Tag Archives: ABC Sports
Sports Media Digest- December 26, 2012
ESPN/ABC See Strong NBA Numbers for Christmas- ESPN announced today that its five game NBA slate on ESPN and ABC yesterday earned strong ratings numbers. The opener on ESPN between the Celtics and Nets earned a 2.7 overnight rating, the same number as the early game in 2011. The Knicks/Lakers telecast on ABC, had an overnight rating of 5.9, up 11% from the same game last year. The Thunder/Heat on ABC generated a 6.0 overnight rating, making it the fourth highest-rated NBA regular-season game ever on the network. Game four on ESPN, the Rockets and Bulls drew a 1.7 rating, up 21% over 2010. The finale last night, the Nuggets at Clippers earned a 2.0 rating, up 54% over 2010.
Rotoworld Reaches One Billion Page Views- NBC announced today that its online fantasy sports website, Rotoworld, surpassed one billion page views for the year on Saturday. Rotoworld’s page views are up 25% over last year.
Sports Illustrated Cover this Week- This week’s Sports Illustrated looks back at the best of 2012. Here is the cover:
ABC/ESPN has NBA Action on Christmas Day
NBA action is now tradition on Christmas Day and ESPN and ABC will televise five games this holiday.
Here is the complete schedule, along with announcer assignments on both television and radio:
| Time (ET) | Game | Commentators | Network(s) |
| 12 p.m. | NBA Christmas Special Presented by State Farm
Boston Celtics at Brooklyn Nets |
ESPN: Mark Jones, Doris Burke, Chris Broussard
ESPN Deportes: Alvaro Martin, Carlos Morales |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes, WatchESPN |
| 2:30 p.m. | KIA NBA Countdown | Magic Johnson, Bill Simmons, Jalen Rose, Michael Wilbon | ABC |
| 3 p.m.
(ESPN Radio at 2 p.m.) |
NBA Christmas Special Presented by State Farm
New York Knicks at L.A. Lakers |
ABC: Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Heather Cox
ESPN Radio: Dave Flemming, Will Perdue ESPN Deportes: Ricardo Ortiz, Manu Martin |
ABC, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes |
| 5:30 p.m. | NBA Christmas Special Presented by State Farm
Oklahoma City Thunder at Miami Heat |
ABC: Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown, Lisa Salters
ESPN Radio: Kevin Calabro, Dr. Jack Ramsay ESPN Deportes: Alvaro Martin, Carlos Morales |
ABC, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes |
| 8 p.m. | NBA Christmas Special Presented by State Farm
Houston Rockets at Chicago Bulls |
ESPN: Dave Pasch, Jon Barry
ESPN Deportes: Ricardo Ortiz, Manu Martin |
ESPN, ESPN Deportes, WatchESPN |
| 10:30 p.m. | NBA Christmas Special Presented by State Farm
Denver Nuggets at L.A. Clippers |
ESPN: Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Heather Cox | ESPN, WatchES |
Sports Media Weekly No. 127- Jen Royle, Sports Reel Boston
Ken Fang of Fang’s Bites and I have recovered from our Thanksgiving hangovers and are raring to go with another version of Sports Media Weekly.
We begin the show looking at the college football scene, specifically ESPN’s agreement to televise the college football playoff championships when the series begins in January of 2015.
We stay with college football examining the impact Notre Dame’s undefeated season has had for ESPN and NBC in terms of increased ratings and the prospects for ESPN when the Irish play in the BCS National Championship game on January 7th.
Ken and I also look back at the success of the NFL on Thanksgiving, with the Redskins/Cowboys match-up being the most-watched television program thus far this fall.
We shift to sports radio and the announcement this week that Dana Jabobson, Tiki Barber, and Brandon Tierney have been tapped to host CBS Sports Radio’s morning show when the network launches on January 2nd.
We end our news segment by taking a look at the growth of original talk show programming mornings on sports networks. The MLB Network, NFL Network, Golf Channel, and NBC Sports Network have all added morning shows during the past year.
Our guest this week is Jen Royle, former sports reporter in New York and Baltimore who has moved back home to Boston. Jen talks about her new website, Sports Reel Boston, which launches at midnight tomorrow night. Jen discusses about how the site will focus primarily on baseball and the Red Sox. She describes how she’s been able to assemble a good roster of talent to write for the site, and how successful she’s been in getting the support she needs to launch this new venture.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Sports Media Digest- November 28, 2012
Notre Dame/USC Most-Watched College Football Game in Six Years- ESPN reports that last Saturday’s Notre Dame/USC college football match-up was the most-watched game of the season and the most-watched since 2006. The game averaged 16 million viewers and a rating of 9.4, making it the most-watched Saturday night game on ABC ever and the most watched Notre Dame game since 1991.
Sunday Night Football Highest Primetime Rated Program of the Week- Once again Sunday Night Football (SNF) on NBC was the highest rated primetime program on network television for the past week. The game was tops in adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, total viewers, households and teens 12-17. Through 12 weeks SNF has an average rating of 12.5 and 20.8 million viewers, two percent below 2011 (12.8, 21.2 million) and 2010 (12.8, 21.3 million).
NBC To Produce Notre Dame Special- Off the heels of Notre Dame’s undefeated regular season, NBC Sports is producing a special looking back at the Fighting Irish’s season. Undefeated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Season in Review, hosted by Liam McHugh will air Saturday, December 22 at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.
MLS Games on NBCSN Gives Network Viewership Boost- The recently completed Major League Soccer (MLS) season on its new home on the NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) saw viewership 122% compared to the 2011 regular season of Fox Soccer Channel (151,000 average viewers vs. 68,000). Viewership was also up among male demos with Men 18-34 up 63% and Men 18-49 up 50%. Over the 41 total games (3 on NBC and 38 on NBCSN) 13.2 million total viewers tuned in, nearly five times Fox Soccer’s total audience for the 2011 season (2.7 million).
MLB Network Coverage at Baseball’s Winter Meetings- The MLB Network is planning 25 hours of coverage next week of Baseball’s Winter Meetings in Nashville. Each morning next Monday through Thursday Matt Vasgersian and Harold Reynolds will host Hot Stove beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET. MLB Tonight will air each night from 3:00 p.m. ET and 6:00 p.m. ET with Greg Amsinger, Brian Kenny and Matt Yallof, analysts Larry Bowa, Peter Gammons, Dan Plesac and Reynolds, and insiders Jon Heyman, Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci. On-site episodes of Intentional Talk, hosted by Kevin Millar and Chris Rose will air live at 5:00 p.m. ET from Monday through Wednesday.
Next ESPN 30 for 30 Short on Grantland Features The Arnold Palmer- The next 30 for 30 short is not available on Grantland.com looks at the history of The Arnold Palmer…not the golfer, but the drink he helped create. You can see the short here.
Sports Illustrated Cover for This Week- Here is the cover of this week’s edition of Sports Illustrated:
ESPN the Magazine Cover for This Week- Here is the cover of the next edition of ESPN the Magazine:
ESPN Unveils College Football Announcing Teams
ESPN today released its list of announcer teams for the upcoming college football season.
The lead team will still consist of Brent Musburger and Kirk Herstreit on ABC Saturday Night Football. Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe will continue to work the Saturday ESPN College Football Primetime telecast.
Here are the changes and additions to this year’s crews (from ESPN PR):
- Three new commentator teams will call ABC Saturday afternoon broadcasts:
- Chris Spielman, an analyst on ESPN’s Saturday noon telecast, will pair up with Sean McDonough and reporter Quint Kessenich this season. Spielman and McDonough previously worked together on Saturday and Friday games from 2006-08.
- Ed Cunningham, a Saturday afternoon game analyst for four years before taking on ESPN2’s Saturday night game last year, will work with Mike Patrick and reporter Jeannine Edwards.
- Danny Kanell will move from an ESPNU night game to work with announcer Bob Wischusen, who returns to the ABC Saturday afternoon game, and new reporter Maria Taylor.
- ESPN’s Thursday and Friday night games will also have familiar faces in new roles:
- Analyst David Pollack and reporter Samantha Steele will join returning announcer Rece Davis and analyst Jesse Palmer on ESPN’s Thursday night game.
- Carter Blackburn will move from Saturday games to call the weekly Friday series with returning analyst Rod Gilmoreand new sideline reporter Jemele Hill. Hill has been an ESPN.com national columnist where she has also appeared on ESPN television programs since 2006.
- Joe Tessitore and Matt Millen will serve as the announcers for a new package of additional Saturday night games, primarily on ESPN. Shannon Spake or Shelley Smith will report from the sidelines. Tessitore previously worked Friday night games with Rod Gilmore while Matt Millen was the analyst on Saturday afternoon ABC games with Sean McDonough.
- Each of the ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU Saturday noon telecasts will include new pairings:
- Brian Griese and reporter Jenn Brown will join returning commentator Dave Pasch on ESPN’s noon game. Last year, Griese was the analyst on the ESPNU Saturday night telecast and Brown was the reporter on the Thursday ESPN College Football Primetime series.
- New analyst Joey Galloway, a former Ohio State and NFL veteran wide receiver, will call ESPN2’s weekly noon series with returning commentator Beth Mowins.
- The new announce team of Tom Hart and analyst John Congemi will work the ESPNU noon telecast. Congemi previously called ESPN Regional Television’s BIG EAST Network games and Hart is new to ESPN.
- ESPN2 and ESPNU Saturday night telecasts will include analysts in new roles:
- Brock Huard, who worked select ESPN and ABC Saturday games last season, will pair up with Mark Jones on a weekly ESPN2 prime-time game.
- Matt Stinchcomb, an ESPNU studio analyst last year, will move to the ESPNU prime-time game with Clay Matvick and reporter Allison Williams.
Here is the list of announcer pairings for the 2012 college football season on the networks of ESPN and ABC:
| Game Telecast | Play-by-play | Analyst | Reporter |
| Saturday Night Football (on ABC) | Brent Musburger | Kirk Herbstreit | TBA |
| ESPN College Football Primetime (Saturday) | Brad Nessler | Todd Blackledge | Holly Rowe |
| ESPN Saturday Prime Time | Joe Tessitore | Matt Millen | Jessica Mendoza, Shelley Smith or Shannon Spake |
| ESPN2 College Football Primetime (Saturday) | Mark Jones | Brock Huard | Jessica Mendoza or Shelley Smith |
| ESPNU Saturday Prime Time | Clay Matvick | Matt Stinchcomb | Allison Williams |
| ESPN College Football Primetime (Thursday) | Rece Davis | Jesse Palmer and David Pollack | Samantha Steele |
| ESPN and ESPN2 Friday | Carter Blackburn | Rod Gilmore | Jemele Hill |
| ABC Saturday Afternoon | Sean McDonough | Chris Spielman | Quint Kessenich |
| ABC Saturday Afternoon | Mike Patrick | Ed Cunningham | Jeannine Edwards |
| ABC Saturday Afternoon | Bob Wischusen | Danny Kanell | Maria Taylor |
| ESPN College Football (Saturday afternoon) | Dave Pasch | Brian Griese | Jenn Brown |
| ESPN2 College Football (Saturday afternoon) | Beth Mowins | Joey Galloway | |
| ESPNU Saturday Afternoon | Tom Hart | John Congemi | |
| ESPNU Saturday Afternoon | Anish Shrof | Dan Hawkins | |
| ESPNU Thursday (HBCU) | Joe Davis | Jay Walker | |
| ESPNU Late Saturday (HBCU) | Joe Davis | Jay Walker | |
| ESPN Radio | Bill Rosinski | David Norrie | Joe Schad |
| SEC Network (ESPN Regional Television syndicated games) | Dave Neal | Andre Ware | Cara Capuano |
| BIG EAST Network (ESPN Regional Television syndicated games) | Eamon McAnaney | David Diaz-Infante | Paul Carcaterra |
