- The NBA’s television partners are standing by the league in the wake of the Tim Donaghy scandal. While officials at Turner and Disney were not told about the FBI investigation into Donaghy before signing a new eight-year television contract with the NBA, ESPN’s John Skipper says he believes “the N.B.A. acted in good faith. … We don?t expect this to have a material impact on our agreement.” A Turner spokesman echoed those sentiments, but in less glowing terms.
- Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that the Miami Heat will play the Cleveland Cavaliers on Christmas Day, one of two games ABC will air that day. Expect the other game to be either Phoenix/San Antonio or Seattle/Portland. It appears as if the NBA will pass on airing three games on ABC that day, an interesting decision considering that Christmas Day games are typically the highest rated of the regular season — and one would imagine that the more highly rated games on ABC, the better.
- ESPN will add a new feature to its NASCAR broadcasts starting this Sunday. ‘Draft Track’ will “allow NASCAR fans to see the air when they watch ESPN?s coverage of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and NASCAR Busch Series. … viewers will see air flowing over and behind race cars as they speed around the track, whether there is one car or a multi-car pack on the television screen.”
Link to Miami Herald article found via The Fanhouse.
