Sports TV News
Finocchio Returns As CEO of Bleacher Report
Published
8 years agoon
Dave Finocchio, founder and long-time strategic leader of Bleacher Report, who stepped back from day-to-day responsibilities in late 2014, is returning to Bleacher Report as CEO. He will resume high-level direction of the brand while partnering with Rory Brown, elevated to President of Bleacher Report, who will oversee all operations for the division. Finocchio, who served in a senior advisory role for Bleacher Report over the last year, will continue to be based in San Francisco and will report to Matt Hong, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Turner Sports.
In addition to his Bleacher Report responsibilities, Finocchio will also work with Doug Shapiro, Chief Strategy Officer, Turner; Trey Turner, Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance / Mergers and Acquisitions, Turner; Hong and other Turner executives on the company’s evolving audience-first and direct-to-consumer strategies.
“Dave is the original visionary behind the creation of Bleacher Report and has played the most influential role in growing it into the leading media property it is today,” said Hong. “There is nobody better to lead Bleacher Report into its next chapter of growth and extend the brand into new adjacencies. We’re privileged and honored to have him return to Turner in a full-time capacity, and we’re also excited to leverage his expertise across additional parts of our company’s portfolio. As Turner continues to extend its reach outside of traditional TV, his perspective, experience and input will be invaluable.”
As one of its original founders, Finocchio launched Bleacher Report in 2008 and he has played a key role in leading a period of rapid expansion for the business. Today, Bleacher Report sees more engagement across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram than any other publisher in the U.S. The company has also established a strong footprint in mobile. In 2015, Bleacher Report’s top-rated Team Stream app averaged 230 minutes of consumption per unique each month, #1 among all sports apps reaching Men 18-34.
Credit to Turner who originally provided this press release
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
Bill Belichick Co-Hosting ‘The Pat McAfee Show Draft Spectacular’ Next Thursday
“It’ll be fun to be in Detroit, be with you guys and get your expertise.”
Published
2 mins agoon
April 17, 2024By
BSM StaffFormer New England Patriots general manager and head coach Bill Belichick will join The Pat McAfee Show for its Draft Spectacular simulcast taking place next Thursday. The fifth annual edition of the broadcast will take place live from the NFL Draft in Detroit, Mich. and feature Belichick, appearing on the show to provide his insights and analysis surrounding the draft selections.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Belichick said. “Draft day; draft weekend is always an exciting time for everybody – for the teams that are building their teams and for the fans and for everybody involved in it – so it’s a great event and I’m looking forward to seeing it from the other side. It’ll be fun to be in Detroit, be with you guys and get your expertise.”
Earlier on Wednesday, ESPN reporters Don Van Natta Jr., Seth Wickersham and Jeremy Fowler released an article detailing how Belichick was unable to land a head coaching job after he and the Patriots officially parted ways. Belichick is third on the all-time wins list among NFL head coaches and helped the Patriots attain six Super Bowl championships over his 24-year tenure with the organization. The report also divulged that Belichick is expected to sign a deal with Omaha Productions to provide analysis and is interested in potentially coaching either the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles or New York Giants.
Within his interview with The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday, Belichick discussed how teams go about preparing for the NFL Draft and the strategy behind the process. Ahead of the broadcast next week, he is watching film to get ready for the broadcast, which will air live on ESPN+, the ESPN App, YouTube and TikTok next Thursday starting at 8 p.m. EST.
Coverage of the 2024 NFL Draft on ESPN and ABC will include several network hosts, analysts, reporters and insiders including Mike Greenberg, Rece Davis, Laura Rutledge, Kirk Herbstreit, Adam Schefter, Mel Kiper Jr., Molly McGrath and Field Yates. Former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban will also make his debut on College GameDay on ESPN and the ABC broadcast of the NFL Draft. ESPN and ABC will present NFL Draft broadcasts on Thursday at 8 p.m. EST and Friday at 7 p.m. EST, which will span the first three rounds of the event. The final four rounds taking place on Saturday will include the ABC broadcast team on ESPN.
Sports TV News
Pat McAfee to Caitlin Clark: “Can’t Wait to See Where Women’s Basketball Goes”
“I feel like I always had super big goals and dreams and aspirations, but at the same time, this is a place that women’s basketball has really never been before, so no, I never really imagined it on this magnitude.”
Published
3 hours agoon
April 17, 2024By
BSM StaffThe 2024 WNBA Draft on ESPN attained record levels of viewership, amassing an average audience of 2.45 million viewers for this edition of the event. Iowa guard Caitlin Clark was selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever, a selection that will see her team with last year’s first-overall pick Aliyah Boston to try and lead the organization to a league championship. Following an opening press conference from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. on Wednesday morning, Clark made an in-studio appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN where they discussed her time on the Iowa Hawkeyes and her transition from the NCAA to the WNBA.
Clark, the all-time scoring leader for NCAA Division I Basketball, led Iowa to a second-consecutive National Championship Game. Viewership for the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament broke several records, including averaging 18.1 million viewers during the championship game between Iowa and South Carolina. Clark responded to a question about whether the outcome playing out was how she envisioned her college career and transition to the WNBA concluding.
“I feel like I always had super big goals and dreams and aspirations, but at the same time, this is a place that women’s basketball has really never been before, so no, I never really imagined it on this magnitude,” Clark said. “But also I’ve always been a supporter of women’s basketball; it’s always been something I’ve loved ever since a young age.”
Clark explained that she was hoping the Indiana Fever would win the WNBA Draft Lottery to gain the first overall selection in the WNBA Draft. She is excited to remain in the midwest and learn from her teammates, coaches and alumni, including Hall of Fame forward and former league MVP Tamika Catchings. Through it all, she will try to remain grounded and focus on making meaningful contributions to the Fever and league as a whole.
“I think where the magnitude of everything’s gone, I feel like I’ve tried to stay right in the middle,” Clark said. “One of the best pieces of advice that somebody gave me is like, ‘At the level you feel all the praise, that’s the same level you’ll feel all the hate,’ so I try to stay right in the middle. It doesn’t really bother me – I think it’s just what comes with it, and growing up, my mom always said, ‘People want to see you fail.’ That’s just kind of how our world is, which is really sad, but at the same time, I don’t think about that type of stuff.”
Show host Pat McAfee expressed that women’s college basketball has been phenomenal to watch over the last several years with the talent and storylines therein. In discussing the growth of the game, he wanted to know whether Clark perceived there to be an onus on her to bring women’s basketball to another level. Viewership of the WNBA last season reached over 36 million viewers across all national networks and was up 21% year-over-year. Moreover, the WNBA Finals on ESPN between the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty averaged 728,000 viewers, marking the most-watched edition of the league championship in 20 years.
“I don’t feel like any pressure to take it to a place it’s never been before,” Clark responded. “I think that’s just going to happen with the way we’re on TV more; with the way people are following from the college game to the WNBA.”
At the conclusion of the interview, McAfee hit a long-distance shot from the stage of his set to give away four season tickets to the Indiana Fever. The team plays its first game on Tuesday, May 14 against the Connecticut Sun, which will be televised on ESPN2 at 7:30 p.m. EST. Thirty-six of the 40 Indiana Fever games will be broadcast by a national television platform, including eight on linear channels owned by The Walt Disney Company (ESPN, ABC, ESPN2).
“Caitlin, I just want to let you know we’ve all been incredibly lucky to kind of watch this all take place,” McAfee said. “Can’t wait to see what you do at the W, can’t wait to see where women’s basketball goes, and thank you for getting somebody like me into the sport because it is an awesome, awesome sport, and the future is only bright, especially in this city.”
Sports TV News
NFL Media Announces 2024 NFL Draft Coverage
NFL Network will be on-site from the NFL Draft for the 18th year.
Published
6 hours agoon
April 17, 2024By
BSM StaffThe NFL Media portfolio of properties – including NFL Network, NFL Films, NFL.com, NFL+, the NFL App, NFL RedZone and the NFL Channel – will be covering the 2024 NFL Draft with over 60 hours of live coverage during draft week beginning on Sunday, April 21. NFL Network will be on-site from the NFL Draft for the 18th year, beginning its coverage on Sunday with NFL Mock Draft Live at 8 p.m. EST. A full first-round mock draft will commence on the show with on-air personalities Colleen Wolfe, Daniel Jeremiah, Bucky Brooks and Rhett Lewis. Additional NFL Network talent will join the program to complete the mock draft exercise. Jeremiah will reveal his final mock draft on Wednesday, April 24 at 8 p.m. EST alongside Charles Davis and Colleen Wolfe.
The next day, NFL Network will begin airing Path to the Draft at 6 p.m., which will be hosted by Rhett Lewis and Patrick Claybon and air through Wednesday. The show will include the latest news and analysis pertaining to the draft with analysts Bucky Brooks, Lance Zierlein, Scott Pioli, Brian Baldinger and Marc Ross. NFL Network insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero and analytics expert Cynthia Frelund are also slated to be part of the show to contribute to the overall coverage. Nightly editions of NFL Total Access will follow at 7 p.m. EST and air through Wednesday as well at the same time. From Thursday to Sunday, the show will air following coverage of the NFL Draft and conclude with a special recapping the draft on Sunday, April 28 at 8:30 p.m. EST.
NFL Network will also air a one-hour edition of The Insiders on Tuesday, April 23 at 1 p.m. EST featuring Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo, Tom Pelissero and Judy Battista. Various NFL Network reporters will also join the program to take part in the discussion. Several NFL Network reporters will be situated surrounding several teams with top selections this year leading up to the NFL Draft as well, including Judy Battista (New York Giants), Sherree Burruss (Washington Commanders) and Stacey Dales (Chicago Bears). Additionally, NFL 360: Draft Special will premiere on NFL Network later that day at 8:30 p.m. EST, which will shed light on stories surrounding several potential draftees, some of whom include former UCLA defensive lineman Laiatu Latu and former Penn State defensive end Adisa Isaac.
NFL Network begins live coverage of the 2024 NFL Draft ahead of the first round on Thursday with Good Morning Football at 7 a.m. EST. The program, which recently aired its final episode from New York City ahead of its move to Los Angeles, will include several NFL Network personalities, including Jane Slater, Jason McCourty, Peter Schrager, Kyle Brandt and Tom Pelissero.
Starting at 1 p.m. EST, NFL Draft Kickoff will take the air and feature discussion and insights about the forthcoming draft selections. Viewers will also be able to hear from the draftees live from the red carpet as they are interviewed by reporter Kaylee Hartung and former NFL quarterback Cam Newton. The show will be hosted by Mike Garafolo, Chris Rose and Colleen Wolfe and feature analysts Kurt Warner, Steve Smith Sr. and David Carr.
Once the first round of the NFL Draft begins at 8 p.m. EST, live breakdowns and analysis will follow each pick from exterior and interior sets. Situated at the exterior set will be host Rich Eisen, who is the longest-tenured current draft host, along with analyst Daniel Jeremiah. Additionally, CBS Sports broadcaster Charles Davis and FOX Sports broadcaster Joel Klatt will be part of the coverage to provide their opinions on the selections. The interior set will include NFL Network analyst and former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner, along with NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport. Kaylee Hartung will interview the draftees on stage after they are selected on Thursday.
The NFL Channel will also air coverage of the Draft at 8 p.m. EST with NFL Draft Center featuring Rhett Lewis, Bucky Brooks and Lance Zierlein. Cynthia Frelund and MIke Yam will join Brooks and Zierlein for this coverage on Saturday at 12 p.m. EST. Consumers can watch the NFL Channel utilizing the NFL App and other OTT streaming platforms and FAST services such as Peacock, Pluto TV and Tubi. SiriusXM NFL Radio and ESPN Radio will have live NFL Draft coverage through all seven rounds, and Westwood One will be on the air for the first round on Thursday as well.
Eisen’s annual 40-yard dash, titled “Run Rich Run,” will occur on Saturday, April 27 during NFL Network coverage of Rounds 4-7 of the NFL Draft. The 20th edition of the run, which raises awareness and support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, will include patient ambassadors at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. Former Los Angeles Rams Andrew Whitworth and Todd Gurley are also scheduled to join Eisen for the annual tradition as well.