Media Notes
The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's James Hibberd notes Fox "for the first time in years" will launch its fall lineup this year "in mid- to late September alongside most of its rivals." The later start time is a "change in strategy from recent years," as Fox last year "kicked off its season" on September 1. Hibberd notes several factors "go into deciding a premiere schedule, but one reason for the switch is that Fox expects fewer baseball preemptions in October." The net typically has debuted shows "in late August or early September to give programs a longer head start before [MLB] coverage interrupted its lineup" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 6/16).
INVESTIGATION CONTINUES: In Chicago, Ameet Sachdev reports federal regulators yesterday charged that David Hernandez, who "bankrolled" CSN Chicago "Monsters in the Morning" co-host Mike North's Chicago Sports Webio Web site, "funded the venture through an $11[M] Ponzi scheme." A federal judge yesterday "froze assets owned by Hernandez, his wife, Gina, and companies linked to him." Hernandez "never invested the money, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on Bulls games and other sporting events for himself and dozens of friends" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/16).
DRAFT IMPROVEMENTS: SI.com's Richard Deitsch wrote MLB Network has "made few missteps in its initial months and shown a refreshing commitment to journalism with the hire of Bob Costas and frank coverage of controversial issues," which "speaks well" of MLB Net President & CEO Tony Petitti. But MLB Net's coverage of last week's MLB First-Year Player Draft "too often became a celebration of team executives, including praising the woebegone Washington Nationals for the no-brainer selection of the decade" in P Stephen Strasburg. The producers deserve "full marks for getting Strasburg on the phone, but if host Greg Amsinger and analyst Harold Reynolds are simply going to feed Strasburg softballs ... what exactly are viewers getting with the interview?" (SI.com, 6/15).
NOTES: In Toronto, Chris Zelkovich noted Rogers Sportsnet during its Blue Jays telecasts "tries to sneak into each game" ads between outs, which are "only about 10 seconds long but do nothing but break up the flow of the game." Advertising and baseball "go hand in glove," there is a "time and a place for commercials, and in baseball, the time is between innings" (TORONTO STAR, 6/15)...."UFC 2009 Undisputed" has sold 679,600 copies for the Xbox 360 and 334,400 copies for PlayStation 3 during the month of May, making it the month's "bestselling video game" (KOTAKU.com, 6/11).
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