Closing Bell

NBC Sports has acquired an additional NFL regular-season game to be played on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2027, on NBC and Peacock. The extra game is an afternoon matchup at 4:30pm ET, which will be followed by a game exclusively on Peacock at 8pm ET. NBC will also air “Sunday Night Football” on Jan. 3. This marks the fifth Peacock exclusive NFL game, though it will be broadcast on NBC stations in competing team markets. NBC Sports will present 26 NFL games in the 2026 season -- the NFL Hall of Fame Game (Thurs., Aug. 6), 22 regular-season games and three playoff games (two Wild Card games and one Divisional game). The Sept. 13 season opener of “Sunday Night Football” will feature the Cowboys and Giants (NBC Sports).

While “abnormal for the network,” having three games in Week 17 “won’t be the first time NBC has produced three games in one week.” In 2024, the network produced three games in Week 1: the NFL Kickoff Game on Thursday night, a Peacock-exclusive game from Brazil on Friday, followed by “Sunday Night Football” to cap off the weekend (AWFUL ANNOUNCING, 5/11).

The Braves are still trying to figure out how they will report their financial data from its in-house TV network, BravesVision, to analysts and investors. But team President & CEO Derek Schiller maintained on a Q1 earnings call Monday that the new media structure will not hurt the team’s bottom line.

Atlanta’s first quarter broadcasting revenue, which includes both local and national, dipped 41% year-over-year from $4.3M in 2025 to $2.5M in 2026. “Broadcasting and other media revenue decreased due to the timing of the commencement of the BravesVision media contracts as we transitioned away from our previous long-term local broadcasting arrangement,” the team said.

Last season, the Braves accumulated $188.6M in broadcasting revenue, up 14% from $166.1M in 2024.

“At this point in time, we can safely say that we’re going to meet or exceed the economics, which unto itself is a pretty large statement that we can make,” Schiller said. “We will see some expenses as it relates to additional programming. We’re going to mindful of that. And we’re going to be very selective.”

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USC and Notre Dame are “in active discussions to resume play” six months after one of college football’s most storied rivalries stalled. It is “not clear yet when the rivalry series will return or what the terms will be.” A source said that Notre Dame is “now willing to discuss playing the game earlier in the season,” which had “previously been a sticking point.” Given future scheduling agreements, it is possible that the two schools “still won’t meet again on a football field until the 2030 season.” A source said that they were “optimistic a deal could be reached” (L.A. TIMES, 5/11).

Smith Entertainment Group Chair & CEO Ryan Smith shared his long-term sports vision for Utah while highlighting notable facility projects during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.” He said that the Jazz’s new practice facility in Sandy is slated for completion in 2027. Smith mentioned that the goal of the location was “to bring this thing a little closer to the mountains.” Smith: “Historically, everything’s been downtown. So we’re moving a little bit south.” Smith added that “some more stuff” will be announced this week. On the Delta Center renovations and the mixed-use district in Salt Lake City, Smith said it is part of the “long game.” Smith: “What you’re looking at now is going to be ground zero for the 2034 Olympics. … That’s where we’re going to be for the Winter Classic this year for hockey. … We start on Thursday, on New Year’s Eve, we’re going to do a concert at the Delta Center or something.” He added, “We’re just trying to trying to be a little more accommodating” (“The Pat McAfee Show,” 5/11).

Fox Sports is funding the creation of the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy. This latest effort builds on the network’s strategy to better understand fandom not only as a driver of engagement, but as a force shaping social connection, identity and well-being. The three-year research initiative will advance the science of fandom by exploring how fan communities -- especially in sports -- help maintain and strengthen social bonds. As part of this effort, the research will focus on two core objectives: elevating fandom as a vital social good and identifying interventions that deepen engagement among existing fans while welcoming new and more diverse audiences (Fox Sports).

René Cárdenas, the first Spanish-language broadcaster for the Dodgers, Astros and Rangers during a 60-year career, has died at 96. The Astros on Monday said that Cárdenas “died Sunday at his home in Houston.” Cárdenas joined the Dodgers when they moved to L.A. in 1958. He was part of the first Spanish broadcast of the World Series in 1959 and the MLB All-Star Game two years later. The Astros, then known as the Colt .45s, hired Cárdenas in 1961 for their inaugural season of 1962, and he spent 14 seasons with the club. In 1981, Cárdenas became the first Spanish broadcaster for the Rangers. A second Dodgers stint lasted nearly two decades starting in 1982 before a return to the Astros, where he became the first to call games in Spanish on TV in 2008. Cárdenas called other high-profile events, including the Muhammad Ali-Jimmy Ellis boxing match at the Astrodome in 1971 (AP, 5/11).