This coming weekend is the one weekend of the season when NFL fans are able to watch a total of seven complete NFL games over the three day period. Having this be the Saturday (12/21) when the NFL Network exclusively televises a live triple header adds the three games to the mix.
At press time, it was not certain whether or not Rich Eisen would still do play-by-play of the Houston vs. Tampa Saturday 1 PM ET telecast. We were sorry to learn of the passing this week of Eisen's father. Fans do benefit from NFL Network's ability to "borrow" announcing teams from the networks. Nice to have Mike Torico calling the Buffalo vs. New England game, while the Fox team of Kevin Burkhardt and Charles Davis calls the Rams vs. 49ers game on Saturday night.
For Sunday, Fox Sports got a break when NBC surprised and kept its Kansas City at Chicago telecast in place. The NFL had given NBC the ability to flex the game until Monday 12/16, leaving many to think it would switch and flex the New Orleans vs. Tennessee game. By not doing so, Fox gets this as its primary early game telecast. (The Bears were eliminated this past Sunday.)
NBA fans also benefit because the end of Thursday night NFL opens the door for TNT to begin its Thursday night NBA doubleheaders most weeks.
For those of us looking toward the warmer weather and the return of baseball, ESPN announced a portion of its 2020 regular season telecast schedule. The network plans 14 telecasts in the first 11 days of the season, including three on Opening Day March 26. In a total head shaking move, ESPN is planning a live quadruple header on Monday March 30th.
Its first telecast that day, which again is a Monday afternoon, is scheduled to be Kansas City at Detroit. Based on the 2019 standings, this does not figure to be a key matchup. Perhaps it is because ESPN needs to put every MLB team on at least once throughout the season. Since this telecast would not be a ratings grabber at that time no matter who is playing, the network probably figures it can get these teams out of the way early.
Sunday Night Baseball will again have the usual participants as often as possible. Already four (of a maximum of six) appearances for the Yankees and Cubs have been announced. ESPN is, however, hoping that Mother Nature is a baseball fan. Not sure that scheduling mid-April night telecasts (with no alternate game available) from Chicago and New York City is the best idea.
NEW YORK: As the Michael Kay Show on WEPN-FM takes over as the afternoon drive sports leader in the market, WFAN prepares to begin 2020 with its "new" afternoon drive team in place. Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts have been chosen to replace the majority of the time slot held by Mike Francesa. Benigno and Evans will air from 2 to 6 PM weekdays.
Francesa will remain on the WFAN schedule, but only from 6:00 to 6:30 PM on weekdays. According to Francesa, his half hour gig may also include some political talk instead of or in addition to sports. Not sure that some political talk will be helpful in trying to take the number one afternoon sports talk spot back from Michael Kay.
Finally, let's wish all of you a great holiday season! The Broadcast Booth will be back for 2020 starting the week of Jan. 6th, and should be back to its earlier more frequent schedule. Thanks for your support over the years!
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
Friday, December 6, 2019
Why Aren't Viewers Jumping Through Hoops?
It's only just over one month in to the NBA regular season, but league officials are most likely to be very concerned about the drop in ratings at both the national and local levels. Circumstances such as the decline of the Warriors and rough starts by New York (Knicks) and Chicago are likely contributors at the national ratings level. Not having Steph Curry and the dominating Warriors on the national game seemingly every week does hurt.
However, it is also possible that the decision to move up the start of the regular season competing with the first two nights of the World Series also contributed. The rumors about possible major adjustments to the regular season schedule moving forward, while only speculation, might have made some casual fans think twice about how closely to follow early regular season games.
One consideration which should be noted is that the NBA no longer has its "permanent" time for a national showcase. Having a full season Thursday night NFL package, along with the NCAA tournament in March, has combined to destroy the consistency which TNT enjoyed for years of Thursday nights being for NBA telecasts. ESPN features college games and is not consistent with doubleheaders on Wednesday and Friday like they used to be.
It is still too soon for the ABC package of Saturday night and Sunday afternoon games to kick in, although their Sunday package has become inconsistent over the past couple of seasons as well. Not having a consistent or regular day and time for national games is more important than the networks realize. Let's keep an eye on how the ratings go as the season develops.
Speaking of ratings, the local NFL telecast ratings for the NYC market for this coming Sunday (12/8) could be very interesting for the early game. CBS airs the Jets vs. Dolphins locally. To be nice, this is not the most meaningful football game available. Fox will be airing the San Francisco vs. New Orleans battle of two of the NFC powerhouses at the same time. The NFL should be pleased that an "out of town" game figures to be the bigger draw.
On the MLB side, fans holding out hope for more 'over the air' telecasts face still another struggle after the announcement that teams can now control their own live streaming rights. (This had been controlled by MLB until now.) Although the stipulation is that only "in market" streaming falls under this policy, it allows for teams to make deals with tech companies beyond the regional sports network. Whether or not this happens depends upon the terms of the current contract between local teams and their regional networks.
One example could very well be Amazon, which earlier this year purchased 15% of YES Network. This situation could lead to more such opportunities for the larger market teams that have a larger metro audience to serve.
NEW YORK: As of press time, still no definite announcement on how WFAN will replace its afternoon show now that Mike Francesa has left as full-time host. Although Francesa could remain as a contributor on the station, it appears that whoever the host will be will not start until the week of January 6th. Evan Roberts is expected to be a part of the new afternoon show, which will begin against increasingly strong competition from The Michael Kay Show on WEPN.
SAN FRANCISCO: The KNBR 680 broadcast of the big 49ers game against New Orleans on Sunday will be without long time analyst Tim Ryan. The team suspended Ryan for (at least) this week's broadcast following racially insensitive remarks Ryan made while appearing on the station's Murph & Mac morning show while discussing Ravens QB Lamar Jackson.
KANSAS CITY: The Chiefs will have a new flagship radio station starting with the 2020 season, which will be WDAF-FM 106.5 The Wolf. Mitch Holthus will be back as play-by-play voice, making 2020 his 27th season of calling the games. Sister station KCSP Sports Radio 610 will air the surrounding programming, including the coach and QB shows and weekly press conferences.
However, it is also possible that the decision to move up the start of the regular season competing with the first two nights of the World Series also contributed. The rumors about possible major adjustments to the regular season schedule moving forward, while only speculation, might have made some casual fans think twice about how closely to follow early regular season games.
One consideration which should be noted is that the NBA no longer has its "permanent" time for a national showcase. Having a full season Thursday night NFL package, along with the NCAA tournament in March, has combined to destroy the consistency which TNT enjoyed for years of Thursday nights being for NBA telecasts. ESPN features college games and is not consistent with doubleheaders on Wednesday and Friday like they used to be.
It is still too soon for the ABC package of Saturday night and Sunday afternoon games to kick in, although their Sunday package has become inconsistent over the past couple of seasons as well. Not having a consistent or regular day and time for national games is more important than the networks realize. Let's keep an eye on how the ratings go as the season develops.
Speaking of ratings, the local NFL telecast ratings for the NYC market for this coming Sunday (12/8) could be very interesting for the early game. CBS airs the Jets vs. Dolphins locally. To be nice, this is not the most meaningful football game available. Fox will be airing the San Francisco vs. New Orleans battle of two of the NFC powerhouses at the same time. The NFL should be pleased that an "out of town" game figures to be the bigger draw.
On the MLB side, fans holding out hope for more 'over the air' telecasts face still another struggle after the announcement that teams can now control their own live streaming rights. (This had been controlled by MLB until now.) Although the stipulation is that only "in market" streaming falls under this policy, it allows for teams to make deals with tech companies beyond the regional sports network. Whether or not this happens depends upon the terms of the current contract between local teams and their regional networks.
One example could very well be Amazon, which earlier this year purchased 15% of YES Network. This situation could lead to more such opportunities for the larger market teams that have a larger metro audience to serve.
NEW YORK: As of press time, still no definite announcement on how WFAN will replace its afternoon show now that Mike Francesa has left as full-time host. Although Francesa could remain as a contributor on the station, it appears that whoever the host will be will not start until the week of January 6th. Evan Roberts is expected to be a part of the new afternoon show, which will begin against increasingly strong competition from The Michael Kay Show on WEPN.
SAN FRANCISCO: The KNBR 680 broadcast of the big 49ers game against New Orleans on Sunday will be without long time analyst Tim Ryan. The team suspended Ryan for (at least) this week's broadcast following racially insensitive remarks Ryan made while appearing on the station's Murph & Mac morning show while discussing Ravens QB Lamar Jackson.
KANSAS CITY: The Chiefs will have a new flagship radio station starting with the 2020 season, which will be WDAF-FM 106.5 The Wolf. Mitch Holthus will be back as play-by-play voice, making 2020 his 27th season of calling the games. Sister station KCSP Sports Radio 610 will air the surrounding programming, including the coach and QB shows and weekly press conferences.
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