Still more than a year from airing its first U.S. Open, Fox Sports has acquired rights to another golf event. In other news, the NBA’s television partners are seeking increased flex scheduling in a new TV deal, and ESPN has announced plans for a weekly college football playoff rankings show.
Fox Sports to Air First Golf Event in December
- Fox Sports announced Wednesday that it has acquired television rights to the PGA Tour Franklin Templeton Shootout. This year’s tournament, scheduled to run from December 11-13, will mark the first ever PGA Tour event on the Fox Sports family of networks. Joe Buck and Greg Norman, already named the lead broadcast team for the U.S. Open on FOX starting in 2015, will call the event. (Fox Sports)
NBA TV Partners Want More Flex Scheduling
- NBA TV partners ESPN and Turner Sports are seeking increased flexible scheduling rights in negotiations for a new television contract with the league, Sports Business Journal reported Monday. While ESPN, ABC and TNT are each free to replace games throughout the season, the process is reportedly “so cumbersome” that the networks rarely bother. Network executives favor a flexible scheduling procedure similar to that of NBC’s Sunday Night Football. (Sports Business Journal)
ESPN Announces CFB Playoffs Rankings Show
- ESPN has announced that it will present the weekly college football playoff rankings in a half-hour studio show each Tuesday night starting in October. The shows will begin October 14, two weeks before the first set of rankings are released. Under the old BCS system, the rankings were announced each Sunday night. ESPN has rights to the complete college football playoff through 2026. (ESPN Media Zone)
