FS1 is "seeking to position itself as the 'fun' sports destination," and if the premiere of "Crowd Goes Wild" at 5:00pm ET Monday is "any indication, this is just the last stop before transforming TV sports coverage into open-mic night," according to Brian Lowry of VARIETY. Even though co-host Regis Philbin is a "major sports fan, the octogenarian host looked a trifle out of his element in this teeming morning-zoo environment." Comedian Michael Kosta "quickly established himself as the would-be village idiot, opening with a prepared bit in which he compared" Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez to the character Walter White on AMC's "Breaking Bad." Additionally, the screen was "so overflowing with graphic elements and headlines it would be easy for one of the panelists to hide behind them." The show is "so conspicuously not ready for primetime as to inspire relatively little faith in the rest of the enterprise" (VARIETY.com, 8/19). Meanwhile, "Fox Football Daily" debuted yesterday at 6:00pm, and Ad Age's Michael McCarthy tweeted, "For a guy who never liked talking to media, Randy Moss has been looser and more relaxed than Brian Urlacher on 1st #FoxFootballDaily." The MMQB's Peter King tweeted, "A good debut for Randy Moss. Engaged, fairly enlightening. Hope he keeps it up. He's good to listen to." McCarthy replied, "Agreed. Urlacher needs to loosen up more. But it was only 1st show" (TWITTER.com, 8/19).
TAKING A DEEPER LOOK: With FS1's "Fox Sports Live" now into its third night of coverage, THE DAILY monitored last night's broadcast to detail what the show is covering. The 60-minute edition of the show at 11:00pm featured co-hosts Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole, with Onrait saying of FS1's Erin Andrews, "We're Jay and Dan and we're full of probiotics thanks to our new friend, Erin Andrews." Andrews is an endorser for TruBiotics yogurt. The broadcast led with MLB highlights, with the Dodgers-Marlins and D-Backs-Reds, which carried the show to its first commercial break. The show returned with reports on the ongoing murder investigations of Aaron Hernandez and Oscar Pistorius, NASCAR driver Tony Stewart's broken leg forcing him to rest the remainder of the season, injury updates on Lakers G Kobe Bryant and Giants WR Victor Cruz, Broncos LB Von Miller possibly being suspended for six games for violating the league's substance-abuse policy and Steelers-Redskins on "MNF" last night. Following the Steelers-Redskins highlights, the show's panel of analysts of Donovan McNabb, Andy Roddick, Gabe Kapler and Gary Payton, along with Charissa Thompson, discussed the future of Redskins QB Kirk Cousins, Miller's suspension and the debate over hitting players low after Dolphins TE Dustin Keller was severely injured from a low hit. The broadcast then returned to Onrait and O'Toole in the studio and aired highlights of Nationals-Cubs, Rays-Orioles and Astros-Rangers (Paul Sanford, Television Editor).
AND WE'RE BACK: After another commercial break, a taped good-natured "rant" from FS1's Regis Philbin was aired directed towards Onrait and O'Toole, followed by an injury update on Angels 1B Albert Pujols, the lawyer for Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez declining to release medical evidence and boxer Mike Tyson appearing with the panel live in-studio. After highlights from the Little League World Series and Steelers-Redskins, "Fox Football Daily" co-hosts Curt Menefee, Jay Glazer and Randy Moss discussed various NFL topics. The remainder of the telecast featured Cardinals-Brewers, highlights, a segment called "The 1" of the plays of the day and highlights of Mets-Twins, Rockies-Phillies and Pirates-Padres. The broadcast also included highlights of EPL match Manchester City-Newcastle, WBC middleweight and welterweight title bouts and finally Tyson talking with Thompson and Payton (Sanford).
JUST GETTING STARTED: In San Jose, Jon Wilner wrote "everyone from couch potatoes to the coaches and athletes themselves will benefit from the existence of FS1, including -- and especially -- ESPN." The net "needs something to keep it sharp and honest" (MERCURYNEWS.com, 8/19). Horizon Media Research Dir Brad Adgate tweeted, "Average # of viewers (total day) first day of Fox Sport 1 479,000; second day 133,000, Both days: Median age 43.5; 76% of viewers is male" (TWITTER.com, 8/20).
