Monthly Archives: May 2011
ESPN Announces New Initiatives
This time of the year television networks hold what are called “Upfronts” where new fall programming is unveiled for the first time.
ESPN held it’s “Upfront” today in New York. Here is what we can expect from the WWL on television beginning this fall:
Two New Afternoon Programs on ESPN2- Beginning September 12th ESPN2 will debut two programs to their weekly afternoon line-up. The first is called Numbers Don’t Lie, which will rely on the use of numbers and stats to tie into the big sports news stories of the day. The program will also integrate fantasy sports into the discussion. The program has yet to announce a host but will air weekdays at 3:30pm ET.
The second is called Dan Le Betard is Highly Questionable, airing weekdays at 4:00pm ET. The Miami Herald columnist, radio host and PTI fill-in will take a examine the days sports news from what ESPN says will be a “critical – and sometimes controversial – perspective”.
Short Films In Conjunction with Women’s World Cup- ESPN is producing HERoics, a series of short films about women and their contribution to soccer. Films will air on ESPN and ABC before the World Cup and will also be archived on espnW.com.
ESPN Films- This October will find three new films produced by ESPN: Catching Hell – The Steve Bartman Story, Renee – Renee Richard’s Story, and Play On - story of Johann Olav Koss.
Other television announcements included the expansion of NFL Live to one hour this fall; the X Games going more global in 2013; and an innovation for this year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase for the Cup events featuring half-screen ads allowing viewers to watch the race during ad breaks.
ESPN Desportes will see new initiatives as well. Included is the launch of ESPNDesportesLosAngeles and its version of E:60.
Online projects coming up for ESPN include the launch of Bill Simmons’ Grantland as well as a new digital series by Kenny Mayne called Kenny Mayne’s Wider World of Sports.
Tennis Channel Announces French Open Schedule
Earlier today we had the schedule of coverage by ESPN for the upcoming French Open. Not to be outdone The Tennis Channel has unveiled its plans for the tournament.
The Tennis Channel plans 75 hours of live coverage and close to 250 hours of programming overall.
Working with AT&T U-Verse, Comcast, and DirecTV the network will provide 20 hours of 3-D coverage of the tournament during Memorial Day weekend, May 28-30.
The Tennis Channel announced last week the addition of Mary Carillo to its already impressive list of talent; including John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Ian Eagle, and Ted Robinson.
Here is the schedule…
Tennis Channel’s Live 2011 French Open Match Schedule – Entirely in High Definition
(Men’s/Women’s Singles Unless Otherwise Specified)
Date Time (ET) Event
Sunday, May 22 5 a.m.-1 p.m. First-Round Action
Monday, May 23 5 a.m.-3 p.m. First-Round Action
Tuesday, May 24 5 a.m.-Noon First-Round Action
Wednesday, May 25 5 a.m.-Noon Second-Round Action
Thursday, May 26 5 a.m.-Noon Second-Round Action
Friday, May 27 5 a.m.-Noon Third-Round Action
Saturday, May 28 5 a.m.-Noon Third-Round Action
Sunday, May 29 5 a.m.-Noon Round-of-16 Action
Monday, May 30 5 a.m.-Noon Round-of-16 Action
Tuesday, May 31 8 a.m.-Noon Quarterfinals
Wednesday, June 1 8 a.m.-Noon Quarterfinals
Thursday, June 2 5 a.m.-8 a.m. Men’s Doubles Semifinals
Tennis Channel will also offer same-day replays of the singles semifinals (ET):
Thursday, June 2 – 1 p.m.-6:30 p.m.: women’s singles semifinals
Friday, June 3 – 5 p.m.-midnight: men’s semifinals
TNT Coverage of NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game One Sets Ratings Mark
Last night’s game one of the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals between the Heat and Bulls on TNT garnered a rating of 6.2 and total viewers of 11.1 millions, both records for the NBA playoffs on cable. The previous cable high was the 10.8 million viewers at the 2003 All-Star Game.
To date, the NBA Playoffs on TNT is averaging a 3.1 rating and 4.9 million viewers.
Game two of the Eastern Conference Finals will be Wednesday at 8pm ET.
ESPN Preps for Coverage of French Open
ESPN has unveiled its schedule of coverage of the upcoming Roland Garros, the 2011 French Open.
The network will provide over 56 hours of action beginning Sunday, May 22nd. Its coverage will conclude June 2nd with the women’s semifinals. It will also have over 350 hours of programming of the tournament on ESPN3.com.
Here is the complete schedule that can be found on the ESPN family of networks:
2011 French Open on ESPN2 & ESPN2 HD
| Date | Time (ET) | Event | |
| Sun, May 22 | 1 – 6:30 p.m. | First Round | Live & Same-day action |
| Tue, May 24 | Noon – 6:30 p.m. | First Round | Live & Same-day action |
| Wed, May 25 | Noon – 6:30 p.m. | Second Round | Live & Same-day action |
| Thur, May 26 | Noon – 6:30 p.m. | Second Round | Live & Same-day action |
| Fri, May 27 | Noon – 6:30 p.m. | Third Round | Live & Same-day action |
| Mon, May 30 | Noon – 6:30 p.m. | Round of 16 | Live & Same-day action |
| Tue, May 31 | Noon – 6:30 p.m. | Quarterfinals | Live & Same-day action |
| Wed, June 1 | Noon – 6:30 p.m. | Men’s Quarterfinals | Live & Same-day action |
| Thur, June 2 | 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. | Women’s Semifinals | Live |
2011 French Open on ESPN3.com
| Date | Time (ET) | Event | |
| Sun, May 22 | 5 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. | First Round | Live & Same-day action |
| Tue, May 24 | 5 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. | First Round | Live & Same-day action |
| Wed, May 25 | 5 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. | Second Round | Live & Same-day action |
| Thur, May 26 | 5 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. | Second Round | Live & Same-day action |
| Fri, May 27 | 5 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. | Third Round | Live & Same-day action |
| Mon, May 30 | 5 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. | Round of 16 | Live & Same-day action |
| Tue, May 31 | 5 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. | Quarterfinals | Live & Same-day action |
| Wed, June 1 | 5 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. | Men’s Quarterfinals | Live & Same-day action |
| Thur, June 2 | 5 a.m. – 3 p.m. | Women’s Semifinals | Live |
2011 French Open on ESPN Deportes
| Date | Time (ET) | Event | |
| Tue, May 24 | Noon – 2 p.m. | First Round | Live & Same-day action |
| Wed, May 25 | Noon – 2 p.m. | Second Round | Live & Same-day action |
| Thur, May 26 | Noon – 2 p.m. | Second Round | Live & Same-day action |
| Fri, May 27 | Noon – 2 p.m. | Third Round | Live & Same-day action |
| Mon, May 30 | Noon – 2 p.m. | Round of 16 | Live & Same-day action |
| Tue, May 31 | Noon – 2 p.m. | Quarterfinals | Live & Same-day action |
| Wed, June 1 | Noon – 2 p.m. | Men’s Quarterfinals | Live & Same-day action |
| Thur, June 2 | 8 a.m. – 12 noon | Women’s Semifinals | Live |
TNT Sees Record Ratings for Second Round NBA Playoff Coverage
TNT is reporting that its coverage of the second round of the NBA Playoffs was the most watched and highest rated in cable television history.
TNT’s coverage averaged a 3.0 rating, up 25% from 2010. The 6 million average viewers is an increase of 33% from a year ago.
Through two rounds the network has registered an average rating of 3.0 with an average viewership of 4.8 million viewers.
TNT will begin its exclusive coverage of the Eastern Conference Finals with Game One Sunday, May 15th at 8pm as the Chicago Bulls host the Miami Heat.
