SI.com's Richard Deitsch reported Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts "are getting a promotion" at CBS, moving the "popular NFL announcing duo to the network's No. 2 NFL broadcasting team behind Jim Nantz and Phil Simms." Eagle and Fouts also will "occasionally call the top Sunday game on CBS when Nantz and Simms are off." This year the "priority for Nantz and Simms is Thursday Night Football and with 14 Thursday Night games, Nantz and Simms will bypass doubling up on some Sundays." Eagle and Fouts "use humor in a broadcast as well as any NFL broadcast team and thankfully dial down on overhyping coaches and players." The move also will "strengthen CBS's No. 3 team, which is expected to feature Greg Gumbel and newcomer Trent Green" (SI.com, 6/9).
APOLOGIES ARE FOR THE BIRDS: In Baltimore, David Zurawik notes the Orioles "let only MASN's Roch Kubatko, an employee of the team," have access to 3B Manny Machado yesterday, "instead of letting Machado answer questions from all beat reporters" about throwing his bat during a loss to the A's on Sunday. Kubatko’s "worst moment came when he asked a question less than one minute into the 'exclusive' that clearly seemed designed to provide an excuse for Machado’s behavior." Orioles VP/Communications & Marketing Greg Bader said that Kubatko was "free to ask anything he wanted, and Machado’s apologies were not scripted" (Baltimore SUN, 6/10).
TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME: MLB Network President & CEO Tony Petitti said of carriage negotiations with large cable distributors, "We're all in on the top 10. We have a lot of small deals as all networks do across the country. We're always looking at expanding into Canada. We did a deal with Rogers at the start of this past season so now we have distribution in Canada. We have good distribution in Puerto Rico. We're focusing on trying to expand distribution into Canada, while we try to increase distribution in smaller systems that are left here in the U.S. (CABLEFAX DAILY, 6/10).
INSTANT GRATIFICATION: beIN Sports has partnered with S.F.-based video publishing outfit SnappyTV to produce instant video highlights from beIN’s broadcast properties, including its upcoming coverage of the FIFA World Cup, as well as games from Spain’s La Liga and Italy’s Serie A. In addition to the real-time availability of the clips, beIN also will use SnappyTV to distribute the content through various social platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. SnappyTV co-Founder & CEO Mike Folgner: “This is a game changer for fans who want to stay up-to-date with the sports they follow” (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).
