I had a former boss who would tell me “We’re not in the business of saving lives” if I made a mistake. Sports doesn’t save lives (most of the time). But there are a lot of people out there that do, every single day. Thank you to the first responders in L.A. fighting these tragic wildfires. I have family and friends that have lost everything, and those that don’t know if they have anything left yet. I know I’m not alone in that, and I hope anyone affected is as safe as they can be.
In lighter news, my friend -- known for Big Game parties each year -- texted me last night asking if Nickelodeon would once again have a broadcast of the Super Bowl. Her response, when I explained broadcast rights and that the game is on Fox this year, was, “UGHH!!!! SO MAD!!!” I do hope alt-cast fans got their fill of "Slimetime" during Saturday's Texans-Chargers game on Nick, but I was more interested in how the Commanders doinked their way into the divisional round last night.
Speed reads
- As Southern California deals with the wildfires ripping through the L.A.-area, ESPN’s Malika Andrews returned to the network’s L.A. studios to host “NBA Today," notes SBJ's Wes Sanderson.
- Sports programming again dominated the most-viewed telecasts of the year, accounting for 182 of the top 200 shows in 2024, or a whopping 91% of the total, reports SBJ's Austin Karp. Sports had 87 in the top 100, and 95 from Nos. 101-200. The number for sports was affected by a presidential election season, when debates and conventions took up a number of spots.
- Karp also reports that Notre Dame’s late win over Penn State in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Thursday night averaged 17.8 million viewers on ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU, a figure on the lower end of what a CFP semifinal has typically drawn since the multiteam playoff began in 2005. Friday night's Ohio State-Texas game on the same networks easily topped that, drawing 20.6 million viewers.
- On the most recent SBJ Sports Media Podcast, ESPN SVP/Digital, Social and Streaming Content Kaitee Daley shares her insights on what keeps her group so successful. Later in the show, S&P Global Ratings Managing Director Naveen Sarma breaks down what Wall Street is eyeing around sports.
- From Golf Channel’s spinoff to the opening of PGA Tour Studios, the 2025 golf season begins with questions and opportunities, writes SBJ's Josh Carpenter.
- Unrivaled, which launches on Friday, originally had a plan to lock in TNT Sports for two nights a week and perhaps go elsewhere for a third night or even a fourth, notes SBJ's Tom Friend. But media adviser David Levy said TNT Sports Chair and CEO Luis Silberwasser called to say, “Listen, we’re not interested unless we get the whole thing."
- My boss Abe Madkour in his Forum this week went deep on how "data is an increasingly important factor in every upcoming media rights negotiation."
- In just 90 days, the Pro Volleyball Federation signed deals with CBS, Fox and Roku for its second season. Besides select matches carried by CBS in the inaugural season, most matches were shown on the PVF’s YouTube channel.
- Fox Sports during the Eagles-Packers NFC Wild Card game on Sunday debuted its first TV commercial around its forthcoming IndyCar coverage, with a cinematic spot that focuses on driver Josef Newgarden and a cameo from Tom Brady, notes SBJ's Adam Stern.
- Mike Greenberg completed an interview with the Jets for the open GM job. No, not ESPN's Greeny (who might be the struggling team’s biggest fan). We're talking about a Buccaneers assistant GM with the same name. However, Greeny’s reaction to the team's post about the interview was a classic.
- A good sports docu-series to add to your queue is Season 4 of MGM+’s “NFL Icons,” which premieres Friday at 10pm for a four-week run (Episode 1 looks at Kurt Warner).