In St. Louis, Dan Caesar writes FS Midwest "turned its telecast" of Tuesday's Cubs-Cardinals game "into an infomercial for one of the team’s all-inclusive club areas in Busch Stadium." FSM "junked up the telecast by having its broadcasters work from the club, where they talked up the facility and their babble was accompanied by numerous shots of them and fans on hand." This room, "not the game, became the show at times." The "annual sales-pitch game" is "a lowlight of the Cards-FSM television schedule each season." Caesar: "At least the powers that be didn’t force Tim McCarver to lower himself to be involved in this cheesy sales pitch" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 5/8).
BEHIND THE CAMERA: The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Lesley Goldberg reported Esquire Network's next round of unscripted series includes a "sports-themed docuseries from executive producer LeBron James." The show, titled "Winner's Circle," will "take viewers on what's described as the 'most epic sporting weekend' of their lives, following two celebrity friends who serve as comedic hosts and offer behind-the-scenes access to events like the Kentucky Derby, Super Bowl, Masters, X Games and NBA All-Star Weekend, while exploring parties, fan culture and local highlights" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 5/7).
CAROLINA IN MY MIND: In Winston Salem, Scott Hamilton reported ESPN last week "signed a new 11-year television contract" with the ATP Tour Winston-Salem Open, an accord that "goes into effect this year and will keep the Open broadcasted around the globe" through '25. The deal also "more than doubles the tournament's TV time." The tournament "has traditionally been televised starting on Thursday." It "will now hit the airwaves" at 3:00pm ET on Monday, with coverage "alternating between ESPN2 and ESPN3." The amount of tennis being broadcast "will swell from 14 hours to 36" (WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL, 5/6).
TRAFFIC JAM: Rotoworld.com posted its best April ever with 4.6 million unique users and 18.7 million visits, up 26% and 12%, respectively, over April '14. Meanwhile, the Stanley Cup Playoffs on NBC Sports Live Extra have totaled 775,000 unique users to date, up 9% versus the comparable period during the '14 Playoffs, and 96 million minutes watched, up 29%. Also, Live Extra's live stream of last weekend's Kentucky Derby -- which required authentication for the first time -- delivered 221,000 unique visitors, up 12% from last year, and the largest-ever Kentucky Derby audience on the app (NBC Sports).
