sports

The process of determining which NFL games will be shown in which TV markets can be simple — unless there’s flexing, cross flexing, prime flexing, mandatory pullouts

Verizon Communications is close to a new deal with the National Football League for digital streaming rights that would give the largest U.S. wireless carrier the ability to deliver game broadcasts to internet-connected TVs, tablets and phones, according to people familiar with the matter.

As Roger Goodell, Jerry Jones, and the NFL engage in an ugly internal fight over the future leadership of the NFL, TV partners at CBS, ESPN, Fox and NBC are staring at their own internal conflicts — namely a substantial decline in NFL ratings that is on pace to cost the four networks up to $500 million in lost revenue.

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge tightened bail conditions on a South American soccer official charged in the FIFA bribery scandal after prosecutors surprised the courtroom by accusing the defendant […]

21st Century Fox denied a government witness’s allegation that its sports division paid bribes to win television rights for international soccer tournaments.

John Skipper has agreed to a contract extension with Disney to remain president of ESPN through 2021, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Skipper has been ESPN’s president since New Year’s Day of 2012, and been with the company since 1997 when he started at ESPN the Magazine as VP-GM. In 2015, Skipper signed a contract extension through 2018.

Alejandro Burzaco, former CEO of a marketing firm based in Argentina, testified that Fox and other broadcasters were involved in a scheme to pay bribes — concealed using offshore side entities and sham contracts — that secured rights for the Copa America and other FIFA events.

ESPN will lay off more than 100 staffers after the Thanksgiving holidays, multiple sources say. The layoffs, which were described by a person briefed on the plans, will hit positions across ESPN including front-facing talent on the television side, producers, executives, and digital and technology staffers.

Through nine weeks of the NFL regular season, TV ratings have narrowed viewing declines versus earlier-season results. All TV advertising revenues on NFL networks have inched up versus a year ago.

Turner Sports has partnered with Intel to broadcast weekly NBA on TNT games in virtual reality beginning with the 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend, which will be held Feb. 16-18, 2018. In the multi-year deal, Intel will become the exclusive provider of VR for the NBA on TNT and deliver live content for weekly matchups via its Intel True VR technology.

At the start of the season in September, the NFL witnessed lower pricing for individual TV commercials in the scatter TV marketplace, according to media cost research and analysis company SQAD. But overall TV revenue is still higher, according to a separate estimate.

The matchup between the Oakland Raiders and the Miami Dolphins on NBC is currently averaging a 4.0 rating in adults 18-49 and 11.7 million viewers, down from the preliminary ratings for last week’s game (4.3, 12.7 million). On CBS, an overrun of NFL football boosted the numbers for the network’s Sunday primetime lineup.

The satellite operator is suing Univision in federal court, alleging that it distributed Mexican soccer games via Facebook in violation of their carriage agreement. Last month, Univision moved to dismiss the suit. Dish responded on Friday, contending that nothing in the agreement permits Univision to repackage programming and “then allowing that content to be given away for free.”

An audience distracted by the 2016 presidential election and turned off, perhaps, by the absence of star NFL players and better match-ups migrated away from NFL broadcasts last season — which saw overall viewership dip by 8%. Nonetheless, advertisers for the most part are willing to pay more to sponsor the sport than they did last season. Meanwhile, the cost of a 30-second ad in NBC’s Thursday Night Football is up 3.7%, to $524,047. And the cost of a 30-second spot in ESPN’s Monday Night Football has hiked 3.6%, to an average of $385,000.

The Houston Astros’ extra-innings win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in game five of the World Series Sunday night averaged a 12.8 household rating, according to Nielsen metered-market numbers. That was down slightly from game five of last year’s record-setting World Series, but enough for the Fox telecast to top NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

Promising a “seamless” experience for viewers, Fox Sports says it will air nine six-second ads during its Thanksgiving Day telecast of the NFL matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions.

More bad news could be on the horizon for ESPN. Staffers at the Worldwide Leader in Sports are bracing for another possible round of layoffs late this year, multiple sources say. The next round of cutbacks could come down in late November or early December, with 40-60 positions potentially being impacted, according to sources. The layoffs could hit both on-air TV/radio talent and behind-the-scenes production staffers.

Tegna-owned ABC affiliate WFAA Dallas (DMA 5) has extended the contract of longtime sports anchor Dale Hansen through 2018. Hansen will anchor his nightly sports reports on WFAA’s 10 p.m. […]

Despite some ratings declines and mixed public opinion about the NFL overall, TV revenues for the league were up 2% in September versus the same month a year ago. TV advertising pulled in $513 million versus $504 million in September 2016.

The New England victory over the Atlanta Falcons on NBC is the NFL’s best primetime showing since week one.

Any negative public sentiment surrounding the issue of NFL players kneeling during the national anthem hasn’t been reflected in current TV viewership. NFL national TV viewership has now lessened its early-season double-digit percentage declines from a year ago to a current 7% drop. Through the past six weeks, national TV NFL games are averaging a Nielsen 15.12 million viewers versus 16.3 million through the same time period a year ago.

CBS’ streaming sports video service will launch “soon,” according to CBS Interactive President Marc Debevoise. Unlike ESPN’s upcoming streaming service — which will focus on sports that don’t quite fit on the linear channel — the new CBS service will emphasize sports news and talk instead of live games.

The top executives of four TV station groups assessed the state of the TV broadcasting business (l-r: Hearst’s Jordan Wertlieb, NBC’s Valari Staab, Tegna’s Dave Lougee and Sinclair’s Chris Ripley). Among their topics were the future of audience measurement including specific-device measurement built into the ATSC 3.0 standard; why automated buying and selling of TV ads has been so slow to be adopted; and the changing value of sports programming, especially NFL games. (Photo: Wendy Moger-Bross)

Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBC Broadcasting and Sports, said the network faces changing sports consumer habits that have affected ratings, but it’s making a full court press with its upcoming Super Bowl and Olympics coverage. He also said ATSC 3.0 presents an opportunity for its stations if it can find “the right balance.” (Photo: Wendy Moger-Bross)

The NFL through Week 6 continued to close the deficit of TV viewers compared with last season — albeit at a numbingly slow pace. Through Week 6, the NFL’s 37 national telecasts averaged 15.3 million viewers, according to data compiled by Sports Media Watch, which is down 7.2% from the average 16.5 million viewers through the same week a season ago.

After more than 40 years in the business, veteran Tampa Bay sportscaster Tom Korun is ready to retire. He plans to continue his work as sports director for E.W. Scripps-owned […]

When its new season tips off Oct. 17, the NBA has ample reason for some optimism regarding seeing its audience numbers go up instead of down. That’s largely due to the mix of fascinating storylines spread broadly across many teams.