In Toledo, David Briggs noted petroleum company Marathon "got every penny's worth" of its deal to title sponsor the LPGA Marathon Classic, which ended yesterday with Lydia Ko's win in a four-hole playoff. Marathon "cut a seven-figure check to make this the first regional tourney in years to play its final round on live network TV," with yesterday airing on CBS. The British Open ended just before 2:00pm ET, and the Marathon Classic, with the "stage all to itself, delivered well past the dinner hour." CBS "finally cried uncle, unwilling to mess with its golden geese -- the network news and 60 minutes." The broadcast "shifted to Golf Channel" at 6:30pm after the second sudden-death hole (Toledo BLADE, 7/18).
SKY CAPTAIN & THE WORLD OF TOMORROW: Big Sky Conference Commissioner Andrea Williams yesterday said that a renewal of the league's TV deal with Root Sports for football "is in the works." In Montana, Greg Rachac notes '16 marks the "final year of the current five-year television contract between the two sides." Root Sports, owned by AT&T/DirecTV, has "broadcast select Big Sky football games" on its Northwest and Rocky Mountain RSNs since '12. Williams said that she "hopes the Big Sky and Root have a new contract finalized in August." She also spoke yesterday about the "need for the Big Sky to explore further broadcast options, specifically online streaming" (BILLINGS GAZETTE, 7/18).
GOTHAM IN GEAR: In N.Y., Bob Raissman noted at the mid-point of NASCAR’s season, N.Y. is "one of 10 markets where NASCAR has seen double digit increases in TV viewership." NASCAR TV ratings in the city "are up 18% year-over-year." Raissman: "It's still a mystery to me" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/17).
