It was a rough weekend for my teams. My Bears? Yeah, I've now watched that end to the Commanders game from a dozen different angles at this point. Still can’t believe it happened. My Yankees? I find it hard to believe that in 692 previous World Series games, there had never been a walkoff grand slam before Game 1.
While not ideal for me, it’s a good start for Fox Sports, with the best start to a World Series since 2017 (not to mention the two best MLB Postseason games ever in Japan).
Hopefully, I’ll be at a Game 5 on Wednesday night with my dad and brother.
YES Network ready for first Yankees' World Series game in N.Y. in 15 years
The Yankees tonight are bringing the World Series back to the Bronx for the first time since 2009, and while YES Network won't be showing any games, the RSN is taking full advantage of the opportunity.
Social media is a big part of that YES strategy, with real-time analysis coming from the studio, similar to what the RSN did during the regular season during national games. “We want our best -- clips, analysis, sound bites, graphics, the things that we control the IP to -- we want that to be shared and posted and let people know that we are their source, their destination,” said Jared Boshnack, VP/production at YES Network. “Social media serves to amplify our coverage and also inform you.”
Thus far, the RSN has partnered with digital creator (and former Yankees employee) Alex Day, also known as the “The New York Sports Guy,” for postseason coverage. Day has been creating “person on the street” content, including chatting with actor Will Arnett from Dodger Stadium and interviewing former Yankees reliever Dellin Betances before Game 1.
YES Net has also expanded its usual half-hour pregame and hour-long post-game shows to 90 minutes each during the Fall Classic. “We’re giving ourselves an opportunity to explore and delve into every storyline imaginable,” said Boshnack. “We're trying to really account for everybody's point of view and make sure the expert analysis is covered from every angle.”
YES studio host Bob Lorenz and analysts Jack Curry, John Flaherty and Michael Kay were in studio during Games 1 and 2, with Meredith Marakovits and Joe Girardi on site at Dodger Stadium. Tonight in the Bronx, Lorenz, Curry and Flaherty will remain in the studio, with Marakovits, Kay and Paul O’Neill onsite in Yankee Stadium.
"We have the best involved,” said Boshnack, pointing out that talent has multiple World Series rings between them. “I can’t stress enough how cohesive our group is -- 162 games spread out over 180-plus days. ... That’s from talent, management, operations, everybody involved. We work together so closely all year long. We have a shorthand ability to communicate, yet understand when it's necessary to really lean in and bring the product out.”
NBC ramps up coverage of Breeders' Cup with event back on the West Coast
The Breeders' Cup World Championship gets some extended prime-time love this weekend, with coverage from Del Mar outside San Diego starting Friday with nearly 12 hours of programming across NBC, USA and Peacock. Twelve of the 14 races will air on linear TV, with all races streamed on Peacock. NBC Sports’ first presentation in 1984 had just 2.5 hours of coverage, and last year’s had 10.
“This is an event we love to cover, [and] we look forward to it every year,” said Senior Producer Lindsay Schanzer. “It’s really international, and it truly is the world coming together. It's a special way to cap off a year of horse racing coverage." This is Del Mar's third time hosting the event after 2017 and 2021, and it will also host again next year.
Four hours of programming starts Friday at 4pm ET on USA Network and continues Saturday at 2pm on USA before jumping to NBC through 6pm before returning to USA until 8pm to cap it off.
Ahmed Fareed will host coverage Friday and Saturday, along with analyst and former jockey Jerry Bailey and analyst Randy Moss. Britney Eurton will pull double duty as both a host and reporter, alongside Kenny Rice and Nick Luck. Eddie Olczyk returns as handicapper, Donna Brothers will report on horseback, and Larry Collmus will call all races.
NBC Sports will have around 70 different cameras at its disposal throughout the course of the races. The track, NBC and FanDuel TV all share feeds, with NBC controlling 40. “This is where the turf meets the surf,” said director Kaare Numme. A live-view roaming camera will head down to the beach and up in the hills to “give flavor” to anything surrounding the track itself.
New this year: two drones for coverage during each race, with one high and behind the horses, and the second as a low tracking shot.
This marks the 41st Breeders' Cup World Championship, and the 35th with NBC Sports (ESPN had the rights from 2006 to 2011). NBC’s media deal is up in 2025, and in June, Breeders' Cup Limited tapped Sports Media Advisors to assist with media strategy.
Speed reads
- Even after TNT’s “Inside the NBA” is officially outside the NBA after WBD's deal ends this spring, it will always be the template for an entire industry of talking heads, my colleague Tom Friend writes for this week's cover story.
- SBJ also profiled the 25 studio shows driving conversation and turning their stars into household names.
- Tony Hinchcliffe, who made inflammatory and racist comments at MSG last night during a Donald Trump rally, doesn't have any more planned appearances on Disney airwaves, sources tell me. In Week 8 of the college football season, the comedian appeared on the digital-only hour of "The Pat McAfee Show," as well as "College GameDay," and made reference to the contestant attempting a field goal kick as a "prepubescent lesbian." ESPN declined comment on the matter.
- As part of a leaguewide deal with the NFL, Cosm will produce and show "TNF" (Prime Video), "SNF" (NBC) and "MNF" (ESPN) games -- as well as select matchups on Fox -- in its immersive venues through the remainder of the 2024 regular season, reports SBJ's Rob Schaefer.
- Dodgers-Yankees is delivering the uptick that was expected for Fox, with the network having its best Fall Classic since 2017, notes SBJ's Austin Karp, who also pointed out to me the strong role Univision played in Game 1's audience. With Fox Deportes and Univision both showing the game, that Spanish-language viewers accounted for 8.5% of the overall Game 1 audience. When Fox Deportes had the Spanish telecast on its own for Game 2, that audience was 2.7% of the overall number.
- My boss Abe Madkour in his Forum this week writes about the influence and importance of ESPN’s “College GameDay.” Madkour: "It’s become a must-watch for avid and casual viewers, but also for the leaders connected to the sport because, whether you like it or not, it sets the agenda for that Saturday. While Pat McAfee may be an acquired taste, it’s hard to question his talent and that it plays well on college campuses." He also notes that halfway during the season, Disney is the "clear winner when it comes to drawing viewers on the strength of its new deal with the SEC."
- The first year of the expanded CFP has further stoked interest among advertisers in college sports, with media companies including Disney, Fox, NBCUniversal and Paramount all seeing brands lock in advertising deals for multiple years.
- Kristen Lappas spent 12 years at ESPN and is now a director at Words + Pictures, the company led by former ESPN stalwarts Connor Schell and Libby Geist. Lappas has won two Emmy Awards for short sports documentaries; directed “30 for 30” documentary “ Dream On” and last year directed the Prime Video docu “Giannis: The Marvelous Journey.” She talked to SBJ about her own journey.
- In an op-ed for SBJ this week, media consultants Ed Desser and John Kosner write, "For most of the last four decades, sports media options were broadcast and cable TV, period. These delivered maximum audiences, and usually, the largest potential revenue. National rights were placed on big broadcast and cable networks; local/regional rights on broadcast stations and RSNs. With competition and some luck, you’d generate fair market value. Easy-peasy! ... Today, choosing a platform is not simple at all."