In Boston, Fluto Shinzawa wrote, "The buzz for the Winter Classic has been nonexistent, which speaks to the importance of HBO’s 24/7 series. The beautiful pieces were appointment TV" (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/14).
TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING? In Montreal, Brendan Kelly looks at the new hockey TV landscape in Canada under the header, “Habs On TV: It's A Strange New World, But We Keep Watching." One of the "biggest changes" is that "so many more games are available." RDS President Gerry Frappier, whose net previously had French-language NHL rights, said, "To maximize the value of these rights that Rogers and TVA have paid (for), they’re going seven nights a week. I step back and say -- Are we going to overkill hockey?" But Rogers President of NHL Properties Scott Moore "scoffs at the notion that there are too many games on TV" (Montreal GAZETTE, 12/14).
WE KNOW DRAMA, TOO: MLB Network averaged 179,000 viewers in primetime last Tuesday as a host of trades and free agent signings occurred. That figure is a record for coverage around the MLB Winter Meetings and up 48% from the prior record. For complete coverage from Dec. 8-11, MLB Net had its most-watched Winter Meeting coverage ever, with 127,000 average viewers in primetime. This figure is up 38% from '13 (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
MAMBA MOMENT: In L.A., Greg Braxton reported Showtime is "set for a February premiere of 'Kobe Bryant's Muse,' a feature-length documentary promising to show a side of Bryant 'that the public has never seen before.'" The doc, directed by Gotham Chopra and produced by Bryant, follows him as he "contemplates life after his playing career ends." He also "discusses his influences and philosophies" (L.A. TIMES, 12/13).
