ESPN has unveiled plans for its 40th anniversary next week; the Pac-12 could still go with 9 AM local time starts next season; Sinclair Broadcasting has officially acquired the Fox-branded RSNs; the MLS Cup is returning to ABC.
Berman, Latifah, Snoop Dogg, part of ESPN 40th anniversary
ESPN will mark its 40th anniversary next week with a one-hour SportsCenter special, a multi-day Chris Berman segment, and a music video by Queen Latifah and Snoop Dogg, it was announced Tuesday. The SportsCenter special, which will air September 6 on ESPN2, will feature appearances by 40 current and former ESPN employees, ranging from Stephen A. Smith to former company president George Bodenheimer. The Berman segment will be a daily top ten countdown of the top 40 moments in sports during ESPN’s existence, with episodes running on every edition of SportsCenter from September 3-6.
The Queen Latifah and Snoop Dogg song will be based on Rapper’s Delight, which came out the year of ESPN’s launch, but with ESPN-centric lyrics and appearances from ESPN personnel.
The 40th anniversary celebration will also include a special logo that will be used on-air across all ESPN networks on September 6-7. [ESPN PR 8.27]
Noon ET Pac-12 games could come next season
The Pac-12 has decided against scheduling games for Noon ET — or 9 AM PT — this season, but such games could still be scheduled in the 2020 season, the San Jose Mercury-News reported last week. Fox Sports, which starting this season will use Noon as its primary game window, has expressed interest in the idea as a one-off event, according to Sports Business Daily. [San Jose Mercury-News 8.21, Sports Business Daily 8.26]
Sinclair acquisition of RSNs official
Sinclair Broadcasting is now the official owner of the 21 Fox Sports-branded regional sports networks, after its acquisition of the RSNs from Disney was given the green-light by government regulators last Friday. Sinclair completed its $10.6 billion deal for the RSNs in March. Disney was required to divest the RSNs, which it acquired as part of its $71 billion acquisition of most 21st Century Fox assets.
Sinclair is the owner of Stadium and Tennis Channel, and a partner on the Cubs’ upcoming RSN set to launch next year, but is perhaps best known for its right-wing local news operation. Company CEO Chris Ripley told the Wall Street Journal that there are no plans to add nonsports programming to the RSNs.
Ripley also expressed to WSJ an interest in acquiring the four AT&T-owned RSNs that are expected to be sold at some point. [WSJ 8.23]
MLS Cup returning to ABC
This year’s MLS Cup will air on ABC, marking the first time it has been televised by the network since 2008, and just the third time it has aired on any of the Big Four broadcast networks over that span. It will also be the first MLS match of any kind on ABC since 2008. The game will air on a Sunday afternoon, going head-to-head with NFL games for the first time since 2015. Coverage will also air on Univision. [ESPN PR 8.28]
