TNT is expected to steal an ESPN analyst for its NBA coverage; ESPN is moving “E:60” and expanding “Daily Wager”; CBS and Viacom have announced plans to merge.
TNT expected to poach ESPN’s Van Gundy (not Jeff)
Turner Sports is expected to hire ESPN NBA studio analyst Stan Van Gundy to serve as a “prominent” game analyst, the New York Post reported Wednesday. Van Gundy just finished his first season with ESPN, where he worked occasional game telecasts — including one game alongside his brother Jeff in February. He also called games for ESPN Radio during the 2013-14 season. [NYP 8.14]
E:60 leaving Sunday mornings; Daily Wager expanding
ESPN announced Wednesday that “E:60” will shift from airing weekly on Sunday mornings to monthly in primetime starting in October. It was not clear whether the show will air on a specific day of the week. Lisa Salters will replace the retired Bob Ley as Jeremy Schaap‘s co-host.
“E:60” previously aired in primetime during its first ten years of existence, moving to Sunday mornings in 2017.
In other ESPN news, the gambling-focused show “Daily Wager” is moving up from ESPNEWS to ESPN2 and adding a new Sunday morning edition, Sports Business Daily reported Wednesday. The show, which launched last year, will make its ESPN2 debut next Tuesday. It will remain in its 6 PM ET weekday timeslot, replacing ESPN2’s usual re-airs of “Around the Horn” and “Pardon the Interruption.”
The Sunday edition will air at 9 AM ET starting September 8. The first three Sunday shows will air on ESPNEWS before moving to ESPN2. [ESPN PR 8.14]
CBS, Viacom, announce merger plan
CBS Corporation and Viacom announced Tuesday that they plan to merge, nearly 14 years after they split apart, and 20 years after their initial merger in 1999. The new company will be called ViacomCBS, though it is CBS that is absorbing Viacom in the deal. In the 1999 merger, Viacom purchased CBS and the combined company was called Viacom.
As Viacom has as small a sports presence as is possible for a major media corporation, the merger will have little, if any, immediate impact on sports programming. It is expected to give CBS a larger warchest with which to negotiate for future sports rights.
The CBS-Viacom deal is just the latest in a flurry of media mergers. In the past year, Disney acquired the bulk of 21st Century Fox assets and AT&T acquired Time Warner. [Hollywood Reporter 8.13]
