Category Archives: Internet
ESPN/ACC Extend Multi-Platform Rights Agreement Through 2026-2027
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and ESPN have announced an extension to the network’s exclusive multi-platform rights agreement through the 2026-2027 academic year.
The expanded deal will provide ESPN with more title sponsorship rights, more men’s regular-season and conference tournament basketball games, more conference football games, and dozens more Olympic sports competitions. The deal will provide premier content to numerous ESPN multimedia platforms, including ESPN, ESPN on ABC, ESPN2, WatchESPN.com, ESPNU, ESPN3, ESPN 3D, ESPN Mobile TV, ESPN GamePlan, ESPN FULL COURT, ESPN Buzzer Beater/Goal Line, ESPN International, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Classic and ESPN.com.
With the addition of Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the conference, ESPN will be telecasting 30 more men’s college basketball games and 14 football games per season.
- Football on national TV: Extensive regular-season action on Saturday afternoon and nights, primetime Thursdays, three Fridays including Thanksgiving Friday, Labor Day Monday and the ACC Football Championship Game;
- Men’s basketball on national TV: The most comprehensive coverage of regular-season games and the entire conference tournament produced and distributed via ESPN; regular-season matchups of the storied Duke-North Carolina rivalry each year; full national telecasts on all games televised on an ESPN platform; a weekly ACC Sunday Night Basketball franchise on ESPNU;
- Women’s basketball: Numerous women’s regular-season basketball games and the entire conference tournament;
- Olympic sports: An extensive commitment to the league’s soon to be 23-sponsored Olympic sports with regular-season and championship telecasts, highlighted by baseball, softball, lacrosse, and men’s and women’s soccer;
- Digital media: Exclusive ACC football, men’s and women’s basketball, and Olympic sports games as well as simulcasts on ESPN3. Live ACC games, including football and basketball, on ESPN Mobile TV;
- ESPN 3D: Select live ACC action on ESPN 3D;
- Additional outlets: Select ACC action on ESPN International, ESPN GamePlan, ESPN FULL COURT, ESPN Classic and ESPN Deportes; and extensive content rights for ESPN.com.
Sports Media Digest- May 8, 2012
NBA TV has Playoff Double Header Tonight- NBA TV will be producing two more NBA Playoff games for their viewers tonight. At 7:00p.m. ET Ian Eagle, Steve Smith and Stephanie Ready will call game 5 of the first round series between the Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers. At 10:00p.m. ET NBA TV will have the Philadelphia 76′ers at the Chicago Bulls in game 5 of that series. Kevin Calabro, Greg Anthony and Cheryl Miller will be on the call.
Upcoming Stanley Cup Playoff Schedule on NBC Sports- The Stanley Cup Playoffs continue on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) tomorrow and Thursday. On Wednesday at 7:30p.m. ET NBCSN will have coverage of game 6 between the Rangers and Capitals from Washington. Doc Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and Pierre McGuire will be on the call. Thursday at 7:30p.m. ET Kenny Albert, Eddie Olczyk and Pierre McGuire will call game 6 between the Flyers and Devils in New Jersey.
Kentucky Derby on NBC Third Most Watched in 23 Years- NBC Sports reports that Saturday’s Kentucky Derby drew 14.8 million viewers, the third most-watched Kentucky Derby in 23 years, and up two percent from last year’s Derby. The race’s rating of 9.0 is six percent better than 2011. As to be expected, Louisville had the highest rating of the local markets at 31.7. Cincinnati was second with a local rating of 18.3.
ESPN Expands Its Roster of Baseball Analysts- ESPN today announced that Jose Cruz, Jr. has been hired as a basball analyst for the network. Cruz will make his debut on Baseball Tonight on May 16. In addition to appearing on Baseball Tonight throughout the season, Cruz will also contribute to Beisbol Esta Noche on ESPN Deportes.
Comcast Xfinity Customers Get WatchESPN- ESPN and Comcast have announced an agreement which will allow the network to provide its WatchESPN online product to Xfinity TV subscribers. As of now Xfinity TV subscribers can watch ESPN programming online through the WatchESPN.com. Soon the service will also be available as part of Comcast’s XfinityTV.com platform. As is the case with other cable subscribers with the WatchESPN app, Comcast sunscribers will need to enter their Comcast Xfinity credentials to access their favorite ESPN content on their device.
CBS Sports Spectacular Returns Sunday- CBS Sports will provide three hours of action on this weekend’s edition of the CBS Sports Spectacular. It all begins Sunday at 3:00p.m. ET with part two of the NCAA Winter Championships Highlight Show. Tracey Wolfson serves as host. At 4:00p.m. ET it’s off to Boise, Idaho for the PBR 15/15 Bucking Battle, latest event on the Pro Bull Riders Tour. Craig Hummer, Ty Murray and Leah Garcia call all the action. Finally at 5:00p.m. ET Ken Stout, Cameron Steele, Jeremy McGrath, Rob Klepper and Erin Bates will be on hand at the Lucas Oil Off Road Pro2 and Pro4 races from Arizona.
ESPN Has NCAA Lacrosse Championship
ESPN is set for extensive coverage of the 2012 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship. It all begins Sunday at 9:00p.m. ET on ESPNU with the selection of the 16 team field.
Action on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU begins May 12th. Here is the schedule:
| Date | Time (ET) | Game/Commentators | Network(s) |
| Sun, May 6 | 9 p.m. | 2012 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Selection Show Presented by Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Anish Shroff, Quint Kessenich & Paul Carcaterra |
ESPNU /ESPN3 |
| Sat, May 12 | Noon | First Round (Campus Site) | ESPN /ESPN3 |
| 2:30 p.m. | First Round (Campus Site) | ESPNU /ESPN3 | |
| 5 p.m. | First Round (Campus Site) | ESPNU /ESPN3 | |
| 7:30 p.m. | First Round (Campus Site) | ESPNU /ESPN3 | |
| Sun, May 13 | 1 p.m. | First Round (Campus Site) | ESPN /ESPN3 |
| 3 p.m. | First Round (Campus Site) | ESPNU /ESPN3 | |
| 5:15 p.m. | First Round (Campus Site) | ESPNU /ESPN3 | |
| 7:30 p.m. | First Round (Campus Site) | ESPNU /ESPN3 | |
| Sat, May 19 | Noon | Quarterfinal: Game #1
(Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Md.) |
ESPN2 /ESPN3 |
| 2:30 p.m. | Quarterfinal: Game #2
(Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Md.) |
ESPN2 /ESPN3 | |
| Sun, May 20 | Noon | Quarterfinal: Game #3
(PPL Park, Chester, Pa.) |
ESPNU /ESPN3 |
| 2:30 p.m. | Quarterfinal: Game #4
(PPL Park, Chester, Pa.) |
ESPNU /ESPN3 | |
| Sat, May 26 | 2:30 p.m. | Semifinal: Game #1
(Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.) Eamon McAnaney, Quint Kessenich & Paul Carcaterra |
ESPN2 /ESPN3 |
| 5 p.m. | Semifinal: Game #2
(Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.) Eamon McAnaney, Quint Kessenich & Paul Carcaterra |
ESPN2 /ESPN3 | |
| Mon, May 28 | 1 p.m. | National Championship
(Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.) Eamon McAnaney, Quint Kessenich & Paul Carcaterra |
ESPN /ESPN3 |
| 3:30 p.m. | 2012 NCAA Lacrosse Championship Post Game Show
Anish Shroff & Mark Dixon |
Sports Media Digest- April 30, 2012
NBC Continues to See High Ratings for Stanley Cup Playoffs- NBC Sports reports that thie first two telecasts of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs averaged a 1.7 overnight rating, the best for weekend coverage of the second round in eight years, and up six percent over last year. Sunday’s Devils/Flyers match-up came in with a 1.9 rating while Saturday’s Capitals/Rangers game registered a 1.5 mark. The playoffs continue tonight with two games. At 7:30p.m. on NBC Sports Network Rick Peckham and Eddie Olczyk have the call of game two between the Capitals and Rangers. At 9:00p.m. ET on CNBC the Blues host the Kings with Dave Strader and Brian Engblom at the mic.
Record Viewership for the NFL Draft on NFL Network- The NFL Network (NFLN) reports that an average of 757,000 viewers tuned in to the three days of the NFL Draft, a record for the network and up 34% over 2011. The NFL’s digital media platforms — including NFL.com, NFL Mobile Only From Verizon and other NFL mobile products – set a record with its three-day draft coverage as unique visitors jumped 46 percent compared to last year
Second Installment of Top 100 NFL Players of 2012 this Wednesday on NFLN- The NFL Network will be counting down players 90-81 in its The Top 100: Players of 2012 series thie Wednesday at 8:00p.m. ET. Following at 9:00p.m. ET host Lindsay Rhodes will be joined by Kurt Warner, Brian Billick, Warren Sapp and Solomon Wilcots on The Top 100: Players of 2012 – Reactions Presented by Buffalo Wild Wings to discuss and debate the latest group of players to be revealed.
SportsCenter to Unveil Top 40 Female Athletes of Past 40 Years- As part of its celebration of the 40th anniversary of the passage of Title IX, ESPN SportsCenter will be providing profiles of the top 40 female athletes over the past 40 years. In conjunction with espnW, SportsCenter will unveil a female athlete weekdays during the 10:00 a.m. ET edition of the show. The top 10 will be uncovered during the 11:00p.m. ET SportsCenter beginning on June 11th.
UFC Returns to the Fox Networks- UFC will be back on the networks of Fox this weekend. Here is the schedule:
Thursday, May 3 2:00 PM ET- UFC on FOX Press Conference (FOXSports.com)
Friday, May 4 4:00 PM ET- UFC Weigh-In on FUEL TV (FUEL TV/FOXSports.com)
Saturday, May 5 5:00 PM ET- UFC Prelims on FUEL TV (FUEL TV/FOX Deportes)
Saturday, May 5 8:00PM ET- UFC ON FOX: DIAZ VS. MILLER (FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX Sports Radio)
Saturday, May 5 10:00 PM ET- UFC Postfight Show on FUEL TV (FUEL TV)
Saturday, May 5 10:00 PM ET- UFC Postfight Show with MMA Expert Larry Pepe (FOX Sports Radio)
ESPN Re-Branding All Soccer Content
ESPN today announced that it is re-branding its multi-platform coverage of international soccer. This week ESPN introduces ESPNFC, a new multi-language and multi-country brand for soccer fans around the world across TV, radio, print, online, print and mobile. All of the network’s soccer properties will not be combined under the new moniker.
“ESPN is solidifying its dedication to soccer year-round with the launch of ESPNFC,” said ESPN President John Skipper in a press release. ”It represents one of ESPN’s most significant global commitments to the sport and leverages the core strength of what ESPN does well – serve sports fans. In short, ESPNFC is the definitive source for soccer coverage worldwide.”
ESPN will begin creating content branded as ESPNFC this week with items previewing the upcoming Euro 2012 tournament in Poland and the Ukraine. Coverage will be expanded later this summer the new professional league seasons kick-off around the globe.
