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Tag: NBC Sports

  • NBC Sports & Yahoo expand digital sports alliance

    NBC Sports & Yahoo expand digital sports alliance

    MUMBAI: Yahoo! Inc and NBC Sports Group have renewed their multi-faceted partnership that combines the content and experiences of Yahoo Sports, including its fantasy sports product, with NBC Sports Digital’s video assets and promotional power.

     

    This expanded partnership brings even more content to Yahoo/NBC Sports viewers, including Premier League highlights, NBC Sports Regional Network team reports, and Golf Channel content. It also extends the reach of the digital and on-air experiences beyond desktop to mobile and Tumblr.

     

    Yahoo Sports and NBC Sports Digital will continue to collaborate on premium sports news and events coverage both online and on-air on NBC, NBCSN, Golf Channel, NBC Sports Regional Networks, NBCSports.com and Yahoo, while maintaining separate sites and editorial control of their respective newsrooms and digital properties.

     

    “Yahoo has been a great partner, and we are pleased to extend this very complementary alliance that will now include Golf Channel,” said NBC Sports Group SVP and GM – digital media Rick Cordella. “This partnership extends the digital reach of both sides, and allows us to collaborate on the creation of widely-consumed, cross-platform content, particularly around short-form video and fantasy sports.”

     

    “We’re thrilled to not only continue our relationship with NBC Sports, but also to expand the partnership as we work to bring more premium digital sports content to our users. The addition of the Premier League and Golf Channel complements the current lineup, and we’re excited to extend the reach of NBC Sports content to Yahoo’s mobile and Tumblr users,” added Yahoo SVP of corporate development and partnerships Ian Weingarten.

     

    Additional features of the alliance include Live Sports, Rotoworld + Yahoo Fantasy, Golf Channel, NBC Sports Regional Networks and Fantasy Football Live.

     

    Yahoo Sports and NBC Sports will continue to partner to provide scalable advertising solutions to reach engaged audiences through distinctive opportunities and sponsorships. In addition, Rotoworld.com will integrate with Yahoo Gemini for access to native advertising technology.

  • NBC Sports launches documentary films division

    NBC Sports launches documentary films division

    MUMBAI: NBC Sports Group has launched a new initiative – NBC Sports Films, which will leverage NBC Olympics’ storytelling heritage and personnel to produce sports documentaries that will air across NBC Sports Group’s multiple platforms.

     

    NBC Sports Films will annually produce multiple long-form projects to be presented across NBC, NBCSN, NBC Sports Regional Networks and NBC Sports Digital.

     

    NBC Sports Films’ first project, Center of Attention: The Unreal Life of Derek Sanderson, a one-hour documentary that chronicles the remarkable life of former NHL star and two-time Stanley Cup Champion Derek Sanderson, will premiere on NBCSN on 8 June, following Game 3 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final.

     

    “Storytelling has always been a prominent component of NBC Sports’ coverage of signature events. We are excited to expand those efforts and further serve our audience by providing additional long-form content across all NBC Sports Group platforms. Our debut film, Center of Attention, is a compelling portrait of the extraordinary life of Derek Sanderson, who has lived the highest of highs and the most challenging lows a life in the spotlight can produce,” said NBC Sports Group senior vice president, original productions and creative Mark Levy.

     

    Narrated by Boston native, Primetime Emmy Award-nominee and star of Mad Men John Slattery, Center of Attention follows Sanderson’s journey from humble beginnings, to becoming the highest paid athlete of his time, only to eventually end up homeless, broke and addicted to drugs and alcohol. Through interviews with former teammates, coaches, friends, rivals, and Sanderson himself, viewers get an inside look into his eccentric and reckless life that ultimately features a fourth act fitting of a Hollywood screenplay, as Sanderson is able to get clean and become a respected financial adviser for top athletes.

     

    In his book Crossing The Line, Sanderson said of his life, “In the span of an extraordinary life, I made the National Hockey League, won two Stanley Cup championships, became a trendsetter, gained celebrity status, became a millionaire, descended into addiction, was homeless, almost died, asked for salvation, kicked booze, drugs and cigarettes, climbed back from the wreckage, met an amazing woman who gave us two great sons, taught kids about the evils of addiction, was a broadcaster and now advise athletes about their finances. That’s a lot to pack into one life!”

     

    Center of Attention features interviews with eight members of the Hockey Hall of Fame, including Sanderson’s teammates Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Rod Gilbert, Gerry Cheevers Brad Park, Bernie Parent and coaches Harry Sinden and Emile Francis.

  • ESPN, Turner in talks to exit NASCAR early

    ESPN, Turner in talks to exit NASCAR early

    MUMBAI: ESPN and Turner Sports are talking with NASCAR about getting out of their broadcast rights agreement a year early, a move that could allow Fox Sports and NBC Sports Group to become the sport’s broadcasters next year.

     

    It’s unlikely that the four TV companies will be able to reach a deal, sources say. But the fact that these types of talks are occurring is precedent-setting in an industry where live sports rights are held sacred. For at least the past decade, no rights holder has exited a major media agreement with a property early.

     

    ESPN and Turner executives told the series that they are interested in forgoing the final year of their contract. Fox and NBC executives told NASCAR that they are interested in picking up those rights. And sources say NASCAR executives are open to the switch.

     

    But any deal faces significant hurdles. Sources said it would have to be a complete switch, not a partial one in which Turner exits its six Sprint Cup races or ESPN exits part of its Nationwide Series season. That means it would require an agreement between four competitors – ESPN, Turner, Fox and NBC – and one property, which would be difficult to structure.

     

    ESPN and Turner Sports have told NASCAR they are prepared to carry the races next year, but both would prefer avoiding that lame-duck status. Both opted not to submit final bids to retain NASCAR rights when the sport held TV negotiations last month, and they see upside in exiting their deals a year early.

     

    ESPN has had financial pressures in some areas over the last year, causing it to lay off staff and look for ways to reduce expenses. By unloading NASCAR rights in 2014, ESPN would be able to eliminate production costs and shed its roughly $270 million annual rights fee.

     

    NASCAR-related production costs are a concern for ESPN executives, particularly during the first half of the season when ESPN has rights only to the Nationwide Series.

     

    The talks won’t change NASCAR’s long-term TV picture. Between 2015 and 2024, NASCAR will collect more than $8.2 billion in media rights from Fox and NBC, which signed 10-year, $3.8 billion and $4.4 billion deals, respectively. The networks together will pay an average of $820 million a year, a 46 percent increase from the $560 million that NASCAR currently receives annually from Fox, Turner Sports and ESPN.

  • Kentucky Derby draws 14.8 mn viewers on NBC Sports

    MUMBAI: NBC Sports‘ coverage of Saturday‘s Kentucky Derby drew 14.8 million viewers, the third most-watched Kentucky Derby in 23 years, and up two per cent from last year‘s Derby, according to official national data provided today by The Nielsen Company.

    The household rating of 9.0/20 is up six per cent from last year‘s race. Since implementing NBC Sports‘ ‘Big Event Strategy,‘ the last four Kentucky Derby races have all recorded at least 14.5 million viewers.

    NBC Sports‘ coverage of the Kentucky Derby over the last 12 years averages more than 2 million more viewers than the previous 12 Kentucky Derby broadcasts on ABC (14.1 million vs.12.0 million, up 17 per cent).

    Saturday‘s race won by I‘ll Have Another is up two per cent from last year‘s 14.5 million, making it the third most-watched Kentucky Derby since 1989 when Sunday Silence won the Derby (18.5 million). The household rating of 9.0/20 is up six per cent from last year‘s race (8.5/19).

    The Kentucky Derby once again proved to be very popular with female viewers. In fact, 51 per cent of Derby viewers 18+ were women, making it the only annual sporting event that draws more female than male viewers.

  • Turner appoints Jeff Zucker as CNN Worldwide prez

    Turner appoints Jeff Zucker as CNN Worldwide prez

    MUMBAI: Turner Broadcasting System has appointed Jeff Zucker as the president of its multi-platform global news enterprise CNN Worldwide. Zucker will report to Turner Broadcasting System chairman and CEO Phil Kent and will be based at CNN in New York.

    In January 2013, Zucker will assume executive oversight of a portfolio of 23 branded news and information businesses that includes CNN/US, CNN International, CNN.com and HLN and reaches to over two billion people in some 200 countries around the world.

    Zucker takes charge at a time when CNN is facing challenges in the American market, trailing behind Fox and MSNBC. CNN has followed a neutral policy while Fox and MSNBC have a confrontational approach through their talk shows.

    He started his 25-year career with NBC as a researcher for NBC Sports‘ coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympic Games and rose to president and chief executive officer of NBC Universal.

    He was named executive producer of ‘Today‘ in January 1992; under his eight-year leadership, the program was the most-watched morning news show and the most profitable program on television. Zucker went on to executive-produce NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw and the network‘s coverage of the Persian Gulf War, the 1993 and 1997 presidential inaugurations and the 2000 elections.

           

    He was promoted to president of NBC Entertainment, president of the NBC Entertainment, News & Cable group and president and CEO of the NBC Universal Television Group. Currently, Zucker is executive producer of the syndicated daytime show Katie.

    “Jeff‘s experience as a news executive is unmatched for its breadth and success,” said Kent. “He built and sustained the number-one brand in morning news, and under his watch NBC‘s signature news programming set a standard for quality and professionalism. As a programmer, a brand-builder and a leader, he will bring energy and new thinking to CNN. I couldn‘t be happier to welcome him or more excited about what he‘ll accomplish here.”

    “I am thrilled to join the distinguished team of journalists across the worldwide platforms of CNN,” said Zucker. “The global reach and scale of the CNN brand is unparalleled in all of news. Outside of my family and the Miami Dolphins, there is nothing I am as passionate about as journalism. I spent the most rewarding years of my career as a journalist, and it‘s where I look forward to spending many more. I am grateful to Phil Kent for this opportunity, and I‘m excited to return to daily newsgathering and compelling storytelling in a place that values those above all else.”

    The original 24-hour news network CNN has the greatest reach of any domestic news network. The CNN brand on television extends to 100 million households in the U.S. and 265 million households abroad, with significant online and mobile reach and a global newsgathering network with 45 locations.

    CNN signatures include Anderson Cooper 360, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, Piers Morgan Tonight, State of the Union, Amanpour and Quest Means Business, as well as award-winning documentaries, unrivaled breaking news coverage and peerless political reporting.