Sports Media Watch

The new ESPN Monday Night Football television broadcast crew, from left Tony Kornheiser, Mike Tirico and Joe Theismann pose for a ESPN photographer before the Oakland Raiders-Minnesota Vikings game Monday, Aug. 14, 2006 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Monday Musings: The More Things Change

More Headlines

News: Skydance, Sinclair, Dianna Russini and more

2 days ago

Skydance will remain disciplined regarding future sports rights; Sinclair president/CEO Chris Ripley discusses the SBA's antitrust provision; and Dianna Russini...

Bristol, CT - October 9, 2026: College Football Playoff signage on the ESPN Main Campus.
(Photo by Gerald Leong / ESPN Images)

CFP officially expanding to 24 teams with new ESPN deal

2 days ago

The College Football Playoff is officially expanding to 24 teams after reaching a new deal with ESPN, setting the sport...

Courtesy: Derek Futterman, Sports Media Watch

Mike Tirico will miss “SNF” this week; Noah Eagle to fill-in

4 days ago

"Sunday Night Football" will feature a different sound this week. Lead NBC NFL play-by-play voice Mike Tirico will miss Sunday's...

Southern California tight end Mark Bowman, top, hurdles Ohio State safety Jaylen McClain, right, during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Florida-Georgia, OSU-USC, top light week nine in college football

5 days ago

One of the oldest SEC rivalries and newest Big Ten matchups topped the college football charts in week nine of...

NFL enjoying multiple viewership milestones at eight-week mark

NFL regular season viewership is back trending at what officially counts as a record pace. NFL game windows were averaging...

SNY ends two weekday studio programs

SportsNet New York, the television home of the New York Mets and New York Jets, canceled its daily "SportsNite" and...

Abraham Ancer of Torque GC hits his shot from the 12th tee during the third round of the LIV Golf Adelaide at Grange Golf Club on Saturday, February 14, 2026 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/LIV Golf)

News: LIV Golf, Nexstar, Formula One and more

LIV Golf is winding down its operations; Nexstar will look at marquee sports rights; and Stefano Domenicali expects Apple to...

Fox Corporation closes quick acquisition of Roku

Fox Corporation has closed its $22 billion acquisition of Roku, broadening its streaming portfolio and providing another potential outlet for...

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) falls while defending Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the second half of an NBA Cup basketball game, Saturday, Oct. 30, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Justine Willard)

NBA viewership trending at high through first two weeks

7 days ago

The second season of the new NBA media rights deal is thus far off to an even better start than...

Golden State Valkyries guard-forward Kaila Charles (6) during Game 3 of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Dallas Wings, Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

WNBA has most-watched playoffs since inaugural season

Capped by the first Game 7 in its history, the WNBA had its most-watched postseason since its inaugural year. The...

SMW Podcast

CBS Sports' Evan Washburn joins the pod; plus: looking back at the past 20 years in sports media

0:000:00

Nielsen has reprocessed the viewership for NBC’s four NFL games from Week 1-3 of the season. The Patriots-Seahawks Kickoff Game has been updated to 25.2 million, up from an originally-reported 25.1 million. The Week 1 Cowboys-Giants “Sunday Night Football” game has been updated to 25.82 million, up from 25.66 million. Colts-Chiefs the following week has been updated to 24.43 million, up from 24.29 million. Finally, Rams-Broncos in Week 3 has been updated to 20.96 million, up from 20.77 million.

More Features

San Antonio, TX - June 5, 2026 - Frost Bank Center: Ernie Johnson on Inside the NBA ahead of game two of the 2026 NBA Finals.
(Photo by Ben Solomon / ESPN Images)

It’s time for Dodger baseball: How SportsNet LA covers baseball’s preeminent team

On the Air: Do altcasts like the ManningCast still matter?

Solid, unspectacular debut for Nantz and Watt

3F8626M Luke Kuechly, a Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 inductee, meets with members of the 910th Airlift Wing from Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio, during the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, on August 6, 2026.

On the Air: Kuechly keeps it simple in Netflix debut

Big Names

MLB Network to continue airing “Intentional Talk”

The Golden State Valkyries celebrate their win over the Atlanta Dream in Game 7 of the WNBA basketball finals on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

Peacock

WNBA Finals Game 7 among league’s most-watched games

Big Names

News: Fox Corporation, Versant, MLB and more

Washington, DC - September 19, 2026 - ABC News Bureau: Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon on the set of Pardon the Interruption.
(Photo by Brien Aho / ESPN Images)

Broadcasters

Michael Wilbon taking leave of absence from “PTI” due to health issues

Atlanta Dream's Allisha Gray (15) reacts during the second half of Game 6 of the WNBA basketball finals against the Golden State Valkyries on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Ratings

Weekday matinee WNBA Finals Game 6 audience on par with primetime games

2 weeks ago

The Milwaukee Brewers celebrate after winning baseball's World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

FOX

MLB Postseason viewership hurt by World Series, but still on the high side