Predictions for the next year in sports media.
Ratings
- Thanks to the New York location and the possibility of snow, Super Bowl 48 between the Patriots and Saints earns a record 113 million viewers on FOX.
- NBC’s primetime coverage of the Winter Olympics is the second-lowest rated ever (13.0), ahead of only Turin in 2006. However, live figure skating boosts NBC Sports Network to record-highs, even surpassing the network’s coverage of the London Olympics in 2012.
- The final World Cup on ESPN/ABC builds on the record numbers set in 2010, averaging a 3.0 rating and over five million viewers on the two networks alone. Univision chips in an additional three million of its own, bringing the total average to eight million viewers. The World Cup final earns over 28 million viewers across ABC and Univision.
- The BCS era ends with a cable record 27.3 million viewers for the Auburn/Florida State championship game. ESPN also hits multi-year highs for the Rose, Sugar and Orange Bowls, with the Baylor/UCF Fiesta Bowl the only dud.
- The NBA dodged the ratings nightmare of Pacers/Spurs in 2013 and does so again in 2014. However, the Thunder/Pacers NBA Finals hits a five-year low in the ratings, averaging an 8.6 over six games.
- The NCAA Tournament Final Four semis hit an 11-year low in ratings and viewership on TBS, but the simulcasts on TNT and TruTV are strong enough to keep the overall numbers solid.
- With only twelve telecasts on the schedule – and all in primetime – FOX averages a six-year high 2.1 rating for regular season baseball. The Tigers/Cardinals World Series averages a 9.2 rating for seven games.
- More is less for the NHL, as all six “Stadium Series” games rank below the least-viewed Winter Classic.
TV Deals
- ESPN, to the surprise of no one, holds onto NBA TV rights. In the new deal, the NBA Finals shifts from ABC to ESPN starting in 2017. Meanwhile, Fox Sports swipes the other NBA package from TNT, with Fox Sports 1 getting Thursday night doubleheaders, NBA All-Star Weekend, and most of the playoffs starting in the 2016-17 season. Turner Sports maintains its partnership with the league on NBA Digital (including NBA TV and NBA.com).
- Having acquired NBA TV rights, Fox Sports fades as a challenger in the Big Ten TV race. By the end of the year, ESPN is widely expected to hold onto its current package.
Personnel Moves
- In the struggle to find a good fit for Erin Andrews, FOX moves her from college football to the NFL full-time, with Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch and Andrews becoming the network’s official #2 broadcast team.
- FOX goes with a three-man booth on Major League Baseball games, adding Turner Sports’ John Smoltz and Tom Verducci to replace the retired Tim McCarver. Speaking of whom, McCarver ends up taking a small role on TBS, working occasional regular season games and one of the network’s Division Series.
- Fox Sports hires John Daly as a contributor for its golf coverage.
- Turner Sports taps Marv Albert for the NCAA Final Four semifinals, but CBS’ Jim Nantz continues to call the championship game. Greg Anthony and Steve Kerr work all three games.
- Despite some rumblings about an overhaul, ESPN makes no major changes to its college football broadcast team entering the first playoff season. Chris Fowler stays put on “College Gameday,” and Brent Musburger remains the network’s lead play-by-play voice.
Miscellaneous
- Fox Sports 1 shortens “Crowd Goes Wild” to a half-hour, replaces most of the “Fox Sports Live” panel, and by the end of the year unveils a new graphics package.
- With ESPN and Turner Sports providing multi-network presentations of the BCS title game and Final Four, respectively, simulcasts of big events become en vogue. ESPN puts Game 1 of the NBA Finals on ABC, ESPN and ESPNEWS, while FOX puts the Big Ten Championship Game on both FOX and Fox Sports 1.
- The NFL awards ESPN rights to a Wild Card playoff game starting in 2015.
