In Ft. Lauderdale, Matthew DeFranks notes Showtime has met with FAU coach Lane Kiffin about the "possibility of featuring the Owls on a Showtime production, though not necessarily 'A Season With,' a documentary series that follows a college football team throughout the year." FAU AD Pat Chun said, "They approached Lane first to see if they'd have any interest. It is literally in its infant stages right now that it's not even worth talking about." Chun said that he has "not watched 'A Season With,' and the school would have to look into if it was interested in partnering with Showtime" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 1/12).
MAKING STRIDES: Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman said of the conference's media rights deal with FS1, "The ratings are growing each year. Our ratings are up this year for sure. The Gavitt Games in particular were all up significantly. We also have this digital network, that helps with other sports. This (points to her phone) is how young kids watch now. Whether (FS1, FS2) are in sports bars or hotel rooms, (Fox) tells us they’re making progress. In the meantime, we have all these games on Fox Sports and FS1. All of our men’s basketball games are on the network. The old Big East games were not all on ESPN" (OMAHA WORLD-HERALD, 1/12).
PUT A LABEL ON IT: In N.Y., Cara Buckley writes there has been “some grumbling” over whether ESPN’s five-part "O.J.: Made In America" series “should be a contender for best documentary” at next month’s Academy Awards. Whether it is a “movie or a mini-series is in the eye of the beholder.” Rotten Tomatoes “lists it as a movie and a mini-series,” while the N.Y. Times “reviewed it as a movie.” Another question about “O. J.: Made In America” is “whether it’s fair for a work presented as a mini-series to be granted Oscar contention, and what precedent that might set.” However, the film was “broadcast all in one day, once, with commercials, on ESPN” (N.Y. TIMES, 1/12).
