The FINANCIAL TIMES' Matthew Garrahan reports Discovery Communications "will take full control" of Eurosport by purchasing France-based TF1 Group's 49% stake for $535M. The deal follows Discovery's $1.4B acquisition of European rights to the Olympics from '18-24 and is "another sign of the increasing interest" U.S. media groups are taking in Europe (FINANCIAL TIMES, 7/23). REUTERS' Abhirup Roy reported the deal is "expected to close" at the beginning of Q4 (REUTERS, 7/22). The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Georg Szalai reported since May '14, Discovery and Eurosport "have acquired more than 7,500 hours of coverage, with more than 3,300 of that live, per year across more than 50 properties" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 7/22).
FIRST SERVE: BROADCASTING & CABLE's Brian Moran noted this is the "first year of a new 11-year deal" between ESPN and the USTA for the U.S. Open and Emirates Airline U.S. Open Series. ESPN’s U.S. Open coverage "now will include the Labor Day Weekend and Finals Weekend windows that were broadcast by CBS for more than 40 years." For the Open, the men’s singles final "will return to its traditional Sunday afternoon time slot (Sept. 13) after several years of Monday afternoon broadcasts; the women’s singles final, previously held Saturdays in primetime, is scheduled for Saturday afternoon (Sept. 12), clearing ESPN’s primetime for college football" (BROADCASTINGCABLE.com, 7/22).
THROW A DOG A BONE: In N.Y., Bernie Augustine notes SiriusXM host Chris Russo earlier this week "threw fans longing for a reunion with Mike Francesa a bone." Francesa "seemed to be on the same page," but during his show Tuesday, he "threw cold water on the idea he had just endorsed -- tepidly." Francesa said, "The odds on this are not very strong. Plus, I mean, he has a couple of jobs (and) I'm still under contract for a couple more years at the present time. So, I mean, I don't know when or if this would ever present itself but, you know, who knows?" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/23).
