- Mother nature chose an inopportune time to interrupt the world feed of the Euro 2008 tournament yesterday. Multiple times during the late stages of a thrilling Germany/Turkey match, lightning disrupted the video feed of the match, leaving viewers around the world unable to see two late goals.
- FOX and ESPN are expected to bid on the 2014 and 2016 Olympic games, though NBC is an “early frontrunner” to retain rights to the event. With three outlets bidding on the Olympics — CBS is not interested — rights fees for the event are expected to jump to “around $2.25 billion from the $2 billion NBC paid to air the 2010 and 2012 Olympics.”
- Tim Donaghy and his lawyer had zero effect on the ratings for the NBA Finals, but even if NBA ratings remain high, some advertisers may be scared off by his allegations of game-fixing. Though the four NBA Finals games after Donaghy’s allegations were the most watched of the series, one anonymous television executive told the New York Daily News, “Boxing did well on network TV [in terms of ratings], but Madison Avenue wanted nothing to do with it … There was too much chicanery – perceived or otherwise – attached to the sport.”
