ESPN's "SportsCenter" on Wednesday dedicated the majority of the show to the unveiling of the latest "Madden" video game cover, and in N.Y., Ebenezer Samuel writes that was when the show "truly and officially died ... choking on all the money it must have gotten from EA Sports to turn an entire night into a giant infomercial" for the game. ESPN was "all too happy to let EA Sports hijack an entire hour to essentially do PR for the cover of a video game." Flash back about 10 years ago and ESPN's flagship show "delivered all the sports news, both major and minor, in one compact hour." But now, most days, viewers "leave the TV" because they have "had enough." "SportsCenter" has "become an ad disguised as TV, repping everything ESPN and anything that opens its wallet to the network" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/15).
CRAWL BEFORE YOU WALK: THE SPORTS XCHANGE's Jonathan Ingram notes Fox is "counting on NASCAR, among other sports properties, to build a following" for FS1. Saturday night’s Sprint All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway is the "first All-Star event" televised on the net, and this year's event is "another chance to judge whether demand from NASCAR viewers will help FS1 gain more households through cable providers." That is "certainly part of the strategy behind a long term contract between Fox Sports and NASCAR." But "look for a small number for the All-Star race ratings." The ratings have "averaged a paltry 2.2 over the last four years on Fox Sports." Anything close to a 2.0 rating on FS1 "would be encouraging" for Fox Sports execs (THE SPORTS XCHANGE, 5/14).
TRIVIAL PURSUIT? REUTERS' Jonathan Stempel reported U.S. District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin on Thursday said that sports fans accusing MLB, the NHL and broadcasters of "illegally restricting their ability to watch their favorite teams on TV cannot pursue damages as a class." But the judge’s decisions "reduce the financial exposure of professional sports leagues, teams and broadcasters in the high-stakes legal battle over how to broadcast sports programming, and how much to charge" (REUTERS, 5/14).
