Media Notes

Petitti Praised For MLB Net Hiring Respected Journalists, Earning Credibility

SI.com's Richard Deitsch ranked MLB Network President & CEO Tony Petitti No. 2 in his media power rankings for January, as the network "deserves plaudits for not approaching its content as a house organ." Petitti has hired "respected baseball journalists and earned credibility with even-handed coverage of Alex Rodriguez and Mark McGwire." Petitti: "We want to keep growing the amount of homes we're in. We are still very new. The more hardcore fan will find you first, and our goal is to spread that out and appeal to the less intense fan" (SI.com, 2/1).

TIME WARP: In S.F., Bruce Jenkins wrote, "You'd think that because we're in the same time zone as Vancouver, we'd have that ever-so-rare privilege of enjoying Olympic coverage live. But you'd be wrong, because [NBC Sports & Olympics Chair] Dick Ebersol and his cronies consider us a bunch of idiots." But do not "confuse these lamebrained decisions with the actual coverage," as NBC will bring back its "usual top-flight crew with Bob Costas, Mary Carillo, Ted Robinson and many other competent broadcasters." Jenkins: "It's just that when it comes to actual airtime, Ebersol has spent decades deciding what America wants in the Olympics, and he's been wrong every time" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 1/30).

PICKING UP STEAM: ESPN2's "SportsNation" co-host Michelle Beadle said the show has "kicked up, ratings-wise" since its debut in July, and that it is ESPN's "fastest-growing show" since "PTI" debuted in '01. In Philadelphia, John Gonzalez noted "SportsNation" has a "strange cult following." Beadle: "I thought it could go the other way right off the top -- that people would say 'This is stupid and this show is lame.' And there is some of that, and there will always be that. I get it. But we have the utmost confidence in the people behind the scenes. ... We're the rebel kids in the newsroom. Loud. Obnoxious. And we're not just obsessed with sports. That gets boring after a while" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 1/31).

BROADENING HORIZONS: The UFC will broadcast the March 27 UFC 111 event fully in Spanish for the first time. Announcers Troy Santiago and Victor Davila will present all of the PPV elements -- including pre-produced segments, graphics, play-by-play and on-camera color commentary -- in Spanish. The Spanish-language feed of UFC 111 will be available on DirecTV, Dish Network, iNDemand and Avail-TVN (UFC).