LEAD STORY
ESPN Wants A “Manning-cast” Featuring Alex Rodriguez
ESPN has been known to enhance the viewing experience of major games with its mega-cast productions. The mega-cast broadcasts, which are typically reserved for playoff games and/or finals, consist of multi-platform telecasts showcasing alternate feeds of the game, audio commentary favoring each side, and some commercial-free options.
The mega-cast resonated positively with viewers and provided ESPN with ammo to experiment with other broadcast styles. They did just that during the just-concluded NFL regular season launching an alternate broadcast for select Monday Night Football games featuring former quarterbacks and siblings Peyton and Eli Manning.
This alternate broadcast was dubbed the “Manning-cast.”
The success of the “Manning-cast” has prompted ESPN to apply this telecast to its other sporting properties and first up on the plate is its Sunday Night Baseball franchise.
The network has reshuffled its announcing line-up for the upcoming season, which now features Karl Ravech, David Cone, and Eduardo Perez. The odd person out is Alex Rodriguez who will now get his own “Manning-cast” called Sunday Night Baseball with Kay-Rod.
Sunday Night Baseball with Kay-Rod will air on ESPN 2 alongside its traditional telecast on the main ESPN channel and it will feature Rodriguez and YES Network play-by-play voice and ESPN Radio host Michael Kay. They will appear on site for select games while appearing live from their home studios for other games.
ESPN says that this alternate broadcast will air eight times during the season and they are reserving for it marquee matchups such as the New York Yankees vs. the Boston Red Sox. The telecast will feature special guests, fantasy baseball, and predictive analytics.
ESPN is hoping that lightning does indeed strike twice with this alternative style of broadcast and if it does, look for its other sporting telecasts to embrace this format. (New York Post, Yahoo Sports, ESPN Press Room)
QUICK RECAP
NFL Games Were Some Of The Most Watched In 2021
The NFL continues to eat it up when it comes to dominating the broadcast TV landscape. The league accounted for 75 of the top 100 broadcasts during the 2021 year with the Super Bowl being the most-watched broadcast of the year with slightly under 100 million viewers. It’s interesting to see that more people watched the NFL than did the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, which was the seventh most-watched broadcast of the year. Sports programming accounted for 95% of the most-watched broadcasts, which comprised of the NFL, college football, the Olympics, and college basketball. It is interesting that neither the NBA nor the MLB made the cut. (Sportico $$$)
CBS News’ Boss Neeraj Khemlani’s Tenure Hits Troubled Waters
Ever since he took over as co-president of CBS News in May of 2021 Neeraj Khemlani has worked to put his stamp on the news division. He replaced Anthony Mason with Nate Burleson in the mornings, moved the morning show to Times Square, and renamed it to CBS Mornings. Khemlani has also been making changes behind the scenes which have not been well received. He has tightened budgets within the division, asking employees to do more with fewer resources. Khemlani’s management style has caused some within CBS News to complain to human resources. Employees have accused Khemlani of “ruthless bean-counting,” being rude, and being a micro-manager. (New York Post)
Deborah Turness Named CEO of BBC News
The BBC News has a new leader and it’s a former NBC News head. Deborah Turness, who was most recently in charge of the British broadcaster ITN, will be leading the storied news organization. She was in charge of NBC News from 2013 to 2017. Turness will have a lot to deal with when she takes over at BBC News as she will be dealing with an organization that is in the midst of a demoralizing restructuring process, which seeks to have employees do more with less. She will also be tasked with aggressively leading the organization deeper into the digital era and away from traditional news formats as it seeks to attract a younger audience. (The Guardian)
QUICK RECAP
Covid-19: CNN's Christiane Amanpour and Pamela Brown test positive for Covid-19. (Christiane Amanpour/Twitter, Pamela Brown/Twitter)
Covid-19: Fox News’ Steve and Peter Doocy confirm they have Covid-19. (TVNewser)
Covid-19: Bill Whitaker from CBS News’ 60 Minutes tests positive for Covid-19. (Bill Whitaker/Twitter)
Covid-19: Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb from NBC News, and Shepard Smith from CNBC tested positive for Covid-19. (Variety)
Covid-19: ABC News’ Anna Navarro tests positive for Covid-19. (TVNewser)
Seth MacFarlane becomes CBS News’ congressional correspondent. (ViacomCBS Press Express)
Peter Nicholas joins NBC News Digital as a senior national political reporter. (Peter Nicholas/Twitter)
Brad Smith hired by Yahoo Finance as an anchor and reporter. (Talking Biz News)
Food writer Alison Roman to host a show on CNN Plus. (CNN Press Room)
Former ABC executive Andy Kubitz joins Netflix as content finance director of programming and launch analytics. (Variety)
Jeff Nash named managing editor of CNBC Investing Club, and Kamelia Angelova named executive producer of CNBC Digital Video and Audience Growth. (Talking Biz News)
Rachel Nichols and ESPN finally part ways. (Awful Announcing)
Former CBS News chief Susan Zirinksy returns to her passion of producing content. (Variety)
NFL releases its broadcast schedule for the Super Wild Card Weekend. (NFL Communications)
HBO Max grows to 73 million subscribers. (The Streamable)
Sinclair Broadcast Group is set to launch a streaming service courtesy of the NBA and $600 million in financing. (Bloomberg)
Female employees file gender discrimination suit against Black News Channel. (Los Angeles Times)
Pixar's Turning Red will premiere exclusively on Disney Plus. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Fox News looks the other way during the January 6th remembrance. (The Guardian)
NBC News Now is now available on Hulu. (Vaughn Hillyard/Twitter)
News correspondents struggle with defining what to make of the insurrection a year later. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Is Fox News’ Sean Hannity trying to have it both ways? (Associated Press)
How did Turner Sports cover the NHL’s 2022 Winter Classic? (Sports Video Group)
Every live event of the Winter Olympics will air on Peacock. (AdWeek)
Fox Sports acquires the rights to the Belmont Stakes and Belmont Stakes Races Festivals. (Fox Sports Press Pass)
NBC News’ Today Show is set to celebrate its 70th anniversary. (NewsCast Studio)
Troy Aikman may not be with Fox Sports in the fall. (The Spun)
ESPN partners with Twitter for Twitter Tribute for the College Football Championship game. (Awful Announcing)
2021 Ratings: Fox News after an early stumble remains the number cable news network. (TVNewser)
2021 Ratings: MSNBC losses viewers but still remains the number two news network. (TVNewser)
2021 Ratings: CNN started the year hot but ends up the number three cable news network. (TVNewser)
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - Issue #73 - 2022