In Boston, Nick Cafardo noted NESN's Red Sox ratings have "bounced back" since July 1. Red Sox President & CEO Sam Kennedy said that ratings are down 9.8% compared to the same point in '16, but that is a "pretty big uptick from the July 1 numbers." Ratings are up 30.2% over the past 35 games (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/27).
SNAP DECISION: ADWEEK's Lauren Johnson reported Barstool Sports is "launching a weekly Snapchat show on Sept. 8 called Barstool U in which Barstool staffers will travel to colleges around the country this fall and examine campus culture." It is the third year Barstool is "making the series -- in the past, Barstool posted the show on its website -- but this is the first time the publisher is making content for a third party." Wendy’s is "sponsoring the show, with Snap Ads running between content segments" (ADWEEK.com, 8/24).
GETTING SCHOOLED: The N.Y. POST writes SI's college football preview issue is "superior" to ESPN's version, despite ESPN producing "better writing and better photography." Both magazines have features on USC QB Sam Darnold, and ESPN's story by Molly Knight is "embarrassingly better than SI’s Darnold feature penned by Lee Jenkins." But ESPN over 28 pages "doesn’t cover as much ground across the college football landscape or provide as much info as SI does over its 63-page college football section" (N.Y. POST, 8/28).
PARTNERING UP: In N.Y., Bob Raissman cited sources as saying that SiriusXM's Chris Russo has found a "new partner" in Phil Simms. The show will be called "Simms & the Mad Dog.” It will launch Sept. 8 and "air every Friday" from 4:00-5:00pm ET during the '17 NFL season (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 8/27). Meanwhile, SiriusXM has added former ESPN analyst Danny Kanell to be co-host of "Playbook" on its college sports channel. Kanell starting today will host every weekday from 1:00-4:00pm alongside Jason Horowitz (SiriusXM).
