ESPN’s Chris Mortensen said Antonio Brown during the week "actually sought advice from social media consultants" on how he could accelerate his release from the Raiders. It all "started with him releasing the letter from Mike Mayock that he was being fined. He put that out on social media which led to their confrontation” (“Sunday NFL Countdown,” ESPN, 9/8). NFL Network’s Willie McGinest said of Brown’s use of social media when he is with the Patriots, “I think there will be a mutual understanding between Antonio Brown, Bill Belichick and the players that we do things here a certain way" ("NFL GameDay Morning," NFL Network, 9/8).
LOOKING FOR GROWTH: THE INFORMATION's Jessica Toonkel noted Spotify is ramping up its podcast offerings to "diversify the company's revenue beyond music." Sources said that Spotify is "looking to grow its sports offering and recently hired" Facebook Head of Sports Media Partnerships Amy Hudson to "oversee sports" (THEINFORMATION.com, 9/6). AWFUL ANNOUNCING's Sean Keeley noted Spotify has "a lot of deals inked for non-sports talent," but it "remains to be seen what other kinds of talent they're able to attract for exclusive placement on their platform and if they'll be able to break through the clutter" (AWFULANNOUNCING.com, 9/7).
STRIKING GOLD: In Chicago, Teddy Greenstein wrote just a few weeks into his new on-air role, Fox' Urban Meyer is a "must-watch studio analyst." Fox Sports President Mark Silverman said, "We struck gold. There is no one out there like him." Greenstein wrote Meyer is "not cliche," and he "doesn't babble." He also "does not cave to groupthink" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/8).
BOOTH NOTES: Baseball HOFer Jim Palmer is "out of the MASN broadcast booth while dealing with myelitis, inflammation of the spinal cord that Palmer tweeted was caused by shingles" (BALTIMORE SUN, 9/8)....In L.A., Mike DiGiovanna noted former Dodgers GM Ned Colletti "took on a second job Friday as a professional scout" for the Sharks. Colletti will "continue in his role as a pregame and post-game analyst" on the Dodgers' SportsNet LA telecasts (L.A. TIMES, 9/7).
