Sports TV News
Klatt Sells Big-12 During Fox Broadcasts
Published
8 years agoon
Maybe it’s just good for business.
Or maybe it’s just because Joel Klatt walked on to the Colorado football team without the sniff of a scholarship that he sympathizes with his game’s latest underdog.
That would be the Big 12, the lone “Power Five” conference that again finds itself on the outside looking in at the playoffs as the season heads to the finish line.
Klatt, Fox’s rookie lead college football game analyst, has emerged as the squeakiest of all the network talking wheels when it comes to plugging the Big 12. He’s also not afraid to take shots at the SEC and Big Ten, which he’s said should be re-labeled the “Super Power Two.”
“I don’t view it as standing up for one particular conference,” Klatt said in a telephone interview this week. “Rather, it’s standing up for what I believe in. … I try not to get sucked into what I believe is the perception of the strength of the SEC.”
Coincidentally, Klatt has made the loudest of his comments on the subject on Fox networks while working Big 12 games. But that’s not to say it’s wrong. Nor is Klatt alone. ESPN college kingpin Kirk Herbstreit also has taken up for the Big 12 in the discussion of College Football Playoff rankings. The latest has undefeated Baylor ranked sixth and undefeated Oklahoma State eighth behind Alabama and Notre Dame, each with one loss. Then there is undefeated Iowa, the second Big Ten school ranked ahead of the best the Big 12 has to offer.
Note: ESPN, just as Fox does, pours millions of dollars annually into the Big 12 coffers for football rights. The difference is that ESPN does business with the entire Power Five as well as Notre Dame. Meanwhile Fox is confined to the 12s – Big and Pac.
But there’s more to bringing up Herbstreit’s name here. In Klatt, who this season replaced Charles Davis alongside lead play-by-play voice Gus Johnson, Fox appears to have a worthy rival for Herbstreit.
Klatt is as engaged as Herbstreit. He appears as savvy. And he is not afraid to throw around opinions.
Klatt, like Ohio State’s Herbstreit, played quarterback in what is now a power conference. But while Herbstreit, an Ohio “player of the year” as a high school senior, strolled onto the Big Ten campus in Columbus, Klatt was offered only small-college scholarships.
Instead, signed with the San Diego Padres, who selected him in the 11th round of the 2000 MLB draft. When that didn’t work out, he returned home to his home state and walked on at Colorado, then a Big 12 school. As a freshman in 2002, he attempted three passes. All fell incomplete in a 34-0 victory over Baylor.
He returned as a 22-year old sophomore the next season, became the starter and left two seasons later with 20 school quarterback records.
Undrafted by the NFL, Klatt unsuccessfully tried out for the New Orleans Saints and Detroit Lions before using his economics degree to get into real estate.
He tiptoed into broadcasting in 2006 when the regional Fox Sports Rocky Mountain invited him to work high school games. Two years later, he was summoned to the Fox Sports Southwest studios in Las Colinas to provide analysis in the Big 12 studio. Eventually, Fox moved him to Los Angeles to work national Big 12 and Pac 12 games on FX.
When Fox Sports 1 launched in 2013, Klatt was installed as one of the network’s studio analysts. This season, he moved from the studio to the booth.
Here’s Klatt on TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin, whose terrible game at Oklahoma State last week on Fox may have cost him a Heisman Trophy: “If he had a different logo on the side of his helmet there would be a different perception. People have written him off. Meanwhile (LSU running back Leonard) Fournette is still in the race.” Fournette gained 31 yards on 19 carries against Alabama.
Here is how Klatt sized up schools like Baylor and Oklahoma State against the likes of Alabama, Ohio State and Notre Dame: “It’s been taboo to talk about the power of brands in college football, but brands matter. Why not say so?”
Klatt said he hopes to share similar thoughts for a long time.
“I hope I can do this for the next 30 years,” he said. “I really love it.”
Read more at the Dallas News where this article was originally published
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 [email protected].
Sports TV News
Pac-12 Football to Air on The CW and FOX Sports
“Oregon State and Washington State football student-athletes deserve this elite stage as they continue competing for the College Football Playoff.”
Published
15 mins agoon
May 14, 2024By
BSM Staff
The Pac-12, which now features only two schools for football, has announced a media rights partnership with The CW Network and FOX Sports. The agreement calls for The CW to air 11 of the 13 home games between Washington State and Oregon State. FOX or FS1 will air the other two.
The CW is set to release all of the game times later today and FOX will do so later this month, meaning home games will all have start times set prior to the start of the season. The league also announced Pac-12 Enterprises will produce the 11 games for The CW.
“We are thrilled to announce these national partnerships with The CW and FOX,” said Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould. “Oregon State and Washington State football student-athletes deserve this elite stage as they continue competing for the College Football Playoff, and Beaver and Cougar fans have a great opportunity to enjoy their teams’ successes.”
President of The CW Network Dennis Miller added: “Adding the Pac-12 Conference to The CW’s growing roster of live sports gives the network coast-to-coast coverage in key markets and solidifies our position as a national player in college sports. The CW will truly be a destination for all sports fans this fall with impressive weekend lineups consisting of Pac-12 football, ACC football, LIV Golf and NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff races.”
With the addition of the football games, The CW will have over 500 hours of sports programming in 2025.
Sports TV News
NBC Adds Jimmie Johnson as Racing Analyst for Four Races in 2024
“Any time you can add one of the greatest drivers of all time and an icon of the sport, you jump at the opportunity,”
Published
1 hour agoon
May 14, 2024By
BSM Staff
In 2024, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will be joining NBC Sports as a part of their motorsports coverage for four races. He will be involved in both pre-race and race coverage of the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 26, which will air on both NBC and Peacock. This addition further enhances NBC Sports’ already comprehensive presentation of this historic event. Johnson had previously contributed to the studio coverage of the event back in 2021.
Johnson will also provide analysis for NBC Sports during their coverage of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona Superspeedway on August 24th and the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 6th, which are two of the three playoff races in the Round of 12. Additionally, Johnson will provide insights for select NASCAR events in which he is racing this year, including the highly-anticipated NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on November 10th.
“To have the opportunity to experience ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’ once again is such an honor,” said Johnson in a release. “I was part of the NBC broadcast team in 2021 and it just fueled the fire I needed to make my childhood dream of racing in the Indianapolis 500 one day a reality. Competing in this race as a driver was a chance of a lifetime, so to be able to experience the pageantry again is just so special. Even though I’ve never been able to do the ‘double’ as a driver, May 26th is going to be a very busy day. After the broadcast, I’ll fly to Charlotte Motor Speedway and drive in the Coca-Cola 600. I’m so thankful to NBC for the opportunity and continued partnership.”
“Any time you can add one of the greatest drivers of all time and an icon of the sport, you jump at the opportunity,” said Sam Flood, lead producer for NBC Sports’ motorsports coverage. “We are thrilled to be working with Jimmie and adding his unique perspective on every race he covers, as well as having him become the first person ever to do the ‘double’ – history awaits.”
Peacock will again be the home of Indy 500 practice and qualifying providing more than 50 hours of coverage. The NBC broadcast network will air three hours of Indy 500 qualifying coverage on Sunday, May 19, at 3 p.m. ET to determine the starting grid for the race. Peacock will simulstream all qualifying coverage on NBC.
Sports TV News
Five Marquee NFL Games Released; Jets and 49ers Get Week 1 Monday Night Football on ESPN
Sunday of Week 1 will see the Dallas Cowboys travel to take on the Cleveland Browns. This game will be carried by FOX and will feature the debut of Tom Brady as an analyst alongside Kevin Burkhardt.
Published
4 hours agoon
May 14, 2024By
BSM Staff
With the official release of the NFL schedule set for Wednesday May 15 at 8 p.m. ET news is starting to leak out on some of the marquee early season matchups. ESPN announced their first Monday Night Football game, which will feature Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets traveling to San Francisco to take on the defending NFC Champion 49ers.
Other games which have been announced include a week one AFC Championship rematch between the Ravens and the Chiefs, which will be carried on Thursday night by NBC. The next day, on Friday, the Eagles and Packers will battle in Sao Paulo, Brazil in a game which will be exclusively streamed by Peacock.
Sunday of Week 1 will see the Dallas Cowboys travel to take on the Cleveland Browns. This game will be carried by FOX and will feature the debut of Tom Brady as an analyst alongside Kevin Burkhardt.
One other game has been announced, which is a Week 2 game that will feature Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals traveling to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the 2-time defending Super Bowl Champion Chiefs. That game will be carried by CBS.
JUST ANNOUNCED – Week 1 of Monday Night Football🏈
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) May 14, 2024
Aaron Rodgers & the @nyjets will travel to the City by the Bay to take on Brock Purdy & the defending #NFC Champion @49ers pic.twitter.com/Ig1aDKd65L
