From old faces in new places to landmark rights deals and everything in between, the past year in sports media had it all. Laid out below are some of the most unforgettable storylines from an eventful year in TV and cinema, radio, print, online, and of course, OTT channels.
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Simmons did not leave ESPN quietly as he
moved to HBO |
AS WE GO ON: In what ESPN President John Skipper later refers to as “the most difficult week” of his tenure, the Walt Disney Co. subsidiary lays off several hundred employees as part of cost-saving measures. In addition to losing many talented behind-the-scenes cogs to the Worldwide Leader’s wheel in Bristol and beyond, a handful of high-profile on-air faces move on from ESPN for a variety of reasons. Bill Simmons, best known for creating Grantland, does not go quietly as he heads out the door to HBO; Colin Cowherd, whose departure was sped up following insensitive remarks about Dominican baseball players, and Jason Whitlock, who ultimately failed to launch The Undefeated, go west to Fox Sports; and Keith Olbermann departs after his second stint with the net.
FIRST-HOLE MULLIGAN? Fox execs are “pleased overall” with the net’s first go-round of U.S. Open coverage as part of a 12-year deal with the USGA, but critics are not quite so complimentary. Joe Buck and Greg Norman receive mixed reviews but wind up on the wrong end of the list for Golf Digest’s end-of-year survey of TV viewers, being named the fans’ least favorite play-by-play announcer and analyst, respectively. Media pundits do praise Fox’ use of technology throughout the broadcasts but question how the net will improve its overall coverage in future years with a lack of rights to major tournaments between Opens.
Also:
* ESPN’s Stuart Scott remembered for how he lived, why he lived and manner in which he lived.
* Broadcast rights to ’16 World Cup of Hockey awarded to ESPN.
* Fox/Telemundo get FIFA’s ’26 World Cup rights without bidding process, while NBC retains EPL.
* HBO and Showtime co-produce Mayweather-Pacquiao, but are not only ones broadcasting bout.
* Yahoo delivers first worldwide free-of-charge live stream of NFL game, with CBS producing telecast.
* MLBAM expands its reach by taking over NHL’s digital operations and league website as part of six-year deal.
* Sony’s “Concussion” could be damaging for NFL’s long-term growth with in-depth look at impact of head injuries.
* Pair of controversial ball players join Fox’ World Series coverage -- the entertaining Pete Rose and insightful Alex Rodriguez.
