Media Notes

Gun Show: Roddick Takes Shots At His Men’s Fitness Cover

Tennis Channel signed a multi-year deal to partner with MLBAM to stream live matches and related content to the net’s Web site during the French Open, which begins Sunday. Up to four simultaneous matches will be streamed live on TennisChannel.com, and other on-demand content includes daily highlights, archived matches and original content. MLBAM will assist in sponsorship and online ad sales (Tennis Channel).

FITNESS TRAINER: ATPer Andy Roddick appears on the cover of the June/July issue of Men’s Fitness, but Roddick wrote on his blog, “I’m not as fit as the Men’s Fitness cover suggests...little did I know I have 22 inch guns and a disappearing birth mark on my right arm. ... Maybe Rafael Nadal wants his arms back” (DEADSPIN.com, 5/23). ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser said, “This is called Men’s Fitness. Implicit in that is, ‘Look at Andy Roddick. If you want to look like that, we can help you look like that.’ ... This is fraud. I’m not okay with this” (“PTI,” ESPN, 5/23).

WIZ WATCHERS: In K.C., Jeffrey Flanagan reports the May 5 MLS Crew-Wizards game on Metro Sports posted no rating, “meaning anywhere from zero to 913 television households in Kansas City were tuned in.” Wizards Dir of Marketing Rob Thomson said, “We’re coming into a stretch of games that will be live on Metro Sports, and they’re road games, and I think that will help ratings.” Games have aired this year on national networks, a Time Warner Cable access channel and Metro Sports, and Thomson said, “The main thing is to get a consistent schedule. ... Fans have to have some consistency to tune in regularly” (K.C. STAR, 5/24).