Fox Sports’ World Cup schedule includes a record number of matches on broadcast television. In other news, ESPN’s NBA Countdown is moving across the country, ESPN’s Doris Burke is headed to the Basketball Hall of Fame, and ESPN has a new host for SportsNation.
FOX Broadcast Net to Carry 38 World Cup Matches
The FOX broadcast network will televise 38 of the 64 FIFA World Cup matches this summer, a record for an English-language over-the-air network. By comparison, ABC televised ten matches during the last World Cup in 2014. FOX will carry the final six matches of the tournament, including both semifinals and the July 15 final.
FS1 will carry the 26 other matches, highlighted by a pair of quarterfinals on July 6. Because the World Cup is taking place on the other side of the globe, no match will start later than 3 PM ET. The final is set for 11 AM. [Fox Sports PR 2.20]
NBA Countdown Moving to N.Y.
The ESPN NBA pregame show NBA Countdown is relocating from Los Angeles to New York City, with a stop in Bristol, CT, in between, ESPN announced Tuesday. Starting April 4, Countdown will originate from ESPN’s new lower Manhattan studios, built primarily for the network’s new Mike Greenberg-hosted morning show Get Up. Countdown host Michelle Beadle and analyst Jalen Rose are part of the Get Up cast, meaning the move will spare them routine cross-country travel during the NBA Playoffs.
In the weeks before moving to the new studio, Countdown will originate from ESPN’s Bristol studios starting Friday.
In other ESPN studio news, the daytime NBA show The Jump will expand to one hour starting March 12. [ESPN Front Row 2.20]
ESPN’s Burke to Be Honored By HOF
ESPN NBA analyst Doris Burke has been named a recipient of the Basketball Hall of Fame Curt Gowdy Media Award, a distinction that in previous years has gone to the likes of Bob Costas, Marv Albert, Dick Vitale, Hubie Brown and the late Craig Sager and Dick Enberg. Burke, in her 27th year with ESPN, joins Jackie MacMullan as the only women to receive the award. [ESPN.com 2.17]
Champion to Replace Beadle on SportsNation
ESPN announced Tuesday that Cari Champion will replace Get Up-bound Michelle Beadle as the host of SportsNation. Champion, who joined ESPN in 2012 and previously moderated First Take, will debut March 12. The Big Lead first reported that Champion would get the gig. [ESPN PR 2.20]
