The injury of Louisville G Kevin Ware, the proliferation of sports content on TV and the second screen were some of the key topics during the “Sports Media Leaders Speak Out” panel discussion this morning at the IMG World Congress of Sports. CBS Sports Chair Sean McManus spoke at length about the decision-making process after Ware sustained a broken leg during an Elite Eight game on Sunday. McManus: “As many games as we have done, I don’t think any of us had ever been associated with anything quite like that. It was an instantaneous decision. It was not a difficult call.” McManus added that CBS talked briefly about showing the play with the injury blurred, but decided the one package of replays was enough.
McManus and Fox Sports Media Group co-President and co-COO Randy Freer were in agreement about the rising importance and value of sports on TV and defended the quantity of content, along with the cost to consumers. Freer: “In the marketplace, big events matter more than ever. Over the last decade, sports continues to hold its value and be something that consumers and advertisers love.” On subscriber fees, Freer said, “We don’t do a good enough job of touting the value of your pay-TV bill.” McManus replied, “It’s a pretty darn good value for what you’re getting on your cable bill.”
