Doing their best impression of the ultra-’80s cop duo Crockett and Tubbs, “NFL Today” hosts Greg Gumbel and Dan Marino will appear on one of nine commemorative covers of the final digest-sized issue of TV Guide, scheduled to hit newsstands Thursday (the Oct. 10 issue).
The magazine, which has a circulation of 9 million, will change formats the following week, becoming more of an entertainment magazine and with full-sized, glossy pages. Only a small section will be devoted to national TV listings, with nothing for local channels.
For the commemorative issues, current TV personalities appear in the same outfits and poses as stars featured on famous covers from yesteryear.
“We’re looking to pay homage to TV Guide’s long history and contemporize it a little bit,” said spokeswoman Eileen Murphy.
The original “Miami Vice” cover that Gumbel and Marino replicated was from 20 years ago, on July 27, 1985.
Other covers include Conan O’Brien standing in for Howdy Doody, Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer of CBS’s “Two and a Half Men” as “The Odd Couple,” and daytime hosts Regis & Kelly for “I Dream of Jeannie.”
The Miami Vice cover was shot in an empty room at CBS’s New York studios in less than an hour.
“When they first told me about it, I was all psyched because I saw the picture and they had guns and I said, ‘Can I bring my own?’” Gumbel said. He was a bit disappointed that microphones were used instead, but called it a “clever twist.”
It is his first TV Guide cover.
NASCAR ENTERTAINS COMCAST: NASCAR is hosting senior Comcast executives at a race during the Chase for the Nextel Cup. That could mean anything from Comcast wanting to bid on a television package to a few guys enjoying free tickets and beer. But one thing is clear: NASCAR officials definitely think Comcast is interested, and that’s good news for the property as its exclusive negotiating windows with Fox, NBC and TNT draw to a close.
It’s no secret that ABC and ESPN want in. If Comcast becomes another bidder, it will only send the value upward. A Nextel Cup deal may be out of reach for Comcast unless it partners with a broadcast network. But a Busch Series package would be a perfect fit for OLN, as it is one of the highest-rated sports properties on cable television and would surely drive viewership and distribution for the want-to-be broad sports network.
NEP HOOKS UP WITH METS: Mobile broadcast facilities company NEP is getting into the regional sports business as the exclusive vendor for the New York Mets’ new network, which launches next year.
NEP will build a full-sized high-definition truck to be used for all Mets home games and some road games in the Northeast.
For NEP, which became the market leader in mobile broadcasting when it acquired several trucks from rival National Mobile Television this year, it represents the first regional business for the company for a number of years. It generally serves national networks only.
Dan Wilhelm, NEP’s executive vice president of sales, marketing and business development, said the company will be “opportunistic” when it comes to pursuing business with regional sports television, but he also noted that New York is “a special situation.”
The primary incentive for pursuing the business was to have a mobile presence in New York, he said. The company already owns nine studios on Manhattan, and having a mobile truck will open up doors to broadcasting music and entertainment events as well.
He said NEP also has long-standing relationships with Comcast, part-owner of the Mets’ new network. NEP handles remote business for The Golf Channel and will do OLN’s NHL games (sharing the business through the first of the year and then taking over exclusively).
Another key relationship is with Curt Gowdy Jr., a former ABC Sports producer who joined the Mets network as head of production.
The Mets network, as of last week, had not announced its name but is expected to reveal its identity soon — one that won’t include the team name. The network aims to be viewed as more of a New York sports and entertainment channel. As of midsummer, it had only about a half-dozen employees, but it is expected to staff up to more than 100 over the next six months.
Andy Bernstein can be reached at abernstein@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
