- Sinclair will lay off 550 people -- about 5% of its workforce -- across its RSNs and local TV stations, Alex Weprin reports.
- Dish and Sling TV told subscribers that they will drop NBC’s RSNs (Phillies, Giants, A's, White Sox) as of April 1, just as baseball season is starting up. This move seems to be more than just a negotiating ploy. Dish has taken a tough stance against all RSNs for years. For example, the satellite distributor hasn’t carried Sinclair’s RSNs for nearly two years.
- The migration of live sports back to ABC continues this weekend as the broadcast network will air its first Bundesliga soccer match. Bayern Munich-Dortmund will air on ABC at noon ET and will lead into the "UFC Live" show at 2:30pm, which previews UFC 259 on ESPN+ PPV on Saturday night.
- NBCSN last month drew the two largest English Premier League game audiences on record for cable TV in the month of February. Liverpool-Man City on Feb. 7 averaged 1.06 million viewers and Chelsea-ManU on Feb. 28 averaged 828,000.
- G4, the esports/gaming network that Comcast is reincarnating this year, has brought former Activision Blizzard sales exec Josh Cella, former WarnerMedia exec Nicole Cleary and former NBA exec Umar Hassain ahead of the relaunch this summer, reports SBJ's Adam Stern.
