ABC has muscled FOX out of NFL Draft coverage; Amazon is bidding on the Fox Sports RSNs; Turner is offering Tiger-Phil refunds.
ABC Outfoxes FOX For NFL Draft
ABC will televise all three days of next year’s NFL Draft, including the first two rounds in primetime, ESPN announced Monday. It will be the exclusive over-the-air broadcaster of the event, meaning that FOX — which carried the opening rounds last year — will not return.
On the first two nights, ABC’s production will be separate from that of ESPN. The network will air the same college-focused coverage that ESPN2 televised this past year, with ESPN’s College Gameday team anchoring the telecasts. ABC’s coverage will also include live musical acts.
ABC’s day three coverage will be a traditional simulcast of ESPN’s window. [ESPN PR 11.26]
Amazon Bidding For FOX RSNs
CNBC reported last week that Amazon is among the bidders for the 22 regional sports networks that Disney is acquiring from Fox Sports. The retailer, which operates streaming service Prime Video, has thus far only stepped a toe into sports media rights. It currently owns streaming rights to most Thursday Night Football games as well as low-profile properties such as ATP tennis.
Other bidders include private equity groups and Sinclair Broadcasting, which operates Stadium, Tennis Channel and a number of right-wing local news outlets. [CNBC 11.20]
Turner Offering Tiger-Phil Refunds
Turner Sports will offer refunds to those who purchased Friday’s Tiger Woods-Phil Mickelson golf event on its B/R Live platform. Technical difficulties at the start of the match caused some buyers to miss part of the action, and forced Turner to make the stream available for free — turning the $20 purchase a waste of money.
Cable and satellite providers, including Comcast, Charter, Cox, and AT&T, are also providing refunds. [ESPN.com 11.25]
