And now, some of the most interesting stories of sports media 2007.
Dan Patrick traded for Rick Reilly. Technically, it was not a trade. However, the move of iconic ESPN personality Dan Patrick to Sports Illustrated, and the subsequent move of SI writer Rick Reilly to ESPN, was arguably the most intriguing sports media story of the year.
It began with a rumor in late June that Patrick would replace Bob Barker on The Price is Right. Though Patrick quickly debunked that rumor, he did tell the listeners of his ESPN Radio show that he had a “big announcement” to make about his career. Days later, Patrick announced that he was leaving ESPN.
After that announcement, Patrick reached an agreement to have his radio show syndicated through The Content Factory. Months later, in a partnership between The Content Factory and Sports Illustrated, Patrick signed a multi platform deal with SI to write a weekly column for the magazine and contribute to SI.com.
The day after Patrick signed the deal with Sports Illustrated, rumors began to swirl that writer Rick Reilly was leaving the magazine. Within days, Reilly joined ESPN as a writer for ESPN the Magazine and an essayist on SportsCenter.
Reilly leaving SI so quickly after Patrick joined seemed slightly fishy. And when Patrick went on the Boomer Esiason Show in November, it appeared as if the two may not be the best of friends. In response to Reilly saying Patrick’s departure from ESPN was “the worst career move ever made“, Patrick told Esiason “[Reilly] doesn’t know the inner workings because I don’t talk about the money. He talks about money. There’s a big difference. If he knew the inner workings, then Rick would probably rewrite what he said.” As if that were not cold enough, Patrick also took also took a swipe at Reilly’s television ability, or lack thereof. “Rick’s gonna go do TV, and this is something he doesn’t do well … people want to make this into a swap. Rick can’t host SportsCenter. He can’t do the NBA.“
Patrick starts writing for SI in January. Reilly begins working for ESPN in June.
Baseball v. ESPN. The partnership between the Worldwide Leader in Sports and America’s pastime has always been tenuous. ESPN and Major League Baseball were involved in a nasty legal dispute in 1999, and came to blows again — twice — in 2007.
In July, ESPN broadcast the line-ups for the MLB All Star Game before TBS — which had exclusive rights to the announcement — had the opportunity to do so. In response, MLB severely limited ESPN’s access at the game, preventing the network from conducting its studio shows from the site.
While relatively minor, such a controversy is a good indication of just how strained the relationship between MLB and ESPN has been. In October, both parties served up another reminder of that fact, when MLB threatened to ban ESPN from the playoffs because the network refused to promote games on FOX and TBS.
ESPN’s policy is to not promote games on other networks, or accept advertising promoting games on other networks, unless such a requirement is stipulated in a contract. Because MLB did not put such a requirement in its contract with FOX, TBS and ESPN, ESPN had no obligation. That did not stop MLB, however, and ESPN went out of its way to make sure viewers knew playoff games were airing on FOX and TBS, throughout the postseason.
NFL Network. A tumultuous year for the NFL Network came to an end with 34.5 million viewers watching the Patriots defeat the Giants on Saturday Night Football. Unfortunately for the NFL, most of those viewers were not watching the telecast on NFL Network.
The NFL Network is embroiled in an increasingly nasty battle with cable operators. This year, the league went as far as to ask cable subscribers to cancel their service from operators that did not carry NFL Network on a basic cable tier. The bully tactics did not work, and the NFL found itself with a slate of marquee games airing on a network few could access.
The network aired two huge games in particular. The first, Cowboys/Packers, was a battle of storied teams, both of which were 10-1 at the time. The game drew a 5.6 national rating with 10.1 million viewers, the highest rated, most watched NFL Network telecast ever. While there was outrage from fans unable to see the game, the furor was not anywhere close as it would be in late December, when a 15-0 Patriots team would go for an undefeated season on the network.
Patriots/Giants had been scheduled on NFL Network from the start of the season, and one imagines nobody conceived of the game being potentially historic. The league found itself facing a PR disaster if most of America was unable to see the game, and also saw increasing pressure from Washington. Senator John Kerry threatened to drag the NFL into Senate hearings if Patriots/Giants did not air nationally on NBC, and Senators Arlen Specter and Patrick Leahy threatened to look into the league’s anti-trust exemption.
Under pressure, the NFL caved in and simulcast the game on CBS and NBC. The game drew 34.5 million viewers on the three networks, making it the most watched NFL game in twelve years. While the league can consider that a win, there is no question the NFL Network has been set back significantly in its battle with cable.
NHL back on ESPN? The National Hockey league has toiled in relative obscurity in the past two years, and being absent from ESPN has certainly not helped matters. Ratings for games on Versus have sunk to record lows; Game 2 of the 2007 Finals on Versus drew fewer viewers than a Mama’s Family re-run on Ion.
With that in mind, it makes sense the NHL would want back on ESPN. In July, the Sports Business Journal reported the league and ESPN were in “conversations … at the highest level” to bring NHL games back to ESPN and ESPN2 for next season. ESPN could replace NBC (which would depend on NBC not picking up its option for next season) or partner with Versus on the cable side (which would require Versus waiving its exclusivity clause).
In late September, SportsCenter anchor John Buccigross wrote in an online column that he “would say yes” to speculation that ESPN would begin airing NHL games again. “NHL players want it, the NHL wants it and ESPN wants it. NBC and Versus somewhat holds the cards however, so we will have to wait and see; but my guess is yes. ESPN will have a piece of the pie.” That statement was quickly removed from Buccigross’ column.
Recently, the head of the NHL Players Association, Paul Kelly, had strong words recommending Bettman do everything in his power to get the NHL back on ESPN. “We need something in addition to Versus. … They don’t promote, they don’t advertise, they don’t bring to the table what an ESPN or a Fox Sports on a national level could bring. … Not only do we need an ESPN, I think ESPN needs us. I mean, I’ve seen some of their programming. They have holes in their schedule that would be ideally suited for the quality sport that we provide.”
William Houston of the Toronto Globe and Mail suggested that the NHL could split the television contract between NBC, ESPN and Versus, and possibly structure the Stanley Cup Finals so Games 1, 2 and 3 are on Versus, Games 4 and 5 are on ESPN, and Games 6 and 7 are on NBC.
Best wishes. The year 2007 ended with a spate of bad news surrounding several big name announcers.
In late July, former ESPN anchor and current Good Morning America co-host Robin Roberts was diagnosed with breast cancer. In the following months, Roberts has shared her story on GMA, and she recently told viewers “I am heading off to my sixth chemotherapy treatment. After this one I will only have two left to go!”
In November, ESPN anchor Stuart Scott fell ill prior to a Dolphins/Steelers Monday Night Football broadcast. Scott had an emergency appendectomy and was then off the air for nearly a full month. In mid-December, Scott revealed that the reason for his extended absence was a malignancy doctors discovered during the procedure; while “[d]octors treating Scott are confident any cancerous tissue was removed,” Scott will undergo preventative chemotherapy this winter.
The day before Scott announced his health situation, FOX Major League Baseball studio host Jeanne Zelasko discovered she has a form of thyroid cancer. Zelasko will have surgery after covering college football bowl games on FOX. Zelasko and Scott share the same agent.
Finally, ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale is off the air until February, after undergoing throat surgery to remove ulcers from his vocal chords. Prior to the surgery, Vitale had never missed a game.
