Media Notes
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TNT Suspends Weber
For Sunday's Broadcast |
In Charlotte, Jim Utter reports TNT NASCAR announcer Bill Weber was suspended for the net's telecast of yesterday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Lenox Industrial Tools 301. Sources said that Weber "got into a loud, public confrontation over the weekend at his hotel." Turner Broadcasting Senior VP/PR Sal Petruzzi issued a statement and said since this is a "private issue, it's the policy of the company not to discuss personal matters involving our employees." Weber was replaced by Ralph Sheheen for the broadcast (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 6/29).
NOT READING THE NEWS: CABLEFAX DAILY reports FCC Chief Administrative Law Judge Richard Sippel rejected Comcast's request to "supplement the record" in its carriage dispute with MASN with "recent news articles showing low Nielsen ratings for MASN during the first 2 months of the MLB season." Comcast argued that the articles were "'highly relevant' because the RSN had relied on Nielsen ratings to show demand for the net" in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and southwest Virginia. But Sippel in an order posted online Friday "agreed with MASN's argument that the articles aren't relevant because the numbers are for the core Baltimore-Washington, DC, area" (CABLEFAX DAILY, 6/29).
HAMMERIN' HANK: PGA.com has signed an exclusive content deal with Tiger Woods' instructor to provide a series of instructional videos for the site. Hank Haney will host a branded instructional platform on the site and offer mental and physical tips on the game of golf. Production is expected to begin in the next few months. Haney, who is repped by Octagon, also appeared in a Golf Channel series earlier this year in which he tried to correct the swing of TNT analyst Charles Barkley. PGA.com is managed by Turner Sports (Jon Show, SportsBusiness Journal)
NOTES: In N.Y., Larry Brooks wrote NBC "continues to wield a curious amount of influence" over the NHL and Commissioner Gary Bettman. A source said that NBC, which does not pay a rights fees for the league, pressured Bettman to "withdraw the plan to play a second outdoor game in Calgary next season" (N.Y. POST, 6/28)....ESPN VP/Communications Mike Soltys confirmed that ESPN/ABC college football analyst Paul Maguire will "have a reduced role this season." Soltys said that rather than "having a full slate of games," Maguire will "work 'the occasional game and do some studio shows and radio'" (USA TODAY, 6/29).
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