Sports TV News
Strong Market For Orsillo

Published
7 years agoon
This continues to be a difficult time for NESN play-by-play broadcaster Don Orsillo, who has told friends that his lame-duck status in the booth makes showing up at the ballpark feel “like I’m going to my own funeral.”
But Orsillo has not let his feelings interfere with his work since NESN announced he would not be returning for a 16th season — note his enthusiastic call of David Ortiz’s 500th home run Saturday night. And while the outpouring of support from his fans — more than 60,000 signatures have been collected on an on-line petition — will not alter NESN’s plans, multiple sources say that Orsillo’s prospects of landing another broadcasting job look very promising.
One source in charge of broadcasting with another major-league club pointed to San Diego, where Hall of Fame broadcaster Dick Enberg will be entering the last year of his deal next season, as a strong contender for Orsillo’s services. Orsillo’s agent, Brad Blank, said Monday night that he would not identify the teams and networks that have shown interest in Orsillo, but confirmed there are a number of potential landing spots.
Blank said he also has no issue with the Red Sox electing to hire Dave O’Brien, who is regarded as one of the top broadcasters in the business, working for ESPN in addition to his work on radio for the Red Sox the last nine years.
“At the end of a contract, if the terms have been satisfied and they’ve paid what they said they would pay, NESN doesn’t owe anything,’’ Blank said. “That’s how it works.
“If I thought something bad might happen to Don, I might feel differently, but I know he’s going to be fine.’’
O’Brien, like Orsillo a New England native, has been in an awkward position since NESN’s announcement that he would be succeeding Orsillo, the news leaking last month. O’Brien had spoken last summer with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but according to a broadcasting source, no offer was made. Another industry source said that the parameters of a deal were discussed, but there was no written offer.
Regardless of whether O’Brien broached an opportunity with the Dodgers in his talks with the Red Sox, NESN and team sources indicated that they already had decided they wanted to take their broadcasts in a different direction, and viewed O’Brien as an elite talent with the kind of resume that would appeal to advertisers and sponsors.
NESN’s handling of the change, however, has been widely condemned for what has been perceived as insensitivity to Orsillo and an indifference to his popularity with the team’s fan base. The Sox have encountered similar blowback in the past with Sean McDonough, whose dismissal provoked outrage. McDonough’s replacement as the Sox primary TV voice? Orsillo.
While sensitive to how personally disappointed his client is, Blank insists he bears no ill will toward NESN or the Red Sox. “I give NESN and the Red Sox credit for being helpful’’ he said.
Credit to ESPN who originally published this article.
Jason Barrett
Jason Barrett is the owner and operator of Barrett Sports Media. Prior to launching BSM he served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He has also produced national shows for ESPN Radio including GameNight and the Dan Patrick Show. You can find him on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or reach him by email at JBarrett@sportsradiopd.com.
Sports TV News
Warriors Fans Throw Objects At Charles Barkley On Inside the NBA Set
“Barkley yelled back at the crowd but never actually left the set.”
Published
14 hours agoon
May 27, 2022By
BSM Staff
Charles Barkley is no stranger to being the object of fans’ ire. The cities of San Antonio and Cleveland have a history of being the butt of the Round Mound of Rebound’s jokes. Thursday night in San Francisco, fans of the Warriors took things to a different level, throwing objects at Barkley on the Inside the NBA set.
The TNT studio show was broadcasting live from outside the Chase Center. The crowd chanted “Chuck, you suck!” at Barkley before the game. After Golden State clinched a birth in the NBA Finals, things got physical.
Warriors fan hit Charles Barkley in the head with a shirt and Barkley almost went Malice in the Palace on them pic.twitter.com/D7f6w1wH3Q
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) May 27, 2022
Fans threw things at the set, including a rolled-up t-shirt, which hit Charles Barkley in the back of the head. That resulted in Barkley leaving his seat and bowing up to the audience.
“Come on Chuck!” Ernie Johnson pleaded as Kenny Smith repeatedly said “Sit down Chuck.”
Barkley yelled back at the crowd but never actually left the set.
Now that the Western Conference Finals are over, TNT’s NBA schedule has concluded. That doesn’t mean Charles Barkley won’t return to San Francisco for the NBA Finals, but it is highly unlikely given the reception he has received there.
Barkley spent most of the postseason telling Golden State fans they were annoying and need to shut up and saying the city of San Francisco has “dirty ass streets”.
Sports TV News
Jon Miller To Call MLB Sunday Leadoff Game On Peacock
“According to a press release, Jason Benetti has a scheduling conflict.”

Published
18 hours agoon
May 27, 2022
Legendary play-by-play man Jon Miller will be returning to the national broadcast booth on Sunday. He will call the San Francisco Giants vs. Cincinnati Reds game for Peacock. He’ll be joined in the booth by Barry Larkin and Shawn Estes.
According to a press release, Jason Benetti has a scheduling conflict. Benetti, the regular play-by-play voice of Peacock’s MLB Sunday Leadoff, is also the television voice of the Chicago White Sox. NBC Sports Chicago has prioritized this weekend’s series between the White Sox and Cubs, making Benetti unavailable to the national broadcast.
Miller has been calling Giants games since 1997 and previously shared the Sunday Night Baseball booth on ESPN with hall of famer Joe Morgan.
The broadcast, called MLB Sunday Leadoff, will begin at 11 a.m. with pregame coverage hosted by Ahmed Fareed. The game broadcast begins at 11:30 a.m.
The game will take place in an exclusive two-hour broadcast window prior to the start of the rest of the league’s day of games.
Jordan Bondurant
Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett News Media. He also works for ABC8 News and Newsradio WRVA and 910 The Fan in Richmond, Virginia. His prior experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly and iHeartradio Richmond. He can be reached by email at Jordan.E.Bondurant@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.
Sports TV News
Amazon Eyeing Pat McAfee For Thursday Night Football Megacast
“No deal is done yet. A source tells McCarthy that it hinges on McAfee’s very busy schedule, but a Megacast is appealing to the former punter.’
Published
1 day agoon
May 26, 2022By
BSM Staff
First it was the Mannings. Now it’s McAfee. Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports reports that Pat McAfee could be at the center of an alternate broadcast of Thursday Night Football on Amazon in the 2022 season.
No deal is done yet. A source tells McCarthy that it hinges on McAfee’s very busy schedule, but a Megacast is appealing to the former punter.
Rumors of Amazon’s interest in McAfee began to bubble up last month. While he never directly addressed them, he did make mention on his show that he was “up to something” and insinuated that Amazon wasn’t the only company he was talking to.
McAfee has said on his show in the past that he wants to be part of an NFL broadcast. However, he is firm in that it would not be in the broadcast booth.
“I can’t call games. Not yet,” McAfee said on a show in February. “Have to be done with this show to call games. Because that’s like a 3-day, 4-day thing.”
In addition to his daily show, McAfee is also committed to the WWE. He is on the road for Smackdown every Friday.
There is no word on exactly what a Pat McAfee-centered broadcast would look like. When reports first came out regarding discussions with McAfee, Ryan Glasspiegel of The New York Post reported that moving The Pat McAfee Show to Amazon was on the table. If that happens, it would make sense to use his entire crew on the Thursday Night Football presentation.