An NHL return to ESPN appears to be in the cards. Plus: Charles Barkley will miss Turner’s NBA All-Star coverage to attend his daughter’s wedding; and more.
ESPN expected to win some NHL rights
There is an “overwhelming belief” among NHL and television executives that ESPN will be a “big player” in the next NHL media rights deal, The Athletic reported Wednesday. That comes on the heels of a report last month on Canadian network SportsNet that ESPN would get “at least part” of the league’s media rights.
While ESPN+ airs NHL regular season games on most nights, the league has been off the linear ESPN networks for going on 17 years. [The Athletic 3.4]
Barkley to miss All-Star over daughter’s wedding
TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley will miss Turner Sports’ scheduled NBA All-Star Game coverage on Sunday to attend his daughter’s wedding on Saturday, marking only the second time since joining Turner that he has been absent from the mid-season festivities. Dwyane Wade is scheduled to fill-in. [“NBA on TNT” 3.4]
Plus: IndyCar, Bayless, Del Piero, gymnastics
The NBC broadcast network is scheduled to carry nine IndyCar races this season, including six of the first eight, the most races on broadcast television in the history of the 27-year-old series. … Fox Sports has reached a multi-year contract extension with pundit Skip Bayless worth $8 million/year, according to the New York Post. Per the report, ESPN made a run at Bayless, who worked for the network prior to joining Fox in 2016. … ESPN has hired former Italian soccer player Alessandro Del Piero as a soccer analyst on the ESPN FC studio show. Del Piero is scheduled to debut on Saturday. … Next month’s planned NCAA women’s gymnastics national championship is set for ABC, marking the event’s return to broadcast television for the first time since 2011. It was scheduled to air on ABC last year until it was canceled. [NBC Sports PR, NYP 3.4, ESPN PR 3.4, ESPN advance schedule (h/t Magno Gomes)]
