The latest on ESPN’s NBA chaos. Plus: Sinclair has put in a bid for NBC’s RSNs and ESPN’s NHL coverage is set to begin with a pair of drafts this month.
Other shoe preparing to drop
ESPN on Tuesday announced that Rachel Nichols will not serve as the sideline reporter for the NBA Finals and did not air her show “The Jump” as scheduled, just the latest fallout from the backlash she has received over a Sunday New York Times report publicizing leaked audio of a private phone call in which she suggested ESPN NBA Finals host Maria Taylor had gotten the position — originally promised to Nichols — because the company was feeling pressure over its poor record on diversity.
In a statement, ESPN said that the decision to pull Nichols “is best decision for all concerned in order to keep the focus on the NBA Finals” and that Nichols would continue to host “The Jump.”
In other NBA Finals-related news, Tuesday’s scheduled Game 1 of the Bucks-Suns series will not air on ABC in the Tampa-St. Petersburg market, the nation’s thirteenth-largest, due to the local ABC affiliate’s planned coverage of a tropical storm. [ESPN, NYP 7.6]
Sinclair bids on NBC RSNs
Sinclair Broadcasting — owner of the Fox-turned-Bally’s branded regional sports networks — is bidding on NBC’s seven regional sports networks, the New York Post reported last week. NBC parent company Comcast is pursuing a potential sale of the RSNs, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal in May. [NYP 7.2]
ESPN2 to carry Kraken, NHL, drafts
ESPN2 will carry both the Seattle Kraken’s expansion draft and round one of the NHL Draft on July 21 and 23 respectively, it was announced last week. ESPN’s Chris Fowler is set to host the former and John Buccigross the latter. ESPN begins a seven-year contract as the NHL’s lead broadcast partner beginning next season.
The drafts will be ESPN’s first NHL-related broadcasts since 2016, when it aired the NHL-organized World Cup of Hockey. [NHL 6.28]
