The long-coveted Joe Thomas has finally found a landing spot. Also: Ron Darling announced last week that he is battling cancer; CBS has extended its Big East sublicensing deal with Fox; the CAA is heading primarily to streaming.
Joe Thomas joins NFL Network
Former Cleveland Browns OT Joe Thomas has joined NFL Network as an NFL studio analyst, it was announced Wednesday. Thomas will appear on Thursday Night Football pre-and-postgame coverage, as well as NFL Total Access, NFL GameDay Morning, and special event coverage surrounding the Super Bowl, NFL Draft and NFL Combine.
Thomas, who has previously served as a guest analyst on NFL Network, has been coveted for some time by the NFL’s broadcast partners. He auditioned for open analyst roles on Monday Night Football and Thursday Night Football last offseason, but earlier this year told the Wisconsin State Journal that he was no longer interested in game analyst roles. [NFL PR 5.8, Wisconsin State Journal 3.6]
Darling has thyroid cancer
SNY and Turner Sports Major League Baseball analyst Ron Darling, who took a leave of absence last month to have a mass removed from his chest, announced last Monday that he has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. In a statement, Darling said his doctors are “optimistic” that the disease is treatable and that he should be able to return to the broadcast booth in the coming weeks. [SI.com 5.6]
CBS extends Big East sublicense deal with Fox
CBS Sports announced Thursday that it has reached a new multi-year deal to sublicense Big East men’s basketball games from Fox Sports. Under the deal, which runs through 2024-25, the CBS broadcast network will carry four games per year and CBSSN sixteen. The combined 20 games per year is a reduction from the previous deal (30). [CBS Sports]
CAA going mostly to streaming in new deal
The streaming platform FloSports has reached a four-year media rights deal with the Colonial Athletic Association to broadcast 300 conference events, including a combined 190 football and basketball games. Under the deal, which was first reported by Sports Business Journal last Monday, FloSports will pay the CAA a seven-figure rights fee. Some men’s basketball games will continue to air on linear TV, by way of an agreement with CBSSN. [Flosports.tv 5.6, Sports Business Journal 5.6]
