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Hollywood Reporter: Which Channels Will Be Victims Of Streaming Sports?

“The website used NBCSN’s 80 million subscribers as the threshold for what networks could be faced with uncertain futures.”

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NBCSN will be no more by the end of the year. Live sports and studio shows are a major part of the strategy to differentiate Peacock from other OTT services in what has become a crowded marketplace. On Wednesday, The Hollywood Reporter asked what other sports cable networks may soon shudder their linear operations.

HBO Max and ESPN+ are both going to stream games as part of their parent companies’ deals with the NHL. CBS won the TV rights to CONCACAF tournaments, but seems more focused on putting those soccer matches on Paramount+ than on CBS Sports Network. It makes sense then that The Hollywood Reporter is thinking this way.

The website used NBCSN’s 80 million subscribers as the threshold for what networks could be faced with uncertain futures. ESPNEWS and Big Ten Network both fall short of the mark with 62 million subscribers and 57 million subscribers respectively. The chart also highlighted Discovery’s Destination America which doesn’t even have 50 million subscribers. It has carried professional wrestling in the past, but is not a true sports network.

'On the Bubble' chart showing major cable channels carriage deals

It isn’t hard to imagine that Big Ten Network would go away anytime soon. FOX has not put a focus on creating a streaming platform for sports the way it has for news content. Plus, conference networks are a status symbol of the bond between the most powerful college sports properties and the TV networks they are partnered with.

ESPNEWS would seem like a possible candidate for extinction. The network’s programming could easily be folded into ESPN+ especially as more and more replays tend to populate its dayparts.

The Hollywood Reporter also quotes Pete Bevacqua, NBC Sports Chairman, on what shutting down NBCSN and moving more live games to USA Network would do for that outlet, saying that sports could make it “an extraordinarily powerful platform in the media marketplace.”

That could be another key to some smaller sports networks leaving the cable landscape. Moving live games to company’s largest cable outlets could be a better play for generating revenue.

Right now, no other studios have announced plans to shut down their sports networks, but at some point it is likely. The focus on streaming rights and the abundance of games that can fit on a streaming service as opposed to linear television will make it cost-effective to move sports to those OTT services exclusively.

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Final ‘Good Morning Football’ Episode from New York Studio Airs Before Hiatus, Move to LA

After today, ‘Good Morning Football’ will take a brief hiatus, then move to LA. But outside of host Jamie Erdahl, who else will join the show on the West Coast?

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Good Morning Football

Today marks the last Good Morning Football episode to air from its New York studios on NFL Network. After today, the show will take a brief hiatus, then move across the country to Los Angeles. But which of the shows beloved cast members will move along with it?

We already know host Jamie Erdahl will be there once she gives birth to her child. The newest GMFB show member gave an emotional send-off to the show’s New York studios before announcing she was headed for maternity leave and would see everyone in LA.

Host Kyle Brandt delivered this message late last night, saying that viewers should tune in to he and his colleagues and that “he has a lot to say.”

Earlier this week, however, host Peter Schrager delivered his own goodbye message — one that may sound like a man who’s not ready to move his family across the country at a moment’s notice:

However, no hosts outside of Erdahl have given confirmation that they’re either staying or going.

The NFL’s move to take the show from New York to Los Angeles has been widely criticized by fans and media members alike. Bill Simmons wondered if the move wouldn’t spell just the end of GMFB but the NFL Network as a whole. It has some wondering if this is the end of football’s best show.

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ESPN Coverage of Men’s NIT Tournament Quarterfinals Up 33% vs. 2023

Viewership of the Men’s NIT Quarterfinals on ESPN were up 33 percent compared to last year and featured two games that averaged over one million viewers.

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Even the NIT is riding the recent hot streak of live sports viewership numbers. According to data provided by ESPN, the 2024 NIT Quarterfinals are up 33 percent compared to last year’s tournament. Perhaps more surprisingly, two NIT quarterfinal games topped one million viewers.

The network’s Georgia/Ohio State matchup averaged 1.03 million viewers, while the Cincinnati/Indiana State contest averaged 1.02 million viewers. These two games were the most-watched NIT games since 2017 — including title games. Both Georgia and Ohio State have rabid fanbases, while many thought Indiana State was unjustly left out of the March Madness tournament, which could be a reason why viewers tuned in.

Much of the focus this season has been on the women’s game, thanks to Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks, led by Dawn Staley. ESPN just had its most-watched women’s college basketball season since 2008-09 because of the increased interest in the women’s game. The men’s game, however, hasn’t been heralded as much this season for whatever reason, mostly because numbers seem to be holding steady compared to previous years. However, if the NIT is posting viewership wins, that should bode well for the NCAA Tournament’s incoming viewership totals.

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Report: NFL to Put Christmas Day Doubleheader Up For Bids

Bidding is expected to start at $50 million among the current NFL media partners but some think the games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

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The NFL will reportedly put its Christmas Day games up for auction, allowing its current media partners to bid for the games. Now, it’s up to CBS, FOX, ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video to pay up for rights to one of these two marquee games.

According to Front Office Sports Michael McCarthy, preference will be given to linear networks, so Prime Video and Peacock may sit this one out. Bidding is expected to start at $50 million but McCarthy and his sources expect that number to rise. John Kosner, the former ESPN executive, thinks the new Christmas Day games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

The NFL announced a Wednesday Christmas Day doubleheader during its annual league meetings. The league originally said it wouldn’t force games on Christmas Day if the holiday fell on an odd day of the week, though as the NFL continues to put games on days outside of Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays, and sometimes Saturdays, we’re running out of days that don’t feature NFL football.

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