Media
Report: Serie A looking at private equity interest in int’l media rights stake
Serie A has “sounded out private equity investor interest for a minority stake in its international media rights business,” according to sources cited by Pollina & Crowley of REUTERS. Serie A last year hired JP Morgan to “explore options for a unit holding the league’s international media righ...
NBC taps HOFer Sue Bird as WNBA studio analyst
Basketball HOFer Sue Bird will join NBC Sports as a studio analyst when the WNBA returns to NBC and debuts on Peacock in 2026. In addition to her studio appearances, Bird will host a series of feature stories throughout the season, with portions airing on TV and extended versions available digitally...
Van Pelt staying put, won’t move to 5pm ‘SportsCenter’
ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt will continue as host of the late night “SportsCenter” after speculation that he might move to the 5pm slot created when “Around the Horn” when off the air last year. Van Pelt addressed the topic on the latest episode of his podcast, which dropped on Wednesday, and said, “We ha...
Final round audience trend for the Masters on CBS
The Masters heads into the 2026 event on the heels of its best final round performance since 2018, as Rory McIlroy secured his first green jacket last year. That was a 33% jump over 2024. Sunday at the Masters also delivered Paramount+ its largest non-NFL sports day. For early round coverage, ESPN w...
Augusta National Women’s Amateur draws second-best viewership on NBC
NBC on Saturday drew the second-best final round audience yet for the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. The afternoon telecast drew 1.1 million viewers for Maria Jose Marin’s win, below only the debut event eight years ago, when NBC drew 1.2 million.
Men’s Final Four up for TNT vs. 2024; College Basketball Crown tops NIT
The return of the men’s basketball Final Four to cable TV was better than it was two years ago, but noticeably well below broadcast TV in 2025. Saturday night’s doubleheader -- UConn-Illinois and Michigan-Arizona -- averaged 14.2 million viewers across TNT/TBS/truTV. Last year, that figure was 15.5 ...
Prime Video’s Masters coverage the latest in streaming platform’s broad sports strategy
Prime Video beginning Thursday will become the first streamer to broadcast the Masters as the company continues “most visibly sharing the leaderboard with the traditional broadcast champions,” according to Andrew Marchand of THE ATHLETIC. In the “complicated and still blossoming reimagination” of ho...
NHL Media Notes: Rogers, Sportsnet in dilemma for playoff hockey slot
In Montreal, Brendan Kelly wrote Rogers and Sportsnet will have “no other choice but to give priority to Canadiens games” when the Stanley Cup Playoffs roll around, as there will be no Maple Leafs around to promote. The only other Canadian team “almost sure to be in the playoffs” is the Oilers. A so...
UCLA-South Carolina delivers third-best women’s hoops title game
UCLA’s drubbing of South Carolina still drew the third-best audience on record for an NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship, showing the halo effect still around the sport two years after Caitlin Clark last played college ball.
Fox nearing deal with NBC for rights to 2026 Big Ten championship game
Fox is “near a deal to acquire the rights” to the 2026 Big Ten championship game from NBC for between $45M and $55M. NBC had subleased the game from Fox and is “now essentially selling it back” (X, 4/7). As part of the expected deal, NBC “will get an additional regular-season game” (X, 4/7).
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We’re putting a lot of fire power, star power, distribution to the event. If it works, and I’m very confident it will work, yes -- MVP will be involved in MMA over the long term.-- Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian, on how the company plans to get more into the MMA business if its Netflix card on May 16 is successful.
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