This Time, All At Once Is Fine

Sports fans are getting even closer to an extended period of having all of the major sports playing with multiple games at the same time as the NFL season is now within two weeks from its scheduled start.

Fox Sports is already, and understandably, aggressively promoting its Opening Day doubleheader game of Tampa Bay vs. New Orleans. This will mark the debut of Tom Brady with the Bucs, made even more special since there are no preseason telecasts leading up to it.

Once the NFL season starts, we will have a stretch of MLB games along with continued NBA and NHL Playoff games, making for perhaps the most significant period for content in sports TV history.

In addition, Fox Sports moved right away to replace Thom Brennaman from its NFL telecasts with the addition of Kevin Kugler to work with Chris Spielman. Kugler, who had been doing Sunday Night Football radio on Westwood One, has filled in on Fox NFL telecasts earlier, including calling a game in place of Brennaman during the 2018 season. No word yet from Westwood One on a Sunday night replacement as of press time.

ESPN appears to have completed its announcer switch between Monday Night Football and its college telecasts. Word is that Joe Tessitore, as expected, will team with Greg McElroy on selected college telecasts this season. Of course, ESPN is not in a position to officially announce their announcing assignment, since the schedules are still very much up in the air.

At CBS, Kyle Long, the just retired lineman and son of Howie Long, has joined CBS Sports starting immediately. Long's first assignment will be as an analyst on the "That Other Pregame Show" on CBS Sports Channel on Sunday mornings. Long comes with some radio experience, having done some co-hosting on Chicago's WMVP 1000 during last season.

NEW YORK: WEPN ESPN has extended host Dave Rothenberg for two more years. This comes as he celebrates his 10 year anniversary with the station. Rothenburg will continue as a co-host middays with Chris Canty and Rick DiPietro. However, the recent schedule change has this trio only on from 9 to 11 AM.


BUFFALO: Host Chris Brown has been suspended indefinitely as a co-host of One Bills Live, which airs on WGR and the local version of the MSG Network. If it's any consolation for Brown, it was not due to any comments about current social or political conditions on social media or on the air. The offense was Brown discussing specific events which happened at a team practice, which is against NFL policy. The station is going with guest hosts to fill in along with co-host Steve Tasker. As of press time, no word about the length of the suspension.

SAN LUIS OBISPO: C.J. Silas on The Ticket 1280 made news by not commenting on the current political climate this past Wednesday night (8/26). Her not commenting, however, made for a full hour of her show being almost totally silent, except for her announcing that the silence was in solidarity. This came shortly after the Bucks (and then other NBA teams) stopped the evening's playoff games from happening. 

DENVER: Darren McKee was removed from his long time hosting role last Monday (8/24) after tweeting the n-word on social media. McKee, known on the air as D-Mac, claimed he was typing Nuggets instead. As of press time, no word on a possible return date.

Think Before You Speak

 It was one of the ugliest weeks in sports media history as a result of comments made on the air during sports telecasts. It is a lesson for all broadcasters, sports or otherwise, to be very careful when anywhere near a microphone.

The most prominent incident was Thom Brennaman being suspended indefinitely by Fox Sports for his August 19th gay slur which got on the air during the Reds telecast on Fox Sports Ohio of the Reds game in Kansas City. There is no excuse for making such a comment, but making it under circumstances where it got on the air has likely cost him his broadcasting career.

As you would expect, he was immediately pulled off the Reds telecasts. Fox Sports followed up by pulling him from their NFL telecasts, where Brennaman had long been among the network's top three play-by-play voices.

In addition, it also means that for the first time since 1973, there is not anyone named Brennaman calling the Reds games in Cincinnati. Thom's father Marty had just retired from Reds radio following the 2019 baseball season.

Meanwhile, Mike Milbury, the long time NHL analyst for NBC and NBCSN has had his share on-air incidents since the NHL games have returned. Milbury got away with misidentifying the CN tower and criticizing Bruins goaltender Tuuka Rask's sudden decision to opt out. However, while commenting about the players remaining focused inside of the bubble during the playoffs, Milbury added that there is "not even any woman here to disrupt your concentration". Both NBC and the NHL issued statements showing their disappointment with what the sexist comment.

In Chicago, analyst Mark Grace, who has been providing studio analysis on the Chicago Cubs' Marquee Network during its debut season, was suspended from the broadcasts for five days. An on-air conversation drifted off topic and Grace referred to his ex-wife as "dingbat", a phrase taken from the old "All In The Family" TV show used by Archie Bunker nearly 50 years ago.

At least these actions were taken over comments made on the air during actual broadcasts and not due to something said or posted only on social media.


ESPN has stayed in the family for its new Monday Night Football broadcasting team. As expected, Steve Levy will move over from the college side and handle play-by-play, with his most recent college analyst, Brian Griese, staying with Levy. Louis Riddick will also serve as analyst. The trio will make their Monday Night Football debut as the second game of the Sept. 14th doubleheader calling the Titans vs. Broncos game. They replace Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland.


NBC's Peacock Channel is expanding its sports programming over the next six weeks. Along with streaming The Dan Patrick Show and The Rich Eisen Show, the network will add "Brother From Another" with Michael Smith (former ESPN anchor) and Michael Holley (former NBC Sports Boston) to its late afternoon time slot. Pro Football Talk Live with Mike Florio will stream in morning drive.


BALTIMORE: Ravens Radio WBAL-AM and WIYY-FM is going to a three man booth starting this season. Former Ravens Dennis Pitta and Femi Avanbadejo both join Gerry Sandusky in the booth.


CHICAGO: Just as the White Sox begin to rise in the standings for the first time in several years, the word is that WGN-AM is not looking to renew its White Sox contract which expires after this season after three seasons. The natural fit is WVMP ESPN 1000, which currently has no major local play-by-play. WMVP just moved its local morning show with David Kaplan and Jonathan Hood up to a 7 AM start, making it local in the morning for the first time (20 years as a sports station).

The Weekday Afternoon TV Sports Bonanza

 We have certainly seen the popularity of live sports telecasts over the past couple of weeks with the three major pro leagues offering an abundance of live telecasts. Most of the ratings reflect how an audience starved for sports has responded.

The coming week will put it to the test, as each weekday afternoon (in mid-August) offers both NBA and NHL Playoff telecasts along with more MLB regular season games competing.

For example, here is the TV schedule of NBA first round telecasts for the week ahead, with all times ET:

Monday, Aug. 17
1:30: Utah vs. Denver, ESPN
4:00: Brooklyn vs. Toronto, ESPN
6:30: Philadelphia vs. Boston, ESPN
9:00: Dallas vs. L.A.Clippers, ESPN

Tuesday, Aug. 18
1:30: Orlando vs. Milwaukee, TNT
4:00: Miami vs. Indiana, TNT
6:30: Oklahoma City vs. Houston, TNT
9:00: Play-In winner vs. L.A. Lakers, TNT

Wednesday, Aug. 19
1:30: Brooklyn vs. Toronto, NBA TV
4:00: Utah vs. Denver, TNT
6:30: Philadelphia vs. Boston, TNT
9:00: Dallas vs. L.A.Clippers, TNT

Thursday, Aug. 20
1:30: Miami vs. Indiana, ESPN
4:00: Orlando vs. Milwaukee, ESPN
6:30: Oklahoma City vs. Houston, ESPN
9:00: Play-In winner vs. L.A. Lakers, ESPN

Friday, Aug. 21
1:30: Toronto vs. Brooklyn, NBA TV
4:00: Denver vs. Utah, TNT
6:30: Boston vs. Philadelphia, TNT
9:00: L.A. Clippers vs. Dallas, TNT

Although times were not announced at press time, the NHL plans to continue to begin its daily playoff telecasts at 2 PM ET and also run into prime time.

ESPN also plans a pair of MLB regular season telecasts during upcoming weekday afternoons, going against these playoff games. Those are Tues. 8/18 with Giants vs. Dodgers (while an hour earlier MLB Network starts Rockies vs. Astros) and Thurs. 8/20 with White Sox vs. Tigers. The latter game means that ESPN will have both NBA and MLB live games at the same time on a Thursday afternoon.

The networks have a valid reason for this saturation, even though it seems that ratings are not a priority. Clearly the large amount of weekday telecasts will bring down overall ratings for the sport.

However, the networks are all required to air a specified number of live sports events over the course of a 12 month period in order to justify extra fees from cable and satellite providers. Of course, these fees are passed along to subscribers. If the number of live telecasts is not met, the networks would be required to refund millions of dollars. Saving that large amount takes priority over lost advertising revenue for ratings not as strong. As the same time, the prime time and weekend ratings remain stronger than ever due to feeding the hungry sports fans after nearly four months with nothing.

This is also the one, and probably only, time that MLB is allowing national networks to televise against each other so they can get all of their games in. We have numerous instances of MLB Network Showcase Games against Fox Sports 1 or ESPN telecasts, for example.

One example was this past Wednesday (8/12) when ESPN was airing the lengthy Arizona vs. Colorado telecast. The game was running into its scheduled start of the NBA telecast of Philly vs. Toronto. At 6:30 PM ET, ESPN actually switched the baseball game over to ESPN2 in order to begin its evening of NBA telecasts on ESPN.

Not only was that move a bit of a slap to MLB, but at that same time, FS1 was starting its K.C. vs. Cincinnati telecast AND MLB Network had the Oakland vs. L.A. Angels game already in progress.

CHICAGO: Saturday (8/15) brought us a truly bizarre programming decision from WGN 720. The flagship station of the White Sox also carries the Blackhawks, which have priority. On this day, the White Sox wound up scheduled with a doubleheader vs. the Cardinals due to a postponement from Friday. That left WGN with being able to air the first game of the White Sox vs. Cardinals, and having to farm the second game out to WMVP 1000 (which is not a sister station) because of the possibility of it running into its Blackhawks broadcast that evening.

That situation is unusual, but was understood because WGN does not own another radio station. Doing so left WGN with more than three hours between the end of its Game 1 broadcast and its Blackhawks programming. What did they air? Two hours of that period were spent airing its White Sox Weekly program. They expected fans to listen to recorded interviews and highlights from the week INSTEAD of listening to the team playing live on another station. Say what?

WMVP ESPN begins its new weekday schedule (on 8/17) with its first local show covering most of morning drive. The station will air ESPN Radio only until 7 AM. Now David Kaplan and Jonathan Hood will air from 7 to 10 AM. Kaplan moves up from his previous 9 AM to Noon spot. The station will air Mike Greenberg from ESPN from Noon to 7 to fulfill its network daytime requirement.

SAN DIEGO: The Mighty 1090 returns on Monday (8/17) after having been pulled off the air in April over a financial dispute. The station starts with local programming in afternoon drive, which will be Scott Kaplan with "Kaplan and Crew" from 3 to 7 PM. The remainder will be syndicated shows such as Rich Eisen, Tony Bruno, and Scott Ferrall.

CLEVELAND: The Browns have extended their partnership with WNCX 92.3/850 The Fan and with a new long term deal. When in season, there will be at least 20 hours of Browns "coverage" each week, including up to nine hours on game days.

COLUMBUS: 97.1 The Fan is also dumping ESPN Radio's new morning show and going local. Bobby Carpenter (former NFL and Buckeyes linebacker), Brandon Beam, and Anthony Schlegel will co-host the 6 to 9 AM morning show.

The Morning After For ESPN Radio Stations

 While the obviously busy time continues for ESPN, the ESPN Radio side is looking toward better results, especially in the top 3 markets. The timing fits with both the NBA and NHL being in playoff mode, the MLB season well underway, and just prior to the NFL getting underway. (Of course, this is all as of press time.)

In New York, WEPN 98.7 is making changes, primarily in support of its strong afternoon show, the Michael Kay Show. Kay's show has been coming in ahead of WFAN's afternoon drive prior to and since the recent departure of Mike Francesa. Now WEPN is shortening the ESPN Radio national morning show until 9 AM, but will air a block of national programming from 1:00 to 3:00 PM on weekdays.

What makes this strange is that WEPN has Rick DiPietro, Chris Canty, and Dave Rothenberg airing from 9:00 to 11:00 AM (an hour shorter than before) and Bart Scott and Alan Hahn from 11 AM to 1 PM (two hours earlier than before). It seems hard to believe that one hour of Max Kellerman's national show between 2:00 and 3:00 PM would be a better lead in for the Michael Kay show, but as of now that is the plan.

KSPN 710 Los Angeles is taking a "split day" approach, going with the national feed from 5:00 AM to 1:00 PM, which includes a delayed broadcast of the morning show. Travis Rogers, also a big part of the station's Rams coverage, will jump in on the morning show with local updates and content. The Mason & Ireland Show returns to early afternoon from the afternoon drive slot it held for the past year. Scott Kaplan joins the station for evenings (when no play-by-play) after a successful run on 1090 in San Diego. (No word yet about Kaplan's status, or lack of status, with 1090 if and when it reboots.)

Chicago's WMVP ESPN 1000 has not, as of press time, announced its intentions for morning drive, as it continues to carry the national feed with fill-in hosts through the coming week. The station has been local between 9:00 AM and 10:00 PM most weekdays, leading to speculation that they will soon attempt a local morning show. With a few long time local sports reporters having been let go due to cutbacks from the pandemic, the station has more "known" talent available than normal if they decide to do so.

 

OAKLAND: It took less than one week of regular season baseball for the A's to realize their mistake of not having pursued a much needed local radio package instead of only streaming their broadcasts. KNEW 960 now airs the games. The A's Radio Network, including nearby stations in Sacramento and Fresno, continues. This helps to cover up the A's failure to get a local radio deal sooner, while acting as though streaming was acceptable in Oakland while nearby regional radio stations carried the broadcasts.

 

SEATTLE: The new NHL Kraken have signed Everett Fitzhugh to be its first play-by-play voice. Fitzhugh comes from Cincinnati where he most recently served as radio voice of the Cyclones of the ECHL. Although the team has not yet determined if Fitzhugh will handle the TV or radio duties, either way he becomes the first black play-by-play voice for an NHL team. (Mike Torico of NBC calls regional or national games as assigned.)

 

AUBURN: Whether or not there is a football season in the SEC, ESPN 106.7 has already dumped its local midday show, The Lunch Break, along with hosts Justin Ferguson and Painter Sharpless. Ironically, Ferguson recently lost his writing job with The Athletic, meaning that he has not lost two media jobs resulting from layoffs during the pandemic.