WIRED's Paul Sarconi wrote if fans want to watch highlights on a phone, "there are lots of sites and platforms that make it easy," but "none is more now than House of Highlights." The "bombastic, occasionally NSFW Instagram account is the hottest thing going, due in no small part to the dedication of its 22-year-old founder, Omar Raja." Bleacher Report co-Founder & CEO Dave Finocchio, whose site bought House of Highlights a couple of years ago, said Raja is "like the modern SportsCenter, or the young person’s SportsCenter" (WIRED.com, 3/16).
WEST COAST TALENT: Pac-12 Networks added former MLBer Ben Francisco to its roster of on-air talent. Francisco will deliver 102 collegiate baseball broadcasts this season. Pac-12 Networks also is bringing back Eric Byrnes and returning Wes Clements, Scott Erickson, Andy Lopez, Donnie Marbut, J.T. Snow, Kevin Stocker and Dean Stotz as analysts. Ted Enberg also joins Pac-12 Networks this season in a play-by-play role (Pac-12).
CROSSING THE POND: London-based Eleven Sports acquired key distribution assets of U.S.-basedOne World Sports, enabling it to "break into" the U.S. market through distribution deals with AT&T/DirecTV, Verizon, Charter Communications and NCTC. Eleven said that it "now intends to build a strong portfolio of rights" in the U.S. in sports including cycling, ice hockey, basketball, football, rugby, lacrosse, cricket, drone racing and other "millennial-focused sports" (DIGITALTVEUROPE.net, 3/17).
