Tag Archives: ESPN

Saturday flashback: LeBron James’ first game in NBA

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Last week, we offered ESPN’s broadcast of LeBron James in high school. Today, we’ll look at its broadcast of his first pro game.

I was going to save this for later in the playoffs, but given the way the Indy series is going, I wanted to post this while he’s still playing.

The open, with Brad Nessler, Sean Elliott and Dan Majerle, is featured here. Then amazingly, the game is joined in progress as the Knicks game went long. Can you imagine that happening today?

As a result, ESPN had to show highlights of James’ 10-point first quarter against Sacramento.

 

Question: Why so much coverage for women of SportsNation?

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Jason McIntyre of Big Lead wrote a long analysis piece on why Charissa Thompson is the likely replacement for Michelle Beadle on ESPN’s SportsNation.

However, McIntyre has a wonderful aside in the second paragraph:

Aside: Clearly, this is the most pub SportsNation has gotten since its inception in 2009. The bandwidth spent on the show over the last month has almost been comical; it’s as if we’re discussing the Monday Night Football booth. Maybe that’s what happens when attractive females are involved? That being said, we trudge onward.

The picture that runs with the post provides the answer. It shows Thompson in a bare shoulder black dress.

Of course, there’s so much focus because these are very attractive women here. I mean, would there be this much fuss if Karl Ravech was leaving Baseball Tonight?

Probably not. Then again: Has anyone seen Ravech in a bare shoulder black dress?

Update: Just heard Ravech extended his contract earlier this year with, alas, no fanfare.

 

 

A little trash talk between ESPN-NBC Sports Network

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It isn’t often that we get trash talking between two sports networks. So let’s celebrate while it’s here.

In an interview on SI.com, Richard Deitsch asked ESPN President John Skipper the following question: “How concerned are you about NBC and Comcast creating a national network to rival  you?”

OK, Skipper had to know the question was coming. Initially, he was corporate respectful, but then in mid-answer he turned into Rex Ryan.

We know those guys. They have significant resources and smart folks there. They  have platforms, so we have a lot of respect for what they do, and we of course  pay attention.

Trash talk alert:

However, we’ve been doing this for 32 years and I do think  there’s a little too much respect paid to the great brand names. Everybody sort  of assumes, ‘Oh, my gosh, NBC is going to a 24/7 network and it’s a two-horse  race.” But they don’t look like we look. You guys saw all the stuff today —  mobile, Internet. We have more viewers in an average minute on ESPN mobile than  they have on NBC Sports Network.

Sure enough, that is the case. During the average minute in TV daytime, there’s 93,999 people using ESPN Mobile and apps compared to 82,421 watching NBC Sports Network, said ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys in USA Today.

Nevertheless, NBC Sports Network wasn’t about to let that shot slide. From USA Today.

NBC Sports Group spokesman Greg Hughes responded Wednesday with a statement suggesting ESPN overcharges TV customers. And that NBC Sports Network provides more value for the buck than the self-proclaimed Worldwide Leader in Sports.

“The NBC Sports Group brands are among the most powerful brands in sports. We don’t look like anyone else and we’re very proud of that fact. They’ve been at this a long time and at a significantly higher cost to consumers,” Hughes said. “Our audience and market share are increasing as evidenced by the NHL playoffs and at great value to our viewers.”

Interesting comment. Let’s examine.

Yes, ESPN does charge much more than anyone else. You know why? Because they can. Let’s not kid ourselves, for all the talk of being such a bargain, NBC Sports Network would do the same thing if they could. Comcast isn’t running a non-for-profit.

However, NBC Sports Network can’t reach those pricing levels because its programing doesn’t come close to matching ESPN’s arsenal. And it won’t for a long time with ESPN locking up many long-term deals.

Perhaps that should be ESPN’s retort here. But I’m guessing we have heard enough trash talk for now.

 

 

 

 

 

ESPN late SportsCenter chooses NBA first round over Rangers-Caps thriller

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Not to beat a dead horse here, but…

I found it interesting that the late version of ESPN’s SportsCenter led with the NBA over the NHL Tuesday morning.

My son, Matt, who knows what I have been writing about ESPN’s hockey coverage (or lack thereof), called it to my attention. An avid hockey fan, he said, “I can’t believe they’re starting off with Memphis-Clippers.”

Indeed, ESPN’s producers decided Game 4 of a first round NBA series was more newsworthy than Game 5 of a second-round NHL series. And that game featured an incredible finish with the New York Rangers scoring the tying goal with six seconds remaining and then beating Washington in overtime.

Indeed, not only did ESPN begin with the Clippers game (admittedly an exciting overtime game), but it went to the San Antonio-Utah game next with extended highlights and interviews. Then, SportsCenter finally turned to Rangers-Caps.

OK, maybe ESPN opted for the Clippers out of the box because it finished late. Most viewers in the East went to bed without knowing the outcome. Also, the late SportsCenter is geared to a West Coast audience, especially in LA.

However, we still can ask the question: Would ESPN have made the same news decision if the network had the NHL rights? Given the finish and the fact that this was a pivotal game in a second-round series, wasn’t the Rangers victory more important?

Where’s that dead horse…?

 

 

 

Who needs ESPN? NHL exec: Playoffs validate choice of NBC Sports Network

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ESPN’s Vince Doria definitely stirred the ire of hockey fans last week. In an interview with this site, he attributed hockey’s limited presence on SportsCenter to the sport not generating “a national discussion.”

When I asked John Collins about the comment Monday, the NHL’s COO and Commissioner Gary Bettman’s right-hand man for business and media, took it in stride.

“The national discussion definitely is increasing around the Stanley Cup,” Collins said.

Indeed, Collins and the NHL have reason to feel bullish about the first year of their long-term deal with NBC Universal. The move to televise every playoff game on either NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC and the NHL Network has produced dramatic results. Ratings soared with more than a combined 60 million viewers tuning in to watch first-round games on either national or local outlets.

NBC Sports Network averaged 744,000 viewers for first-round games, up 16 percent. Those are the highest numbers for hockey on cable since 2001, when ESPN’s first round coverage averaged 745,000 viewers.

The multi-network platform had an NCAA basketball tournament feel, with viewers switching from game to game. The NCAA comparison went even deeper with numerous overtime games producing buzzer beaters. It happened again last night with the New York Rangers winning an overtime thriller against Washington.

Would it have been the same if the NHL went with ESPN? Probably not. With MLB and NBA games, and the NFL draft on ESPN, the playoffs likely would have been relegated to ESPN2 on several nights, leaving the notion of being second class.

Yep, not hearing so much that the NHL needs to be on ESPN anymore.

Indeed, the NHL made the right move with potential for future growth. Yet Doria, who was ridiculed for his comment, hardly is off base. With the Blackhawks out, there has been zero discussion about the Stanley Cup playoffs on sports talk radio here in Chicago. You’ll be hard-pressed to find NHL discussion outside of cities that still have teams in the hunt. It’s not that way for the NBA.

Also, the league is faced with the likely prospect of having a non-traditional hockey team in Phoenix or the No. 8 seed Los Angeles Kings in the finals. Not exactly the same drawing power as recent West winners: Detroit (2008, 2009), Chicago (2010), and despite being a Canadian team, Vancouver, with its stars and stories, had significant U.S. appeal in 2011. Los Angeles might be big market, but the Kings aren’t the Lakers.

I addressed those issues and more in a Q/A with Collins.

Given what’s transpired, how does the NHL feel about its decision to go with NBC and the NBC Sports Network?

Collins: The thing we felt was lacking from a marketing standpoint was the idea of national scale.

(In 2010), 40 percent of the games in the first two rounds weren’t on national television. None of the Flyers games in the first two rounds were nationally televised. The Flyers were a Cinderella story (going to the finals against Chicago), but nobody knew the stories on a national level. The first time they popped up was in the finals, and frankly at that point, it was too late.

Now we have every game on. We’re able to show the casual fan how unique the Stanley Cup playoffs are. They can see how tough the road is.

It’s been very satisfying. The ratings are up. We attribute that to the way NBC has embraced these playoffs.

Would you have gotten the same kind of treatment from ESPN?

Collins: We spent a lot of time talking to ESPN. There was a lot of interest. One of the deciding factors to go with NBC Universal was that hockey would be the centerpiece of their entire programming (for NBC Sports Network). That’s not to say ESPN wouldn’t have devoted more time to hockey than they did in the past.

But for (the NBC Sports Network), the Stanley Cup playoffs are their focus. They have dedicated all their time to building this platform. They’ve offered us enormous flexibility. They’ve changed their schedule on the fly to accommodate us.

How does the league view Doria’s comments on hockey not generating the national discussion?

Collins: The national discussion around the Stanley Cup definitely is increasing. We hope ESPN will validate it with the amount of coverage for hockey on SportsCenter.

They’ve been pretty good to us in our big moments. They went to the Winter Classic. They’ve been at the last couple of Stanley Cup finals with Steve Levy and Barry Melrose

What we’re working to do is to round out that schedule so that it’s more than the Stanley Cup finals. Now it’s all four rounds of the Stanley Cup.

How does the NHL increase the discussion for hockey on a national level?

Collins: An important step was getting all the playoff games on national television. We checked that one off and go from there.

We’re working to expose fans to our storylines. The power of (HBO’s 24/7 documentaries) is showing fans something they haven’t seen before. Then when you have all the games on, and people discover or re-discover Martin Brodeur or the team aspect of the Rangers. Those stories start to resonate with fans.

Also, we have so many markets where hockey does well locally. In important markets like Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Washington, hockey does better ratings than basketball. Maybe, that will be the case one day in Chicago. It’s another sign of the potential to have (increased) national discussion.

How does the NHL feel about the prospect of having a non-traditional team in the finals?

Collins: Any sport, whether it’s baseball or basketball, would love to have its big markets (going for) the championship. It doesn’t always work out that way.

A lot of myths got broken last year. The idea that you needed two big U.S. media market teams to get ratings. Boston-Vancouver exploded that myth.

We’re seeing casual fans getting turned on to our stories during the playoffs. There are a lot of healthy signs. At the end of the day, the ratings are ratings. If you look at the first year, the Stanley Cup ratings is not the only metric of success. We’ve made a lot of progress, and it’s only going to get better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ESPN embarrassed by Phillips hoax

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If you really want to make your head spin, check out all the stuff that’s been written about Sarah Phillips and ESPN.com.

Deadspin started it all with a 5,000-word opus, revealing a scammer using a fake identity who landed a column on sports gambling for ESPN.com.

The story has exploded from there, making my head spin even more. Fang’s Bites has compiled a nice digest of the reports if you have three hours to waste.

Frankly, I have little use for scammers. It happens in all walks of life, including journalism. Remember Janet Cooke of the Washington Post winning a Pulitzer Prize for a fictional story?

However, this story underscores the dangers of knowing exactly who you are dealing with in this often wacky Internet age. You could be sure at the WWL headquarters there will be a complete review of the hiring process here, and that changes will be forthcoming.

This whole episode is embarrassing to ESPN. And it should serve as a warning to other outlets that it also could happen to you.

 

ESPN doesn’t hate hockey, or so it claims

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The question was direct.

“Why does ESPN hate hockey?” I asked Vince Doria, ESPN’s senior vice-president and director of news.

Doria tried to suppress a frustrated laugh. He protested, “We don’t hate hockey.”

Hockey fans, though, know ESPN definitely doesn’t love their sport. There’s a limited presence on SportsCenter since its networks no longer carry games. You won’t find the First Take guys talking much about the Phoenix Coyotes.

According to Deadspin’s Bristolmetrics, which tracks SportsCenter’s dedicated time to a particular sport, hockey accounted for 4.7 percent of its coverage from Jan. 7-April 26. The NBA, meanwhile, had 23.4 percent. Hockey couldn’t even beat “other,” which had 8.8. percent.

Now to be fair, ESPN has raised its hockey allotment during the playoffs. Last week, hockey rose to 15 percent. However, a big part of that might have been due to the New York Rangers winning their series in seven games. Nothing like an iconic New York team to get ESPN excited.

Doria admits ESPN won’t ever get too pumped up about hockey. In a recent Q/A with Doria, he explains why hockey doesn’t move the meter in Bristol.

Why does ESPN hate hockey?

Doria: We don’t hate hockey. When I worked in Boston (as sports editor of the Boston Globe), I probably went to more Bruins games than Celtics. There’s probably not a better in-the-house sport than hockey. Watching it live. My own personal feeling is that it never transferred well to television. I’m not exactly sure why that is.

Why does hockey get a limited presence on SportsCenter?

Doria: It’s a sport that engenders a very passionate local following. If you’re a Blackhawks fan in Chicago, you’re a hardcore fan. But it doesn’t translate to television, and where it really doesn’t transfer much to is a national discussion, which is something that typifies what we do.

Baseball fans are interested where Albert Pujols is going. NBA fans are interested in the Miami Heat. For whatever reason, and this is my unsubstantiated research on it, hockey doesn’t generate that same kind of interest nationwide. You look at national talk shows. Hockey rarely is a topic. People in Boston aren’t that interested with what’s going on with the Blackhawks.

Would it be different if you were a rights holder?

Doria: Well, we were at one time. It wasn’t that different. Listen, I guess if we were rights holder, there probably would be a little more attention paid to it. It’s typical that would happen. We might throw it to commentators who were inside the building. Now we’re not inside the building.

Even though ESPN doesn’t have hockey, you decided to keep Barry Melrose. Why?

Doria: When we lost it, we wanted to keep a hockey presence. We wanted to keep Barry, the best there is in my mind. But now the only place to put Barry is on SportsCenter. If you look at the first few years, after we lost hockey, Barry probably was on SportsCenter more after we lost it than when we had hockey.

Before, he would appear on NHL Tonight. Sometimes, we’d put him on SportsCenter. But there was no real demand to put him on SportsCenter. NHL Tonight was his job, and they’d do all the highlights.

NBC Sports Network has locked up hockey for a long time. What’s going to be ESPN’s approach to the sports going forward?

Doria: We’ll be out at the Stanley Cup. If you watch our show, we do highlights and report scores.

But if you go to our radio and television shows, there’s not a lot of hockey talk. It doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of yammer out there to give us hockey talk.

 

 

Manchester Premier League showdown does big rating for ESPN

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Only a few years ago, it would have been inconceivable for ESPN to knock out afternoon programming on the Mother Ship to air a soccer game from Europe.

ESPN did it Monday, and the result is yet another sign of how the sport is growing in this country.

Monday’s Manchester derby, a 1-0 home win for Manchester City over Manchester United in a 2011-2012 Premier League showdown, was seen on ESPN by an average of 1.033 million viewers (832,000 television homes), based on a 0.8 rating, making it the most-watched Premiership telecast on U.S. cable television, according to Nielsen.

The Manchester derby telecast out-delivered the previous high, an ESPN2 telecast of Arsenal vs. Chelsea, seen by an average of 610,000 viewers on Monday, Dec. 27, 2010.

To attract that large of an audience on a Monday afternoon is a huge deal for soccer. And for the networks who continue to track the rising numbers.

Here is a list of the top-rated PL games in the U.S.

Date Matchup Viewers – P2+ Network
Mon, April 30, 2012 Manchester City vs. Manchester United 1,033,000 ESPN
Mon., Dec. 27, 2010 Chelsea vs. Arsenal 610,000 ESPN2
Sat., Feb. 11, 2012 Liverpool vs. Manchester United 588,000 ESPN2
Sun., Feb. 6, 2011 Liverpool vs. Chelsea 579,000 FOX Soccer
Mon., Dec. 13, 2010 Arsenal vs. Manchester United 570,000 ESPN2

The news definitely is encouraging to Fox Sports. On May 13, its networks will show nine games simutaneously from the PL’s “Survival Sunday.”

 

Sports Emmys: NBC, Costas big winner

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Unfortunately, I had a family emergency Monday morning and never made it to New York for the Sports Emmy Awards. Too bad, because I was looking forward to seeing everybody.

Anyway, here are some of the highlights. Fang’s Bites has the complete list.

NBC was the big winner, collecting nine awards, the most of any media company. And the network won in the most recognizable categories.

Outstanding Live Sports Series — Sunday Night Football (four straight for producer Fred Gaudelli and the gang).

Outstanding Sports Personality – Studio Host, Bob Costas (23rd; requires a separate wing).

Outstanding Sports Personality – Sports Event Analyst, Cris Collinsworth (four straight).

Outstanding Sports Personality – Sports Reporter, Michele Tafoya.

Outstanding Playoff Coverage — Wild Card Saturday.

Other winners:

Outstanding sports personality – Play-by-Play, Joe Buck, Fox.

Outstanding Live Sports Special — The World Series, Fox.

Outstanding Sports Journalism — Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel: The college game money trail (outstanding piece).

Outstanding Studio Show — MLB Tonight, MLB Network (Big award for that network, given that show is its staple.)

Outstanding Sports Personality — Studio Analyst, Charles Barkley, TNT (of course).

Outstanding Studio Show — Weekly, Inside the NBA, TNT (nice recognition here).

Outstanding Sports Documentary — A Game of Honor, Showtime (big win in loaded category).

Outstanding Short Feature (tie) — “Together”-E:60 — ESPN “Time Out of Mind”-Outside The Lines, ESPN

Outstanding Long Feature — Outside The Lines: The Man in the Red Bandana, ESPN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spoiler alert: ESPN’s Schefter will keep on tweeting about draft

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Adam Schefter is among those coming under fire. The avid tweeter is being accused of ruining the NFL draft for some of his followers.

John Mitchell at Breakingtackles.com was upset. Mitchell didn’t enjoy that the ESPN reporter revealed upcoming picks to his 1.56 million twitter followers before they were formally announced.

Mitchell writes:

It started innocent and actually kind of cool with Schefter reporting all the trades and who those teams were probably going to take with that pick. But then it got flat out frustrating as pick-by-pick went by with Schefter tweeting out the results for everyone to see. I thought it would stop once the flurry of early trades did, but it did not.

What is the cost of being the first to report the draft picks? 1.5 million followers being robbed of the draft experience. You want Roger Goodell to be the first to announce the draft pick. Not an ESPN reporter who happens to find out the information before anyone else.

The whole Twitter thing has created an interesting dynamic with the draft coverage. On the one hand, reporters like Schefter have clear marching orders: Be first with breaking news everywhere, especially on Twitter. Breaking news includes who the Bears will take with the next pick.

However, as I wrote earlier, that means Schefter is in essence scooping his network. While Chris Berman & Co. speculate on air about who the Bears, or any other team, will select, his followers already know the answer. There goes the suspense.

Much to his critics’ dismay, Schefter intends to keep on tweeting. In an email, he writes:

I approach the draft just like any other NFL news story. When I learn informaton, it’s my job to report it. I didn’t report every pick; I was more interested in the trades, actually. But if someone felt it detracted from their experience, they could have unfollowed me or not paid attention to Twitter. ESPN does a tremendous job presenting and broadcasting the draft, and I work to do my job as effectively as the people around me.

To be fair to Schefter, there were plenty of other outlets disclosing upcoming picks. If you really want to be kept in suspense, don’t look at Twitter during the draft.

Schefter also had a reply to this passage on Breakingtackles:

I’m not sure if Schefter has kids, but if he does Christmas morning must really suck around the Schefter household. “Hey kids, I got you a Tonka Truck.”

(Addendum: I was informed that Schefter is Jewish. And as a friend of mine points out, I guess he can take to ruining eight nights worth of gifts instead.)

Schefter writes:

My children aren’t always happy with me either, but for now, they’re stuck following me. Sadly for now, they can’t unfollow me. Poor kids.