In Birmingham, Mark Heim noted SEC Network's Greg McElroy and Marcus Spears will "team up" for a weekly football talk show that will air Monday nights. "Thinking Out Loud" will debut Sept. 4 (AL.com, 7/10). Heim noted SEC Net also will "add an hour to 'The Paul Finebaum Show' exclusively for ESPN2" beginning Aug. 16 and "running through December." The TV-only hour will air from 2:00-3:00pm ET before the show goes live on weekdays from 3:00-7:00pm on ESPN Radio and SEC Network (AL.com, 7/10).
BLUE BIRD, RED CARPET: Twitter has partnered with ESPN for tomorrow's ESPYs. The ESPYs Social Red Carpet Show will air from 6:00-7:00pm, hosted by Adam Schefter and Jay Williams. The Twitter presentation will include a live stream of the show and a timeline of ESPYs-related tweets (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).
NOTES: In Houston, David Barron notes Astros games on AT&T SportsNet Southwest through Sunday were averaging a 3.04 local rating, up 13.8% from 2.67 at the '16 All-Star break (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 7/11)....Politico named ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com senior editor Jason Schwartz a media writer. Schwartz will cover the "rapidly changing media scene" (POLITICO.com, 7/11).
