October is usually "one of the busiest months" for NBC Sports Philadelphia thanks to Flyers and 76ers games, but that is "not the case this year," according to Jeff Blumenthal of the PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS JOURNAL. With the pandemic-altered NHL and NBA seasons both concluded, NBC Sports Philadelphia President Brian Monihan and his content team "had to get creative," and it "starts with expanding coverage" of the Eagles. Monihan: "This is an unusual October through December. But it was also an unusual summer with three teams playing then when we normally just have the Phillies." The net is "airing pre-game and postgame" Eagles programs, and its coverage of the NFL team "also extends into the week." Host Michael Barkann and analysts Ray Didinger and Barrett Brooks are "socially distanced in the network’s studios" at Wells Fargo Center, while analyst Seth Joyner "can be heard via video link." The RSN is filling other nights by "re-airing several Phillies, Flyers and Sixers games" and "dipping into the NBCU archives with repeats of shows like 'American Ninja Warrior.'" The net also "plans for coverage of the NBA Draft on November 18 as well as free agency and other offseason news" for MLB, the NBA and NHL, plus "pre-season Flyers and Sixers games." Still, all of this "does not replace the ratings and advertising the network would enjoy during a typical fall" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 10/29).
