Al Michaels is not going anywhere. Also: coronavirus impact on U.S. sports; Dwyane Wade will be part of Turner’s Final Four studio; the PGA Tour has officially announced its TV deals.
NBC not trading Michaels
NBC Sports has rejected ESPN’s effort to trade for Sunday Night Football voice Al Michaels, the New York Post reported Tuesday. In a statement to the Post, NBC said Michaels will complete his current contract, which expires after NBC’s next Super Bowl broadcast in 2022.
ESPN was reportedly interested in pairing Michaels with Peyton Manning, whom the network is pursuing for a third straight offseason. [NYP 3.10]
Virus impacting U.S. sports
The NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball and MLS announced in a joint statement Monday that they will temporarily cease media availability in locker rooms and clubhouses due to the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The move is just the latest in a global effort to stem the spread of the disease.
So far, the biggest impact on U.S. sports has been the cancellation the Indian Wells tennis tournament, which was set to begin in earnest on Wednesday. The ESPN television networks had been set for 31 hours of coverage, including four hours each on ESPN Friday and Saturday.
More significant moves are likely ahead. The Ivy League cancelled its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments on Tuesday. On Monday night, Santa Clara County (Ca.) announced a ban on all gatherings of more than 1,000 people through the end of the month, which would impact San Jose Sharks games. The Sharks, who do not resume play at home until next Tuesday, have not announced what steps will be taken to comply with the order. [NBA, BNP Paribas Open 3.8, ESPN.com 3.10 a, b]
Wade joining Final Four studio
TNT NBA analyst Dwyane Wade will serve as a studio analyst for the NCAA Tournament Final Four and National Championship, CBS and Turner Sports announced Tuesday. Wade is in his first year as a TV analyst after retiring from the NBA last year.
Other changes to the NCAA Tournament broadcasting line-up include the departure of Casey Stern from the Atlanta-based studio team in favor of Adam Zucker. Zucker will be replaced on game update duty by Turner’s Adam Lefkoe.
Lauren Shehadi, who has worked Turner’s MLB Postseason coverage in recent years, has been added to the sideline reporter roster to replace Ros Gold Onwude, whom Turner let go last year. [CBS/Turner Sports]
PGA Tour announces TV deals
The PGA Tour officially announced Monday that it has reached new media rights deals with incumbent partners CBS and NBC, as well as a new digital deal with ESPN that will shift PGA Tour Live to the ESPN+ over-the-top service. According to Sports Business Journal, the new deals are worth $700 million per year, a 60-70% increase over the previous deals.
The deals were first reported by Sports Business Journal last year.
In other golf broadcasting news, ESPN will air up to four hours of PGA Championship coverage on ESPN2 to accommodate the NBA playoffs. The first and second rounds are currently scheduled to air on ESPN from 4-8 PM ET on May 14 and 15 before shifting to ESPN2 from 8-10 PM. ESPN has NBA playoff doubleheaders scheduled for both nights, though that is subject to change. [CBS PR, SBJ 3.9, ESPN PR]
