.com/2004/jul/30/sports/sp-tvcol30

ESPN2′s SportsNation Bids Farewell To Michelle Beadle; Welcomes Charissa Thompson

In a span of just four days, it’ll be out with the old and in with the new at SportsNation. Michelle Beadle will say goodbye on her last official show which will air on Friday. From what the press blurb says, Michelle will go out with a bang. I heard it will involve a cannon. I’m not joking.

And on Monday, Charissa Thompson, the host of ESPN2′s Numbers Never Lie will take Michelle’s place as official co-host of SportsNation taking the side of ESPN Radio Hack Colin Cowherd.

It’s all here in black and white for you.

SportsNation Bids a Fond Farewell to Michelle Beadle on June 1, Welcomes Charissa Thompson as the New Co-Host on June 4

SportsNation’s new co-host Charissa Thompson will make her debut on Monday, June 4, opposite co-host Colin Cowherd. The pair will continue the off-beat SportsNation tradition of discussing the day’s hottest and weirdest sports topics weekdays at 5 p.m. on ESPN2. ESPYS host Rob Riggle recently attempted to congratulate Thompson on her new gig, though there was clearly some confusion on his part: http://bit.ly/CharissaT

Thompson, a familiar face to the SportsNation audience thanks to her guest appearances, joined ESPN in September of 2011 and has served as host of ESPN2’s Numbers Never* Lie. Prior to joining ESPN, Thompson appeared on multiple sports networks including The Big Ten Network, Versus (now NBC Sports), NFL Network, Speed Network and Yahoo! Sports. Thompson was also a co-host of Fox Sports Network’s The Best Damn Sports Show Period.

On Friday, June 1, SportsNation will bid a fond farewell to Michelle Beadle with a “Beadle Bash” celebrating her last appearance on the show. The episode will highlight unforgettable Beadle moments and memories, and will feature a special surprise goodbye to send Beadle off with a “bang.”

Fans can follow the show on Twitter at @SportsNation and Charissa Thompson at @CharissaT.

There you have it.

Sports Media Weekly No. 103 — Ed Sherman, The Sherman Report & Michelle Beadle, NBCUniversal

This was quite the action-packed podcast. Very newsworthy as Michelle Beadle, soon-to-be departing ESPN and soon-to-be joining NBCUniversal is one of our guests. The other is Ed Sherman, formerly of the Chicago Tribune and still writing for Crain’s Chicago Business, but now is the editor and lead writer for the Sherman Report. Ed is still based in Chicago and bases the Sherman Report from the Windy City.

Ed joined Keith Thibault of Sports Media Journal and I for our news segment.

We began talking about Michelle Beadle and her impending departure from ESPN2′s SportsNation for NBCUniversal and what her role will be with the Peacocks.

That transitioned to Erik Kuselias becoming primary host of NBC SportsTalk on NBC Sports Network.

Then we discusssed Pam Ward being taken off ESPN’s college football coverage.

That led to a discussion of ESPN extending its contract with the ACC and subsequently sublicensing ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12 games to CBS plus the upheaval in the conferences for money and where it could lead.

Keith, Ed and I moved to baseball and TBS picking up the new Wild Card playoff games while giving two League Division Series games to MLB Network. And we wondered if MLB Network’s penetration would leave fans in local markets out in the cold without access to the games when the postseason rolls around.

Then focused on NBC’s extensive coverage of the Olympics and then talked about Chicago as a market to cover.

Our second guest, Michelle Beadle came on to talk about signing her deal with NBCUniversal where she will work both in sports and entertainment.

We asked Michelle about why she decided to leave ESPN and what opportunities NBC provided to lure her away from the Alleged Worldwide Leader. And Michelle reviewed the speculation on her decision from blogs and newspapers.

Then Michelle told us about what she’ll be doing at NBC Sports and Access Hollywood plus being based in New York for NBCUniversal.

This was a quite fun podcast and once again Beadle gave us a lot of laughs. You can find it on iTunes under “Sports Media Journal” or you can go here to listen right here.

You Need Linkage On That Wall….

Yes you do. It’s overdue. I thought being on unemployment would give me more time for doing the site. Instead, I have less. I don’t know how that’s happened.

Anyway, here are some links for you.

USA Today’s Michael Hiestand has soon-to-be NBC’s Michelle Beadle saying even she’s sick of the coverage on where she’s going next.

Michael takes a look at the Weekend TV ratings.

Nicole Auerbach of USA Today says Laurie Fine, wife of ex-Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine, has officially filed her libel lawsuit against ESPN.

At Sports Business Journal, John Ourand and Michael Smith report that the Southeastern Conference, in the midst of restructuring its media rights deal with CBS and ESPN, could be resurrecting its plans to start an SEC Channel.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News goes over the “trade” between TBS and MLB Network giving the young network its first postseason action this season.

Tim Baysinger of Broadcasting & Cable says ESPN 3D will air the last five days of Wimbledon later this summer.

David Mercer of the Associated Press says citing low ratings, the Big Ten Network will drop academic non-sports programming in order to air higher rated sports.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek talks about GM pulling out of advertising in Super Bowl XLVII.

Brian Clapp at Sports TV Jobs tells aspiring sports TV anchors how to thrive in local markets despite the shrinking amount of time in newscasts.

Dan Fogarty from SportsGrid has video of TNT’s Charles Barkley admitting to America that he waxes his eyebrows.

Eric Goldschein of SportsGrid has this funny video of Saturday Night Live’s Jay Pharoah getting Stephen A. “A is for Acrimonious” Smith down pat.

From the New Haven Register, David Borges talks with long-time Red Sox radio voice and Connecticut native Joe Castiglione about his career and his new book.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette talks about CBS Sports sublicensing some college basketball games from ESPN.

Pete Dougherty in the Albany Times Union has the French Open TV schedule.

Pete says the overnight ratings for the Preakness Stakes dropped double digits from last year.

Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com says NBC Sports Network will tap some familiar names to call MLS action this weekend.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun says NBC got the job done in its Preakness Stakes production.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic is on the RGIII train.

The increasingly bitter Thomas Boswell of the WaPo feels MASN should pony up for the Washington Nationals media rights.

Jim Williams at the Washington Examiner writes that outgoing NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora is looking forward to working and writing for CBS.

Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times says two writers from the newspaper including sports media writer Tom Jones will co-host a new morning show for the local sports radio station. Jones will now stop covering sports radio to avoid a conflict of interest.

Iliana Limón Romero of the Orlando Sentinel says the Big East is hopeful of finding a suitable TV suitor for the league.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle has some sports media observations.

Mel Bracht at The Oklahoman writes that TNT’s Charles Barkley is looking forward to visiting Oklahoma City for the NBA Western Conference Finals.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that the Reds gave local radio station WLW a big ratings win last month.

Bob Wolfley in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel looks at the local weekend ratings.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says a technical glitch forced Cardinals fans to watch Fox Sports San Diego’s feed of last night’s Redbirds-Padres game and listen to Dick Enberg which is not a bad thing at all.

Bryce Miller of the Des Moines Reigster says Iowan and Olympics hurdler Lolo Jones is on a media blitz.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News says the Dodgers will honor long-time Spanish radio voice Jaime Jarrin next month.

Timothy Burke at Deadspin has video of NBC Sports Network’s Doc Emrick ripping diving in soccer.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media says ratings for the NHL Conference Finals on the NBC Sports Group are down.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing has some of Pam Ward’s “Greatest” hits over her years calling college football.

That will do it for now.

A Tuesday Sports Media Thoughts Trifecta

Let’s provide you with three thoughts on this Tuesday. You know the drill.

• After learning that her contract was expiring, leading to speculation that she was about to leave, seemingly leaving, then indeed she was leaving, we finally got the official wordfrom NBCUniversal that Michelle Beadle was joining the company.It’s a good move for her. She’ll still have a hand in sports with a show on NBC Sports Network and appear on big events like the Olympics, NFL Kickoff, the Triple Crown and down the road, the Super Bowl. In addition, Michelle will be the New York-based correspondent for Access Hollywood. If you read the NBC press release, you’ll notice that there was plenty of mentions of her past entertainment work as well as her sports resumé.I know I said sports wasn’t in Beadle’s future and I was partly right in my thoughts. It will be interesting to see if her NBC Sports Network show will be weekly or monthly. I think the show won’t be a daily series, but you never know. Michelle will be a guest on an upcoming edition of Sports Media Weekly with Keith Thibault and I and we’ll be asking her what her role at NBC Sports will be. And I’m sure she’ll continue to be a Friend of Fang’s Bites.
• Before NBC’s Beadle announcement, the big news on Monday was the surprising development that ESPN had removed Pam Wardfrom its college football coverage. Since 2000, Ward had a weekly assignment starting with noon ET Big Ten games on ESPN2. While there’s no arguing that she was a trailblazer, becoming the first woman to regularly call football on a major television network, there was certainly no argument that she was polarizing among viewers.The original Awful Announcing site under original editor, Brian Powell named its Worst College Football Announcing Awards, The Pammies, after Ward. While some media writers like Aaron Barnhart of the Kansas City Star were squarely in her corner, your humble blogger found Ward’s play calling to be sorely lacking. For four years running, she was the “winner” of Worst Play-by-Play in my annual College Football TV Awards and had it named after her last year. Even with her not calling college football this year, the award will still be named in her dishonor.

  Beth Mowins is the lone female on ESPN still calling college football and I think she’s much better than Ward.

• And another Monday development, CBS announced that it was sublicensinga package of ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12 basketball games from ESPN. It’s something CBS had to do to continue airing marquee conference matchups during the regular season. While CBS dominates the college basketball postseason, it’s ESPN that carries the load of the regular with new contracts in tow with the three aforementioned conferences. It’s kind of like doing business with the Devil, but knowing you have to do it in order to survive. While that analogy is certainly a stretch, it’s not too far off as ESPN is the 800 lb. gorilla that has most, if not all the bananas in its possession.Let’s not cry for CBS here, it has contracts of its own with the Big East, Big Ten and SEC, but it needed a sublicense agreement with the Alleged Worldwide Leader to continue to air a diversified college basketball portfolio. I wonder if we’ll see similar arrangements for other sports with ESPN down the line.

We’re done for now.

NBC Officially Announces Michelle Beadle Joins Sports and Access Hollywood

NBCUniversal announces that Michelle Beadle, leaving ESPN2′s SportsNation at the end of this month, will be hosting a show for NBC Sports Network as well as being a New York-based correspondent for Access Hollywood.

This fits Michelle as she’ll have a role in sports and be seen on some of NBC’s big events such as the Olympics, the Triple Crown and the NFL Kickoff game.

NBC says Michelle will be seen on various NBCUniversal platforms. We have the announcement from the network.

NBCUNIVERSAL ANNOUNCES NEW MULTI-PLATFORM AGREEMENT WITH SEASONED BROADCASTER MICHELLE BEADLE

Beadle to Contribute to “Access Hollywood” and Several NBC Sports Group Platforms Including a Role at the London Olympic Games

NEW YORK – May 21, 2012 – NBCUniversal and former ESPN personality Michelle Beadle have forged a new multi-platform agreement that includes on-air duties for “Access Hollywood” and the NBC Sports Group.

Beadle, who will be based in New York, will serve as a correspondent for the nationally syndicated entertainment news program, “Access Hollywood,” which is anchored by Billy Bush. Beadle will cover all major red carpet events, including movie premieres and fashion week, plus report on all breaking Hollywood news. Beadle will also serve as a correspondent for NBC Sports Group’s big-event properties including this summer’s London Olympic Games, which she will also be covering for “Access Hollywood.” Beadle will also have a role in the 2012 NFL Kickoff and Horse Racing’s Triple Crown, as well as other NBC Sports Network programs. As part of the agreement, NBC Sports Group will develop new programming for NBC Sports Network featuring Beadle.

“Michelle Beadle is a perfect fit for ‘Access Hollywood’. She is a tremendous broadcaster, smart, clever with a terrific sense of humor,” said Rob K. Silverstein, Executive Producer of “Access Hollywood.” “Michelle’s sensibility will help Access to continue to separate itself from the pack.”

“I am thrilled to join the NBCUniversal family and to have the opportunity to work alongside many of the most talented and accomplished individuals in the business,” said Beadle. “This gig is the perfect blend of the two things I am most passionate about – sports and pop culture. I look forward to getting back to New York City and immersing myself into a myriad of NBCUniversal platforms, while trying to kick ass and have some fun along the way.”

“Similar to the agreement with Ryan Seacrest, this is another great example of attracting a talent who can contribute across multiple NBCUniversal platforms,” said Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBC Sports Group

“Michelle’s energy and enthusiasm, coupled with her love and knowledge of sports, make her a perfect fit for the NBC Sports Group,” said Sam Flood, Executive Producer, NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network. “She has a likability that pops through the screen, and we are excited to be able to feature her across multiple properties and events.”

Beadle joins NBCUniversal from ESPN where she most recently served as co-host of the studio show “SportsNation” on ESPN2, appeared on 1050 ESPN New York as the New York “SportsCenter” anchor for ESPN Radio’s “The Michael Kay Show,” and co-hosted “Winners Bracket” for ESPN Sports Saturday on ABC.

Prior to ESPN, Beadle worked on-air for YES Network, where she served as the pre- and post-game reporter for New Jersey Nets basketball telecasts, and as a studio anchor, reporter and host on shows such as the Emmy Award-winning “Ultimate Road Trip;” “SportsLife NYC;” and “Yankees on Deck.”

In addition to her work at YES, Beadle was hired in 2007 by People Magazine and People.com, where she hosted the online feature What You Missed over the Weekend, and served as a Red Carpet reporter for the Golden Globes, Grammy Awards, SAG Awards and the Tony Awards.

Beadle hosted the Major League Baseball Production’s magazine show “Cathedrals of the Game,” and was a feature reporter for the NFL Films syndicated program “NFL Under the Helmet.”

Beadle previously was a primary host and anchor for College Sports Television (CSTV), where she co-hosted the network’s flagship program, “The #1 College Sports Show,” in addition to CSTV pre- and postgame sports shows and specials.

Also, she hosted the Animal Planet series “Animal Planet Report;” co-hosted the Travel Channel’s Beach Week series; hosted the Discovery Channel reality series “Get Packing” and the network’s one-hour specials “Inside Orlando’s Resorts” and “Outrageous Room Service;” and hosted “I Want Your Job,” an original series on the Fine Living Network.

The deal for Beadle was brokered by Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

That’s it.

Some Wednesday Night Linkage

I’ll do some more linkage for you this evening. You’re owed it. Why not?

Thomas O’Toole from USA Today reports that Laurie Fine, the wife of ex-Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine, is suing ESPN for libel saying a report ruined her reputation.

Barry Petchesky of Deadspin goes inside the lawsuit and notes that Fine is accusing ESPN of circling the wagons against her.

John Koblin from Deadspin says Fang’s Bites fave Charissa Thompson will replace the outgoing Michelle Beadle on ESPN2′s SportsNation.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch speaks with ESPN’s Prince of Darkness John Skipper who fires some shots at NBC Sports Network.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today has NBC’s response to Skipper.

Tom Weir of USA Today says ESPN’s Adam Schefter threw a G*d D*mned reference at Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio and ESPN2. That’s a lot of ESPN references in one sentence.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today says Pat O’Brien is back on the Olympic stage.

Mike Ozanian from Forbes says while sports TV advertising spending is up, the return of investment is not necessarily that good.

Andy Fixmer and Edmund Lee of Bloomberg Businessweek report that the networks are putting more sports programming in primetime to avoid DVR timeshifting.

Jon Lafayette of Broadcasting & Cable looks at NBCUniversal announcing Olympic coverage plans for three cable networks.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News reports that NBC Sports Network will air a cable TV record amount of Olympic coverage this summer.

Mike notes that ESPN is hoping to double its subscriber numbers for its WatchESPN app.

Meanwhile, Josh Lowensohn of CNET says hold the WatchESPN to Apple TV talk.

Billy Steele of Engadget reviews the new ESPN Radio iPad app.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid notes that Fox Sports West had an interesting “Key to the Game”.

Jim Williams of the Bleacher Report talks with Fox Soccer analysts on this Saturday’s Champions League Final.

Clare Atkinson from the New York Post reports that the networks are jacking up ad rates for the NFL including CBS for Super Bowl XLVII.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette notes that NBC Sports Network will cover the Indy 500 Time Trials this weekend.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union looks at the amount of Olympic coverage on three NBCUniversal cable networks.

Pete says NBC Sports golf reporter Dottie Pepper has co-authored a series of books bringing golf to kids.

Keith Groller at the Allentown (PA) Morning Call says a local cable TV sports reporter is fast becoming a regular on the high school scene.

Dan Steinberg from the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog says a sports radio producer put Icy Hot on his manjunk.

Barry Jackson at the Miami Herald writes that TNT’s Charles Barkley is not a fan of Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

Paul M. Banks at Chicago Sports Media Watch can’t believe Mike Francesa’s anti-Twitter stance.

Kent Youngblood at the Minneapolis Star Tribune says the new TV voice of the Minnesota Wild comes with some controversy.

Tom Hoffarth at the Los Angeles Daily News says the national media is beginning to take notice of the Kings’ playoff run.

Bud Withers of the Seattle Times writes that ESPN has moved the coaching debut of Mike Leach with Washington State to a Thursday night primetime game.

Jeff Morrow of the Tri-City (WA) Herald notes that ESPN Radio has returned to the local area.

Annie Fowler of the Herald says NHL Network will air the Memorial Cup in its entirety.

Ryan Yoder of Awful Announcing is still buzzing over Mike Francesa’s anti-Twitter rant from this week.

Sports Media Watch has some various ratings news and notes.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media says the NHL on NBC could be moved on Saturday if Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final goes into triple overtime.

Steve says the ratings Game 2 of the NHL Western Conference Final were down from last year.

Dave Kohl at the Broadcast Booth looks at various local radio ratings for baseball.

And that will be do it for tonight.

Let’s Get Some Linkage Out

I’ve accumulated a lot of links. They’re slowing down my browser so let’s clear them so I can let my computer get back some memory. Lots of stuff going on.

Let’s start with ESPN stuff as it dominated the news today with its network upfront presentation to advertisers and also confirmed personnel moves.

First, Sports Media Watch talks about Scott Van Pelt reupping with ESPN.

The ESPN Front Row blog has a Q&A podcast with Van Pelt in which he explains why he decided to remain with the Bristolians.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today recaps today’s ESPN upfront presentation in New York.

Mike McCarthy of USA Today notes that with Michelle Beadle leaving ESPN, the network is now focusing on keeping Erin Andrews in the fold.

The Hollywood Reporter goes over some ESPN upfront news including its plans to bring back the 30 for 30 documentary series.

Stuart Levin from Variety also has a story on the new set of 30 for 30 docs.

Jeannie Poggi of Advertising Age also reviews ESPN’s upfronts.

Alex Weprin from TVNewser says ESPN and ABC News will co-produce an interview series to be fronted by Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts.

Mike Shields from Adweek says ESPN.com will now partner to sell ads.

ESPN’s Vice President of College Sports Programming, Burke Magnus responds to a Dan Wetzel/Yahoo Sports article on the new ACC TV contract.

Chad Scott at ChuckOliver.net explains how third tier media rights work in college sports.

Andy Fixmer and Alex Sherman at Bloomberg report on how ESPN may expand its WatchESPN app to Apple TV platforms.

Andy Fixmer of Bloomberg says CBS is ready to take the coveted 18-49 ratings title from perennial winner Fox with the airing of Super Bowl XLVII next season.

The great SportsbyBrooks tweets that Erik Kuselias’ move to NBC Sports Network from Golf Channel’s Morning Drive is being considered a demotion by network higher-ups. I had a feeling this was the case. Do you consider this tweet inane, Mike Francesa?

Ed Sherman from The Sherman Report enjoyed watching Survival Sunday on the Fox Sports platforms, but wondered why the most important English Premier League game was on another network.

Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing has four different calls of the same moment when Manchester City won the EPL title on Sunday.

John Ourand from Sports Business Journal writes about a now-defunct Twitter account that got under the skin of several sports network executives.

Earlier today, WFAN’s Mike Francesa ranted on how much he hates Twitter.

If you want to see Mike’s veins popping out during this rant, you can see it here on the YES Network website.

And while Francesa seemingly hates Twitter, Media Rantz points out that Francesa has an app where he does something similar to Twitter.

Bruce Jenkins from Sports Illustrated says Tennis Channel failed to serve the WTA Tour’s Madrid Open like it did with the ATP’s side of the same tournament.

Phil Allaway at Front Stretch looks at ESPN’s coverage of this past weekend’s NASCAR Nationwide Race.

BBC Sport has announced it will have 24 live HD streams dedicated to the Olympics this summer.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News says NBCUniversal has set the Olympics programming lineup for Bravo, CNBC and MSNBC.

John Eggerton at Multichannel News notes that a Federal Appeals Court has upheld an FCC ruling that Time Warner Cable did not discriminate against MASN when it refused to put the regional sports network on its North Carolina systems.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell says the college conference realignment game won’t be settled for at least another decade.

Matt Boutwell of Maine Sports Media looks at a case I wrote about three years ago, about the mysterious tweeter, BrianAdExec.

NESN goes behind the scenes with Jenny Dell and the network’s production team on what goes on during a typical Red Sox gameday.

Rich Elliot of the Connecticut Post has SNY’s president talking about the regional sports network’s plans to air UConn Women’s basketball next season.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks with NBC Sports’ Mike Emrick about calling his old team, the New Jersey Devils in the NHL Eastern Conference Final.

In the New York Times, Jay Schreiber talks about the last time the Devils and the New York Rangers met in the Eastern Conference Final and how he had to monitor the series without smartphones back then.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times reports on ESPN’s plans to bring back 30 for 30.

Jerry Barmash from Fishbowl NY writes that MSG Network will provide of wraparound coverage of the NHL Eastern Conference Final.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette says YES Network will air a Yankeeography on David Wells this week.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record notes that MSG Network will begin airing the WNBA’s New York Liberty starting this weekend.

Bob Fernandez of the Philadelphia Inquirer says two local global conglomerates including Comcast expect to make some big money from the London Olympics.

Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com Sports goes behind-the-scenes with ESPN’s MLS production.

Jeff Barker from the Baltimore Sun says the Orioles and the Washington Nationals are waiting word from MLB on a decision on how much MASN should pay the Nats.

Over to Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog who writes that Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic is making a change in its DC NFL team beat reporter.

Dan talks about former Post columnist Howard Bryant ranting against Washington Nationals ownership.

Mike Finger at the Houston Chronicle says the Longhorn Network may offer more Texas football games in another attempt to get carriage from state cable providers.

Mel Bracht in The Oklahoman writes that the Oklahoma City Thunder on TNT set another local ratings record.

In Chicago Sports Media Watch, Paul M. Banks goes over some hate mail.

Scott D. Pierce at the Salt Lake Tribune writes that Utahans should be able to see the Running Utes thanks to wider distribution of the Pac-12 Networks than the soon-to-be defunct the mtn.

Tuesday night, KNBC-TV did a story on the busy postseason in Los Angeles, but aired the wrong graphic for the Kings and showed the Sacramento Kings instead of the LA Kings. C’mon, man!

Martin Miller of the Los Angeles Times says ESPN upfront presentation showed the network was ready for some football.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media is telling everyone that a New York Rangers-Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup Final might not mean boffo ratings as some NHL observers are saying.

Jay Koot of Busted Coverage is disgusted by Erik Kuselias’ engagement to Morning Drive news reader Holly Sonders.

And that’s where we’ll end the links tonight.

She’s Really Gone; ESPN Confirms Michelle Beadle’s Departure

During today’s Upfront presentation to advertisers, ESPN President John Skipper confirmed to Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch that indeed, Michelle Beadle has left ESPN.

ESPN president John Skipper confirms @MichelleDBeadle is leaving ESPN. “We wish her well,” says Skipper.

— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) May 15, 2012

While various sources have been indicating this is the case, this is the first official confirmation from either ESPN, NBC or Beadle that she is leaving.

We’re not sure of her last day, but there are indications that Michelle will have a role on NBC’s Olympic coverage in London this summer and appear on various NBC Sports big events (Super Bowl, Olympics, maybe even the Kentucky Derby) before contributing to the Today show and becoming co-host of Access Hollywood.

A Trio of Sunday Sports Media Thoughts

Happy Mother’s Day.

It’s been quite the day in sports already. A few thoughts in bullet form.

• Fox promised us unprecedented coverage on the last day of the English Premier League season and it delivered. Using FX, Fox Sports Net, Fuel and Speed in addition to its Fox Soccer, Fox Soccer Plus on online platforms, it provided full coverage of the final day of the EPL season as teams were scrambling for the Title, Champions and Europa League spots and avoiding relegation. With ESPN2 allowed to air the Manchester City-Queens Park Rangers match, Fox focused on the other 9 games of the day. Using FX as its main hub, there were real time updates on the Fox Box as well as cut-ins by Rob Stone showing scores from other games.

  If Fox retains the US rights for the English Premier League, I would love to see more of this coverage not only for what was dubbed “Survival Sunday” by Fox, but for the Opening Weekend of the season as well.

  I admit I wasn’t a fan of Rob Stone when he was at ESPN, but he’s grown on me as host of the Premier and Champions League on Fox Soccer. And the way Fox utilized its platforms today was excellent. One could argue they should have been doing this all along.

  If Fox is going to do this next year, then open up the pay platforms of Fox Soccer Plus, Foxsoccer.com and Fox Soccer2Go for the weekend. Those of us who don’t subscribe to those platforms were shutout today.

• One pet peeve I have about Fox is that it won’t allow online streaming of its sports properties. Whether it be MLB, NASCAR, college football or NFL, the network makes us watch its product on television. If we can’t be in front of a TV, then we’re pure out of luck. Some the online rights are locked with the league as with the case of MLB and the NFL, but ESPN, NBC and CBS have been diligent in getting online rights. Fox remains steadfast in not streaming its events. I hope that changes as the network goes forward with the NFL and any other sports properties it obtains from here on out.
• And Friday’s development that Michelle Beadle is leaving ESPN is not a surprise. While there has been no firm confirmation from neither ESPN, NBC where she’s reportedly heading nor from Michelle herself, she’s about good as gone.

  I told you in the past that sports is not what Michelle wants to do full-time. By keeping a hand in special events like the Olympics and the Super Bowl should be enough for her. And by co-hosting Access Hollywood, it gives NBCUniversal a versatile personality.

  She’ll do well for NBC.

That’s going to do it for now.

It’s Official: She’s Gone. Michelle Beadle Is Leaving ESPN

Hall and Oates from 1976 and the Old Grey Whistle Test. She’s Gone. Michelle Beadle is leaving ESPN2′s SportsNation.

The official word came today. Jim Miller, co-author of “Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside the World of ESPN” has the news.

Bye bye Bristol: The @MichelleDBeadle deal is to be by cohost of access Hollywood (w billy bush), major sports events and new show tba.

— James Andrew Miller (@ESPNBook) May 11, 2012

My best to Beadle. She has been a friend to this site and will always remain so.

UPDATE, 1:35 p.m.: Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch contacted both ESPN and NBC. ESPN has not budged from its official position that was provided to Fang’s Bites yesterday and NBC is not commenting.

Re: @ESPNBook & @SPORTSbyBROOKS reports of Michelle Beadle leaving ESPN. NBC declined comment. ESPN says no change on previous comments.

— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) May 11, 2012

That’s all.

UPDATE, 3:50 p.m.: Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead with everything over, but the official announcement from NBCUniversal, wonders what ESPN could have done to keep Michelle in Bristol (answer: probably nothing).

I wonder if Michelle will make some sort of announcement on SportsNation today. I’m hoping she does as I’ve bet Richard Deitsch some Starbucks over this. But even if she doesn’t say anything today, I’m sure next week that there will be some type of official press release from NBC and perhaps a short, terse statement from ESPN as well.

Now with Dana Jacobsen and Michelle Beadle gone from the Alleged Worldwide Leader, management can focus on their two remaining free agents, Scott Van Pelt and Erin Andrews. Look for both to remain with the Bristolians for the foreseeable future.

Finally Some Friday Megalinks

Let’s do some Friday megalinks. You’ve been owed some and I haven’t been able to do links for most of the week.

Of course, you have the Weekend Viewing Picks which provide plenty of college sports, soccer, baseball and the NBA and NHL postseason action.

Now let’s do your links.

National

Michael Hiestand of USA Today explores Jason La Canfora’s decision to leave NFL Network and bolt to CBS.

Media Rantz looks into the potential departure of Michelle Beadle from ESPN to NBC.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch says E! will produce a special on New York Jets QB Tim Tebow.

Ed Sherman at The Sherman Report hears from a Fox Soccer executive on why the Fox Sports Media Group chose to air so many English Premier League games on the final day of the season.

Michael David Smith at Pro Football Talk writes that despite reports to the contrary, it appears that the New York Jets won’t make another appearance on HBO’s Hard Knocks this summer.

Eriq Gardner at the Hollywood Reporter says a group of fans have filed a class action lawsuit against MLB and its TV partners on the antiquated and silly blackout policy.

Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel says while the Minnesota Vikings will finally get their long-awaited stadium, one state legislator attempted to sneak a bill ending all local NFL blackouts. I think that was a great idea.

Mike Reynolds of Multichannel News/Broadcasting & Cable writes the long-anticipated Time Warner Cable Los Angeles Lakers-centric regional sports network will launch in October.

At Adweek, Anthony Crupi writes that Fox has sold out its ad inventory for the UEFA Champions League Final.

Thomas Pardee of Advertising Age says social media is changing the way we watch sports.

In the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center, Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times says there are times when the N-word should to be published in full.

Eric Goldschein at SportsGrid says CBC Hockey Night in Canada host Ron MacLean stretched his analogy too far in comparing the 9/11 First Responders to NHL players this week.

Jason Dachman of Sports Video Group looks at NBC/Golf Channel’s joint production of this week’s Players Championship.

Brandon Costa of SVG explores ESPN’s expanded multiplatform rights for NCAA Championships.

And SVG tells us about the Big East Conference’s in-house production of the league’s Baseball Tournament.

Kristi Dosh at ESPN.com looks into the dollars and cents of the major college sports TV rights contracts.

Patrick Rishe at Forbes says while the ACC signed a rich contract with ESPN, it still doesn’t compare to the Pac-12′s huge megadeal.

My Twitter Trophy Wife, Amanda Rykoff chronicles her day spent at the MLB Fan Cave for espnW.

Paulsen at Sports Media Watch crunches the numbers behind the ratings rise for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and the lower for the NBA Playoffs.

Joe Lucia of Awful Announcing also looks into the ratings for the NBA and NHL Postseasons.

Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead notes the disturbing arrest of the PA Announcer for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Dave Kohl at The Broadcast Booth looks at some of the sports media stories that are irking him this week.

East and Mid-Atlantic

I haven’t been able to address the death of Carl Beane, the Red Sox public address announcer. Carl was a radio reporter in Western Massachusetts and also free-lanced for ESPN Radio, CBS Radio, Fox Sports Radio to report on various NFL and college games. He died this week when he suffered a heart attack and crashed his car. He was 59. It seemed everyone in New England had some connection to Beane. I’ll give you some of the stories that have been written about him this week.

David Scott at ESPN’s Front Row PR blog gets reaction from people at the network who knew him.

Gordon Edes at ESPN Boston says Beane felt he was born to be the Fenway Park public address announcer.

WEEI’s Mike Petraglia writes about his personal connection to Beane.

Julian Benbow of the Boston Globe says the Red Sox paid tribute to Beane at last night’s game by not having anyone do the PA.

Amanda Bruno of the Springfield Republican writes that Beane was a role model and mentor to her.

To other stories now, heading back to the Globe, Chad Finn says the ACC got its huge deal and it will affect member school Boston College in many ways.

Chad says former Red Sox voice Jerry Trupiano is getting some familial help in trying to get the Houston Astros radio gig.

Desmond Connor of the Hartford Courant says the Big East’s interim commissioner is hopeful his conference can cash in on the recent big spending by ESPN and other networks.

The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir talks with the legendary Vin Scully.

Richard profiles the person behind a fake Walt Frazier Twitter account.

Jack Bell of the Times interviews Fox Sports President Eric Shanks about Sunday’s unprecedented English Premier League coverage.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Times rails over player unions defending their membership for the wrong reasons.

The Post’s Justin Terranova talks with NBC’s Pierre McGuire.

Justin has five questions for TNT’s Kenny Smith.

Jerry Barmash at Fishbowl NY says a former local sports reporter is returning to her roots with Time Warner Cable’s Southern California network.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union says technical difficulties plagued a local radio broadcast of the Yankees.

Pete says many of NBC/Golf Channel’s cameras will be focused squarely on one hole at the Players Championship this week.

Ken McMillan at the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record explores the new SNY deal to air UConn women’s basketball games.

At the New Jersey Newsroom, Evan Weiner asks if high school football is doomed.

Keith Groller of the Allentown (PA) Morning Call watched the train wreck of former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens appearing on Dr. Phil this week and being confronted by his multiple baby mommas.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post says MLB Network compared the swings of the late Mickey Mantle and the Nationals’ Bryce Harper.

South

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle says a new local sports radio morning host comes with some baggage from his old job.

David says Comcast and ESPN cut a deal this week for subscribers to watch the network online.

Mel Bracht of The Oklahoman notes that Fox Sports Oklahoma will air specials next week on the state’s two major college football programs.

Midwest

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes that the Reds TV and Radio ratings are up this season.

Paul M. Banks of Chicago Sports Media Watch explores the Cubs’ Kerry Wood blowing up at the local media this week.

Paul Christian at the Rochester (MN) Post Bulletin looks at NBC’s coverage of The Players Championship.

Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that a local sports anchor gets to talk news on the radio.

West

John Maffei of the North County Times says the local media plans to cover Junior Seau’s public memorial today.

Jim Carlisle at the Ventura County Star notes that outgoing flagship TV station KCAL gave another farewell to the Los Angeles Lakers this week.

Jim looks at the 17th hole at the TPC Sawgrass which will get plenty of attention on NBC/Golf Channel at the Players Championship.

Jim provides his weekend viewing picks.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News looks at Time Warner Cable’s new sports channels.

Tom tries to give Kings fans missing their local TV voices a silver lining.

Jon Wilner at the San Jose Mercury News goes over the latest developments at the Pac-12 Networks.

Canada

Bruce Dowbiggin at the Toronto Globe and Mail says CBC’s Ron MacLean had to clarify his 9/11 remarks before Game 6 of the New York Rangers-Washington Capitals series.

The Canadian Sports Media Blog has the announcing assignments for both CBC and TSN in the NHL Conference Final round.

And we are done. Enjoy your sports weekend.

Going For Some More Overdue Sports Media Thoughts

Thursday turned out to be quite the crazy day for those of us who follow the sports media beat. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. On any given day, you just don’t know when sports media news will break. We had two stories throw us for a loop. I’ll do the thoughts as always in bullet form.

• We knew the Michelle Beadle story was going to come to a head, we just didn’t know what direction it would take. Finally, we did hear about some movement. And it all moved around 4 p.m. ET on Thursday. Whether Michelle decides to leave ESPN and go to NBC as SportsbyBrooks tweeted on Thursday or remain at the Alleged Worldwide Leader (highly unlikely), she’s going to get paid. I do believe that she will leave, take the job at NBC and be featured on the Olympics this summer, either as a contributor on the Today show, or as a host on one of NBCUniversal’s cable networks, most likely NBC Sports Network.

  I’ve said all along that Michelle’s future is not in sports and if SportsbyBrooks’ tweet is correct, then being a co-host on Access Hollywood with Billy Bush would be right up her alley. And Michelle could always return to sports every two years during the Olympics. But as Michelle herself once told me, the truth will come out soon.

• Now the other piece of sports media news from Thursday was the surprising move by Jason La Canfora to leave NFL Network and join CBS in July to become an NFL insider at its dot com site and on television. As Michael Hiestand of USA Today discovered for Friday’s edition, not only will La Canfora replace Charley Casserly on The NFL Today, he’ll also appear on CBS Sports Network which could have its own Sunday morning NFL pregame show plus other NFL-related programming.

  I thought La Canfora did a good job on NFL Network especially in replacing Adam Schefter in 2009 after he bolted for ESPN. In regards to replacing Jason, NFL Network has recently hired a trio of on-air reporters who could conceivably take his place or it could fill the insider by committee. Whatever direction NFL Network goes in the Insider position, I’m sure it will be someone solid.

• I watched some of ESPNU’s coverage of the SEC Softball Tournament. Beth Mowins did a very good job on the play-by-play. She’s called college football, the Women’s World Cup in Germany in addition to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament and she’s called each sport quite well.
• I’m looking forward to Sunday morning when Fox Sports goes all out for the final day of the English Premier League season. All ten games on Sunday will be aired on ESPN2 and nine Fox platforms including Fox Soccer, Fox Soccer Plus, Fox Sports Net, Fuel, FX, Speed, Fox Deportes as well as online. It’s going to be bedlam, but in a good way.

That’s going to conclude the thoughts for now.

DEVELOPING: Michelle Beadle Reportedly Leaving ESPN For NBC

This coming from my friends over at SportsbyBrooks.

SbB has learned Michelle Beadle will depart ESPN for NBC Sports with the plan for her to land eventually at Access Hollywood as co-host.

— SPORTSbyBROOKS (@SPORTSbyBROOKS) May 10, 2012

According to SbyB, Michelle Beadle has informed ESPN that she’s leaving the network and will go to NBC Sports and eventually become the co-host of Access Hollywood. In my past posts, I told you that Michelle didn’t see herself in sports long-term. One of my predictions had her hosting an entertainment show although my last one had her going to either Today or Good Morning America.

Not surprising that she would leave. Michelle will probably do some work for NBC on the Olympics and then go to Access Hollywood full-time leaving her options open to work for NBC Sports.

We’ll continue to monitor.

UPDATE, 3:48 p.m.: SportsbyBrooks says Beadle will do work for Today and on the Olympics before becoming full-time co-host for Access.

Before Beadle transitions to NBCUniversal-distributed Access Hollywood, she’ll cover Olympics, appear on Today Show, among other duties.

— SPORTSbyBROOKS (@SPORTSbyBROOKS) May 10, 2012

More to follow. Working to get confirmation.

UPDATE, 4 p.m.: Jason McIntyre from The Big Lead has this information from Michelle herself.

Text from Michelle Beadle: “not accurate.” my interpretation: she’s probably leaving Espn, for something at NBC, as SBB claims

— Jason McIntyre (@TheBigLead) May 10, 2012

We’ll continue to monitor.

UPDATE, 4:05 p.m.: Direct statement from an ESPN spokesman, “We are in talks with Michelle,” which I take it to believe that they have not heard directly from her on this as of yet.

UPDATE, 4:35 p.m.: I’ll give the last word on this to Jason of The Big Lead:

Beadle to NBC def not a done deal. Looks good for NBC, though. Gotta wonder how much Espn’s Wildhack will sweeten the pot to keep her.

— Jason McIntyre (@TheBigLead) May 10, 2012

Wildhack is ESPN executive John Wildhack. We’ll see if there’s anything new and if there is, I’ll be sure to pass it along.

Knocking Out Some Wednesday Linkage

Time for some linkage again.

Starting with Sports Business Daily which gauges media reaction to last night’s extravagant NFL regular season schedule release on both ESPN and NFL Network.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News reviews both the Monday Night and expanded Thursday Night Football schedules.

Ed Sherman at the Sherman Report has your potential hits and misses in the 2012 NFL regular season schedule for all of the league’s TV partners.

Dan Levy of the Bleacher Report talks with Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch about Skippy Bayless, ESPN’s free agents and Twitter.

Michael Hiestand of USA Today notes that NBC is now going all in to provide a live online Olympic experience.

Mike McCarthy at USA Today says the NFL Schedule Release Shows on ESPN and NFL Network filled fans’ thirst for football news.

Jenna Fryer of the Associated Press says thanks to a NASCAR-less Sunday, IndyCar’s race on NBC Sports Network got a ratings bump.

Stuart Kemp and George Szalai of the Hollywood Reporter says London is hoping to build buzz for the XXX Olympic Summer Games in the days leading up to the Opening Ceremony.

John Eggerton of Broadcasting & Cable notes the FCC is appealing to the Supreme Court, the ruling from a lower court throwing out its decency complaint over CBS’ airing of Janet Jackson’s nekkid boob during Super Bowl XXXVIII.

Sarah Mahoney of MediaPost’s Marketing Daily says advertisers are jumping on the Olympics 100 Day Countdown.

Michael Bradley at the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center writes that cable provider Comcast is proving to be a very good broadcast competitor.

Jason McIntyre of the Big Lead says a lawsuit brought forth by a former ESPN.com writer against New York Post NBA big mouth Peter Vescey has been settled out of court.

Dan Fogarty of SportsGrid talks with ESPN’s Michelle Beadle about what her next move is.

Ken Kerschbaumer at Sports Video Group notes that NBCOlympics has tapped AT&T to manage private networking systems for the London Summer Games.

Zac Wassink in Yahoo! says MLS on NBC Sports Network is doing decently in the ratings.

Chad Finn of the Boston Globe has the local sports radio ratings and CBS Radio continues to be on top.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says NBC will stream all Olympic events live online, but there’s a bit of a catch.

Richard says the NBA is looking at allowing jersey sponsorships.

Jerry Barmash of Fishbowl NY notes the passing of a former Yankees, Islanders and Nets radio announcer.

Ken Schott at the Schenectady Gazette notes the good ratings for the NHL on NBC.

Ken McMillan of the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record has a viewing primer for the upcoming NFL season.

Keith Groller at the Allentown (PA) Morning Call discusses and dissects NBC’s Sunday Night Football schedule.

Keith says the NHL’s Battle of Pennsylvania is drawing big ratings in the Keystone State.

Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com’s Goalkeeper blog says a Spanish League soccer game on ESPN2 beat MLS on NBC Sports Network in the ratings last weekend.

Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog has pictorial proof of the Space Shuttle Discovery passing various local sports venues on its last flight to the Smithsonian yesterday.

Tom Robinson at the Virginian-Pilot reports that the United Football League could have a TV contract with CBS Sports Network.

Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News says the Texas Rangers’ ratings on Fox Sports Southwest are way up this season.

Mike Bailey of the Houston Chronicle talks with a local golfer who took part in the upcoming season of Golf Channel’s Big Break reality show.

Mel Bracht in The Oklahoman says a local sports radio show moves from middays to afternoon drive.

Mel has the local weekend TV ratings.

Berry Tremel of The Oklahoman writes that NBC’s Sunday Night Football is the NFL’s premier TV package.

John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer remembers a former NBA announcer.

Bill Shea at Crain’s Detroit Business says the Tigers are looking at a big payday for their TV rights.

Robert Channick in the Chicago Tribune profiles Comcast SportsNet Chicago head man Jim Corno.

Eric Goodman at Mile High Sports feels he wasted three hours of his life watching ESPN’s NFL regular season schedule release special.

Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic says Phoenix Coyotes TV analyst Tyson Nash is feeling the wrath of Chicago Blackhawks fans for comments he made about a hit on ‘Hawks star Marian Hossa.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News mourns the passing of a former Kings radio voice.

Tom Cheredar of Venture Beat talks about NBC’s extensive plans to stream the Olympics online.

Sports Media Watch notes the rise of NHL ratings for a couple of regional sports networks.

SMW talks about CBS passing on broadcasting this upcoming season’s Pro Bowl.

Steve Lepore of Puck The Media says NBC may air both Bruins-Capitals NHL Playoffs games this weekend.

Joe Favorito says sometimes, it’s a little idea at a major network that could catch fire elsewhere.

And that is all for now.

Some Sunday Morning Media Thoughts

I haven’t done a sports media thoughts post in a while and there has been so much that has transpired since the last time I wrote one. As always, they’re in bullet form. Let’s do this.

• Just four days into the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and I like how the networks of NBC are handling the games. With CNBC, NHL Network and NBC Sports Network airing the games, fans can now choose which contest he or she wants to watch. My only pet peeves, there should be more updates on games on other networks. At least give us a drop down menu from the scoreboard bug to update us. Also, I wish NBC Sports Network and CNBC would not rely on simulcasts from CBC, TSN or Comcast SportsNet affiliates. Versus under the old Comcast ownership could get away with it, but not NBC. NHL Network can pull off the simulcasts because its talent is focused on the studio, but not on NBC Sports Network or CNBC. I know there are a lot of games in the first round, but at least try to produce what’s on your network instead of depending on others to do the work for you, especially for games played in the United States.

• To ESPN’s free agent crop and we know that former First Take co-host Dana Jacobsen has already left the Alleged Worldwide Leader. Michelle Beadle could be the next to go. Her representatives are now free to talk with other networks after her exclusive negotiating period with ESPN lapsed on Friday. I think she’s leaving, but exactly where is the $64,000 question. Based on her interview with The Big Lead, one could intelligently wager that one of her potential targets is a morning show like Today or Good Morning America. I honestly don’t think sports is in her long-term plans, although one never knows.

  As far as the other free agents Erin Andrews and Scott Van Pelt, I tend to think both will remain at ESPN. For Erin, her best chance to leave was two years ago. Her options are a bit more limited now. Scott Van Pelt enjoys doing radio and I think he’ll remain at ESPN as CBS’ radio options are not national and NBC doesn’t have radio resources.

• If Fox Sports gets its rumored cable sports network off the ground, it’ll be welcomed by your humble blogger. It would have plenty of inventory with Big 12 and Pac-12 college sports. In addition, if Fox expands its NASCAR inventory, it could place Sprint Cup races on the network. UFC events could go there as well. And there’s always the big wild card that’s up for bid this year, MLB and if the NFL decides to ever put a Thursday night package up for bid, Fox certainly has deep pockets to possibly make a go at ESPN. And there’s the Big East Conference whose rights are up this year as well.

  And in a related note, the announcement by Fox to give a majority of Saturday night primetime hours to sports is a smart move. Saturday nights are a dead night for the networks, although Fox did pretty well with Cops and America’s Most Wanted. Still, getting the coveted 18-49 demographic to watch MLB, NASCAR, UFC, college football and the MLB Postseason on a Saturday night is a very good move. Could this be a harbinger for Fox’s all-sports cable network? Perhaps. But if this does very well, I could see Fox potentially making this move permanent on Saturday nights. It only makes sense.

  And if Fox does really well, could other networks follow? ESPN already programs ABC during college football season. Would NBA games make a move to Saturday night? What about NBC placing the NHL during Saturday primetime to possibly market the game even further? Would CBS be interested in airing college basketball during the winter as a lead-in to “48 Hours”? In 2011, CBS aired North Carolina-Duke in primetime to great success. Would the Tiffany Network want to move games to primetime in advance of the NCAA Tournament? Fox’s move to sports in primetime is not only a Great Experiment, but also a potential for other networks to bring their inventories to a new timeslot.

• I may be one of the few who’s watching, but count me as one who enjoys viewing the NBC Sports Network’s CNBC Sports Biz: Game On! with Darren Rovell and Erin Sharoni. While Darren has alienated some with his Super Bowl party rant on Playboy Playmates and at Jaime Edmondson plus creating social media accounts for his newborn daughter and we can’t forget his Twitter feuds with Richard Deitsch, Richard Sandomir and Bomani Jones, I can look past them and enjoy his sport business show. Darren knows his stuff and has helped to make sports business a viable news beat. I’ve enjoyed the pace of Game On! and it’s obvious that Darren knows what he’s taking about. The show’s ratings could be better, but it appears NBC is committed to airing it through this year. And it’s hit its stride as the show has explored the price of tickets to the economics of the NFL and college sports.

That’s all. Enjoy your Easter Sunday.

ESPN’s Super Bowl XLVI Coverage Begins on Monday

ESPN’s week long coverage of Super Bowl XLVI from Indianapolis begins in earnest on Monday. There will be live ESPN Radio shows all day starting with Mike and Mike (also simulcast on ESPN2), live studio programs like SportsNation, NFL32 and SportsCenter.

We have the programming schedule for ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes.

ESPN’s Super Bowl XLVI Coverage Starts Monday, Jan. 30 at 6 a.m. ET

Multiple Programs Originating Live from Pan Am Plaza in Indianapolis

ESPN’s multimedia news and information coverage of Super Bowl XLVI kicks off Monday, Jan. 30, at 6 a.m. ET and continues throughout the week with more than 110 hours of television and radio programming originating live from Pan Am Plaza (201 South Capitol Avenue) in downtown Indianapolis, Ind. Mike and Mike in the Morning, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Scott Van Pelt Show, NFL Live, SportsCenter, SportsNation, NFL Live, NFL 32 and Sunday NFL Countdown are some of the ESPN television and radio programs based in Indianapolis throughout the week.

Celebrated ESPN studio hosts Chris Berman, covering his 30^th Super Bowl, Mike Greenberg, Suzy Kolber, Steve Levy, Stuart Scott, Mike Tirico and Trey Wingo, will rotate as anchors for the television programs. Tedy Bruschi, Cris Carter, Trent Dilfer, Herm Edwards, Tom Jackson, Ron Jaworski, Antonio Pierce, Jerry Rice, Mark Schlereth, Darren Woodson and Steve Young, will be among the ESPN personalities who will appear on various programs throughout the week leading into Super Bowl XLVI matchup between the Patriots and Giants.

ESPN television and radio shows will be open for public viewing all week and fans are encouraged to attend.

Monday’s schedule (all times ET):

6 a.m. – Mike and Mike in the Morning (ESPN Radio/ESPN2)
Hosts: Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic
Guests: ESPN analyst Cris Carter (8 – 9 a.m.), Colts linebacker Gary Brackett (8:30 a.m.), Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel (9 a.m.), and NBC’s Sunday Night Football and Super Bowl XLVI analyst Cris Collinsworth (9:30 a.m.)

10 a.m. –  The Herd (ESPN Radio/ESPNEWS)
Host: Colin Cowherd
Guest: Keisel (10:30 a.m.)

1 p.m. –  Scott Van Pelt Show (ESPN Radio/ESPNEWS through 3 p.m. ET)
Hosts: Scott Van Pelt and Ryen Russillo
Guest: Keisel (2:45 p.m.)

3 p.m. — SportsCenter Special (ESPN)
Host: Steve Levy. Analysts: John Clayton, Chris Mortensen, and Adam Schefter.

4 p.m. — NFL Live (ESPN)
Host: Trey Wingo.  Analysts: Tedy Bruschi and Mark Schlereth

5 p.m. — SportsNation (ESPN2)
Hosts: Michelle Beadle and Cowherd. Guest analyst Herm Edwards
Throughout the week (M-F, 5-6 p.m.), Sportsnation will originate from ESPN’s demo field and will feature two acts as part of the show each day: the Blue Monkey Sideshow carnival act for SN’s ‘Halftime Show’ and Indy’s own “The Twin Cats” will be the show’s official house band.
Guest: Four-time Super Bowl winning kicker and Indianapolis Colt Adam Vinatieri

5 p.m. — SportsCenter (live on ESPNEWS) … to air at 6 p.m. on ESPN
Host: Greenberg. Analysts: Carter and Tom Jackson

6 p.m. — NFL 32 (ESPN2)
Hosts: Suzy Kolber and Chris Mortensen.  Analysts: Bruschi and Schlereth

8 p.m. — SportsCenter (ESPN Deportes)
Host: Ciro Procuna. Analysts: Raul Allegre and Alvaro Martin

9 p.m. — SportsCenter (ESPN)… to air at 11 p.m.
Host: Stuart Scott. Analysts: Merril Hoge and Edwards

Note: Commentator and guest schedules subject to change

That is all.

A Few Friday Morning Sports Media Thoughts

As my computer churns away with another silly Windows Update, it’s time for a few thoughts on the sports media. They are in bullet form as always.

• The signing of Jim Rome by CBS Sports is a big one. As CBS Sports Network attempts to expand from its regular diet of college sports, it nabs Rome away from ESPN for a nightly 6 p.m. ET show that will be its signature studio show. In addition, Rome becomes a contributor to CBS’ coverage of the NCAA Tournment, US Open Tennis and the NFL. I didn’t realize it at the time of the announcement, but the CBS press release made no mention of The Masters or other CBS golf tournaments. While CBS does want to reach a younger audience, I don’t think the membership at Augusta National want Rome as part of CBS’ coverage, but I digress.

  CBS hopes Rome will bring his core audience to its cable channel and expand the reach to beyond a sports tier where CBS Sports Network lies on some cable systems.

• This leads to a story which The Big Lead broke today, that NBC Sports Network could go after another ESPN’er, Scott Van Pelt. As the story states, Van Pelt’s contract is up in April and NBC using the Golf Channel and possibly the Olympics, could try to lure him away from ESPN. You may remember Van Pelt came to ESPN from Golf Channel so if he leaves, it would be a return to his former home. This is a story that bears watching.
• Another ESPN’er whose contract is expiring is SportsNation’s Michelle Beadle. Her contract is about to expire this month. I have not heard anything in regards to her negotiations. Suffice to say that she is well liked in the Bristol headquarters. We’ll keep you posted if Michelle is offered another gig.
• It was reported Thursday in Dave Hughes’ DCRTV.com site that Jen Royle who’s about to leave her current gig at 105.7 FM in Baltimore, will be part of a new show at Comcast SportsNet New England. A CSNNE spokesman told me that the info reported was incorrect and that Jen is expected to make a couple of appearances on the network’s talk show, Sports Tonight, although no dates have been set. I tried to contact Jen through her Twitter account, but as of the time of this post, I haven’t heard back. The CSNNE spokesman said reports of a new show at the network are erroneous.
• And one non-sports media thought, I can officially say I’m hooked on Downton Abbey. The miniseries about life of an English family and its servants during the Edwardian era and into World War I has been absolutely addicting and infectious. The cast is excellent and the drama is well-written. Thanks to the PBS iPad app, I watched the entire 1st season and first episode paid Season 2 in two nights. And I can’t wait for the third season in the fall.

And those are your thoughts for today.

Sports Media Weekly Podcast No. 85 — Best of 2011 Featuring James Andrew Miller, Michelle Beadle, Ian Eagle & Curt Menefee

This is a special Year-in-Review podcast. Keith Thibault and I look back at some of our best interviews from 2011. Over the past year, we interviewed quite a few guests and some heavy hitters in the Sports Media world.

Keith and I chose four of the best podcasts and some are run again in their entirety, others we join in progress.

For this podcast, we chose interviews with James Andrew Miller, co-author of the book, “Those Guys Have All Fun: Inside the World of ESPN”; Michelle Beadle, co-host of ESPN2′s SportsNation; Fox NFL Sunday host Curt Menefee; and Ian Eagle from CBS Sports/Tennis Channel and YES Network.

Give a listen and go back in time as Keith and I interview our guests regarding the issues that were prevalent at the time of each podcast.

Download it at iTunes or find the podcast right here.

Doing Some Quick Wednesday Linkage

Lots of stuff going on here and it’s prevented me from providing links. I’ll do some now while I can.

Anthony Crupi of Adweek reports that the NFL has put the kybosh on a new Thursday Night Football package until next season.

Michael Smith and John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal report that with Pittsburgh and Syracuse joining the ACC, ESPN and the conference are reopening negotiations on the TV contract that took effect just this month.

In Media Bistro, Marcus Vanderberg has part one of his interview with embattled writer Jay “The Rat” Mariotti.

And Marcus has part two of his talk with Jay The Rat in Fishbowl LA.

Over to Michael Hiestand of USA Today who writes that a family medical emergency is preventing Ernie Johnson, Jr. from participating in this year’s MLB Postseason for TBS.

Michael looks at the ratings from some of this past weekend’s events.

Mike McCarthy at USA Today tells us about the athletes who will pose nude for ESPN The Magazine’s Body issue.

Erik Malinowski of Wired magazine profiles the great Timothy Burke of the Mocksession site and SportsGrid.

The Big Lead notes that ESPN sideline reporter Jenn Brown is now a paid endorser for GNC products.

Deadspin’s A.J. Daulerio is amazed at how Steve Bartman has managed to remain anonymous since his fateful failed attempt to catch a foul ball during Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series.

Dan Fogarty at SportsGrid has video of a Dallas TV sports anchor creating the word “shart” on live TV.

The aforementioned Timothy Burke in SportsGrid has video from Germany of a reporter inadvertently trying to out Chelsea soccer star Didier Drogba.

At espnW, Sarah Spain writes about attending this week’s espnW: Women + Sports Summit which had a plethora of superstars from both media and sports.

Mike Reynolds from Multichannel News writes that ESPN’s Monday Night Football hit its biggest audience of the season in NFL Week 3.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell (and now officially a Friend of Fang’s Bites) writes that the toning shoe market could take a substantial hit after the Feds settled a case with Reebok on one its shoe claims.

Newsday’s Neil Best wonders if this is the last season for the Yankees on WCBS-AM.

Neil says SNY’s Mets announcers were critical of the team for taking out shortstop Jose Reyes after the first inning of today’s game against the Reds.

Neil says Ron Darling closed out a TBS media conference call with a line that only he picked up.

Pete Dougherty in the Albany Times Union says the Capital Region’s NFL fans should all be happy with the TV schedule this week.

Pete has this week’s college football TV schedule.

Crossing Broad has a new Philadelphia media feud for us to follow.

In the Washington Post, Dan Steinberg of the DC Sports Bog says ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon weren’t too enthused by London Fletcher’s pregame speech before the Washington-Dallas Monday Night Football game.

David Barron of the Houston Chronicle says the Texans did well in the local ratings again.

Mel Bracht in the Daily Oklahoman writes that Oklahoma State has decided against going for pay per view for one of its games next month.

Mel notes that college football topped the local ratings last weekend.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says TBS and MLB have yet to announce a time for the Brewers League Division Series game on Saturday.

Bob says Brewers voice Brian Anderson will call the Yankees LDS series for TBS starting on Friday.

Bill Novak of the Capital (WI) Times writes that ESPN’s College GameDay has chosen its location on the Wisconsin to broadcast for this Saturday’s show.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News looks at TBS’ announcers for the League Division Series and manages to misspell “Orsillo”

Sports Media Watch says last Sunday’s NASCAR race had better ratings than last year, but not up as it should be.

Steve Lepore at Puck The Media has the number of games each NHL team will have televised locally.

Joe Favorito talks about how sports can be a uniter, not a divider.

Over to Yahoo’s Big League Stew where Duk has some thoughts on the ESPN Films Steve Bartman doc.

From Obsessed with Sports, we have a pic thanks to Sarah Spain of Friend of Fang’s Bites Michelle Beadle sucking rattlesnake venom from Linda Cohn at the aforementioned espnW summit. I believe this really happened.

And that will do it for today.

A Thursday Grind Linkage

Let’s get the linkage out on this Thursday. The weekend is almost here.

Here’s an interesting article and I’m watching to see how it plays out. Eriq Gardner at Hollywood Reporter writes that Comcast is suing DirecTV over “deceptive claims” of free televised NFL games and exploiting the end of the lockout to conduct a false and misleading advertising campaign. Rut ro.

This is something I wasn’t expecting to read so soon. Anthony Crupi of Adweek reports that NFL Network is negotiating with Time Warner Cable for a long-term carriage agreement. TWC is the last of the 7 largest cable providers to not carry NFL Network.

Mike McCarthy at USA Today has your first look at an NFL ad that shows us all ready for some football.

Mike Reynolds at Multichannel News says Galavision is seeing its best ratings ever this summer thanks to soccer programming and comedies.

Keith Idec at BoxingScene says the network that will air the Manny Pacquaio-Juan Manuel Marquez fight should be announced by this weekend.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell wonders if DirecTV should be charging for more its NFL Sunday Ticket package. Hell no. I pay enough as it is.

Darren chronicles his singing of “O Canada” and the Star Spangled Banner before today’s Toronto-Tampa Bay game.

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy asks if the NHL shucking ESPN for Versus was the right move.

All Access says CBS Radio is flipping a Cleveland FM station from Alternative Rock to all-sports.

Deadspin has ESPN’s Michelle Beadle denying rumors that she conducted in inappropriate behavior after the ESPY’s last month. I’m giving Michelle the benefit of the doubt here.

Nellie Andreeva from Deadline notes that Access Hollywood’s Maria Menounos is leaving the program to co-host Extra. Maria was listed in Fang’s Bites’ People You Should Follow on Twitter, Part 9 so this is quite relevant.

Neil deMause of Slate notes that the sports ticket market is stuck in molasses.

Michael Grotticelli from Broadcast Engineering profiles an ESPN executive who will oversee the network’s technology upgrades.

Bruce Allen at Boston Sports Media Watch notes that my predecessor at BSMW, David Scott (Scott’s Shots) is now working for ESPN’s public relations department.

Kimberly Primicerio of the Meriden (CT) Record-Journal goes in-depth on ESPN’s plans to expand its Bristol headquarters and add up to 800 new jobs.

Newsday’s Neil Best talks about the humorless, witless and talentless Eric Mangini joining ESPN.

Neil is sad to hear about the death of former NFL star and ad pitchman Bubba Smith.

Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union has some thoughts on Mangini’s hire at ESPN.

Ken Schott from the Schenectady Gazette writes that Time Warner Cable will air Syracuse football’s media day.

Ken McMillan at the Middletown (NY) Times Herald-Record says two area radio stations will pick up Compass Media’s Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys schedules.

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun notes that CBS and Showtime are teaming up for a new program on the Army-Navy football game.

To the Washington Post’s DC Sports Bog and Dan Steinberg who notes that ex-MASN analyst Rob Dibble who lost his job last year after criticizing Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is back at it again now.

Nakia Hogan from the New Orleans Times-Picayune says Crescent City native and former NFL running back Marshall Faulk has successfully transitioned to a TV analyst.

Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel does a straight story on the hiring of Eric Mangini by ESPN.

Fox Sports Kansas City says Saturday’s game against Detroit will be sent via satellite to our troops stationed in Afghanistan.

In the Tucson Citizen, Victor Rodriguez goes over an interview with former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach regarding ESPN college football analyst Craig James.

Sox & Dawgs has the video showing NESN’s Heidi Watney hustling to interview Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury after he hit a walkoff home run against the Cleveland Indians last night.

Craig Lyndall of Waiting For Next Year reacts to Cleveland getting an FM all-sports station.

The Big Lead has some confirmed media moves and some that aren’t.

Joe Favorito says he wouldn’t mind seeing more niche Olympic sports like fencing aired on TV.

Awful Announcing’s Matt Yoder has the great audio of an Atlanta sports radio host defending his homerism by yelling that he’s not a homer.

And that’s going to do it for today.

Sports Media Weekly Podcast No. 64 – Michelle Beadle

One of the most fun podcasts I’ve had comes tonight when Keith Thibault of Sports Media Journal and I had the opportunity to talk to ESPN’s Michelle Beadle just after she purchased an iPhone. It was so funny. I could not stop laughing as you’ll hear.

Before we talked with Michelle, Keith and I had our usual news segment and most of it was spent discussing the situation regarding ESPN.com college football writer Bruce Feldman and his suspension/non-suspension by ESPN. Keith and I both agreed about the Worldwide Leader came across and how the ESPN Ombudsman seemed to accept the company line from the higher ups in regards to the story.

From there, we went to the ratings for ESPN on a very busy Sunday which included the Open Championship, the Women’s World Cup Final and Sunday Night Baseball. And we also discussed how the ratings for the Women’s World Cup beat the All-Star Game.

And we explored the NBA releasing the regular season schedules for ESPN, NBA TV and TNT despite being in the midst of a labor lockout.

Our interview with Michelle Beadle of ESPN2′s SportsNation went extremely well. This turned out to be quite fun as we talked about what a day at SportsNation is like. We talked about her time guest hosting for Kelly Ripa on Live with Regis and Kelly.

We discussed what the difference is between her co-hosts Colin Cowherd of SportsNation and Marcellus Wiley on Winners Bracket. And we talked about working with the ESPN Radio hack every day.

Michelle’s comments about Erin Andrews in the book, “Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside the World of ESPN” were broached.

Michelle also talked about Twitter and plugged her podcast. This was laughs all the way through and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

You now can go to iTunes and subscribe to the podcast once again under “Sports Media Journal” or you can just go here to listen.

Michelle Beadle Wants Certain Items in Her ESPY Gift Bag

This has become a busy night as there’s a story breaking and I will post something shortly, but to tie you over, here’s a video from Funny or Die starring Friend of Fang’s Bites Michelle Beadle. In it, she seeks to have certain items placed in her ESPY Award gift bag. Joining her are women’s boxer Leila Ali and Buffalo Bills linebacker Shawne Merriman. Some very funny stuff in this spoof of various appeal public service announcements. And of course, Michelle looks fabulous. When does she not? Here’s the video for you. And it’s the only time I’ll reference the ESPY’s this year.

I love it. I told you Michelle looks fabulous.