Media
Blue Jays announcer Buck Martinez retires
Blue Jays announcer Buck Martinez “announced his retirement from the booth” on Friday. Throughout his media career, Martinez “worked as both a play-by-play announcer and colour commentator.” He called over 4,000 Blue Jays games in his career, the last of which was Game 7 of the 2025 World Series. Ma...
NBC to unveil new 100th anniversary campaign during Olympics, Super Bowl
NBC’s 2026 “celebration of its first hundred years kicks off this weekend” with a new “NBC100” tagline and promo spots that will launch during the Milan Cortina Olympics opening ceremony and the Super Bowl. A spot called “Kinetic” will premiere Friday night during the Games, while a spot called “In ...
Column: A sports department died, and its two pioneers weren’t here to save it
To get a sportswriting job at The Washington Post, I sat with Ben Bradlee. To fall in love with The Washington Post, I read Shirley Povich. To understand the ache now at The Washington Post, I’m channeling them both.
Canadian networks going all-in on hockey with NHL’s return to Games
Both the Canadian men’s and women’s hockey teams will have their games simulcast on the main channels of the CBC, TSN and Sportsnet “for as long as the teams last” in the Olympic tournament as part of a rights agreement between the three broadcast entities, according to Simon Houpt of the GLOBE &...
Olympic Media Notes: NBC’s Melvin off late-night coverage
POYNTER’s Tom Jones noted NBC’s Craig Melvin, who was scheduled to host the net’s late-night coverage of the Milan Cortina Games from Feb. 7-9, will “instead remain” in the U.S. The move comes as Melvin’s “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie is off the air following her mother’s disappearance. NBC’s Ahm...
NBC spending more than $8B on sports rights in 2026
NBC will spend more than $8B this year “on sports rights,” including the Olympics, NBA, MLB, World Cup soccer, professional wrestling and NFL, according to Hannah Miller of BLOOMBERG NEWS. Per Bloomberg Intelligence, that is “more than double what Comcast laid out four years ago.” As Comcast “aims t...
NFL’s new four-game package could be long-term play for league
As part of the NFL-ESPN equity deal that closed this past week, the league will gain four games back that it can sell on its own, and it could be using the opportunity to plan for the future long-term. Octagon SVP/Global Media Rights Consulting William Mao joined SBJ’s Sports Media Podcast this week...
Super Bowl LX aiming for another viewership record behind rematch, Big Data
The Super Bowl has set new viewership records in each of the past three years, and despite the fact that the Super Bowl LX does not feature a matchup that “experts predicted for this year,” that does not “mean it can’t set another ratings record,” according to Stephen Battaglio of the L.A. TIMES. Th...
Apple aims to broaden F1 reach in U.S. with enhanced coverage
Apple SVP/Services Eddy Cue said that the company will use “all of its touch points to try and bring Formula 1 to as many fans as possible as the new host broadcaster of the sport” in the U.S., adding that “plans also are in the works for higher-quality video and enhanced options for viewers,” accor...
Sports Media Pod: Underrated leagues to watch
On this week’s Sports Media Podcast, Octagon’s William Mao spotlights rising properties like the National Lacrosse League and Sport Fishing Championship, why their storytelling and event formats travel well and where growth might come from in the next cycle.
Sponsored content
Quote of the Day
Part of it is also you don’t have many of these spots, right? So I think people caught on to this trick over the past couple years, and it’s done really well in streaming. And as a result, a lot of people are lining up and wanting to do that.-- NBC Chair of Global Advertising & Partnerships Mark Marshall, on how some advertisers are gravitating to streaming-only ad spots during the Super Bowl, which make up about 10% of inventory.
PODCAST
SBJ TV
PROPERTIES
