Media Notes

THE ATHLETIC's Richard Deitsch reports NBC's Maria Taylor will be "serving as the late-night host" for the Paris Games on NBC and Peacock. Taylor said that she "would appear at different venues throughout Paris during the competition to make the city a central character of the late-night time slot." The show will begin "following local news in all time zones." Taylor : "A lot of stuff will already have happened so we’re trying to bring you things in a way that’s fun and entertaining including bringing on notable guests” (THE ATHLETIC, 5/4). 

NEW FLIGHT PATTERN: The Arizona Cardinals announced a new multiyear partnership that will make Gray Television-owned Arizona’s Family the team’s “official television partner.” In addition to having the “rights to broadcast Cardinals preseason games,” Arizona’s Family will “host two additional Cardinals-related programs” -- Cardinals Game Plan, a weekly show during the NFL season giving an inside look at the team ahead of game day, and an “unspecified weekly show of more in-depth Cardinals coverage that will air year-round” (PHOENIX BUSINESS JOURNAL, 6/3).

FOCUSED APPROACH : Sky CEO Dana Strong said that the company has “made a full-court press to lock down sports rights longer-term due to the benefits of sports content.” Strong. during Deloitte’s Media & Telecoms 2024 and Beyond Conference said, “Sport matters because it is resilient.” She added that it is “more so than other forms of linear TV” and it “matters to consumers and communities.” Strong said that sports viewership is “up 17 percent over the past year,” including among women and young audiences, “thanks to a big strategy of ‘expansive fandom’” ( HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 6/4 ).