A promotion for Holly Rowe. Plus: Bob Jenkins has died; ESPN has put a new exec in charge of its NBA coverage; and more.
Rowe gets lead CFB sideline gig
ESPN on Monday named Holly Rowe the lead sideline reporter for its college football coverage, filling a vacancy left by Maria Taylor. Rowe, who has been with ESPN full-time since 1998, joins the returning Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit on the lead team.
The promotion comes months after Rowe was forced to miss what would have been her first college football national championship assignment due to testing positive for COVID-19.
Rowe’s new role does not affect her existing multi-year contract. [ESPN PR 8.9]
Indy 500 lifer Jenkins dies
Longtime motorsports voice Bob Jenkins, who broadcast the Indy 500 in various capacities on radio and television from 1979 through 2003, and then served as the public address announcer for the race thereafter, has died at age 72. Jenkins was the lead voice of the 500 on radio from 1990-98 and on television on ABC from 1999-01. He was part of ESPN’s motorsports coverage from October 1979 — just one month after the network’s lanuch — through 2003 and later worked for NBCSN precursor Versus from 2009-12. [Charlotte Observer 8.9]
ESPN puts new exec in charge of NBA
ESPN senior vice president of production David Roberts will assume oversight of ESPN’s NBA game and studio productions beginning this season, it was announced Monday. The NBA role, which includes oversight of NBA Countdown and The Jump, will be in addition to Roberts’ existing responsibilities — which include overseeing First Take, Get Up!, the 6 PM ET SportsCenter and Pardon the Interruption and Around the Horn.
Mike Shiffman has been overseeing the NBA production (in addition to the WNBA and men’s and women’s college basketball). [ESPN PR 8.9]
Plus: MLB-FOX ad sales, McMurphy, Gameday
Thursday’s scheduled Yankees-White Sox Major League Baseball “Field of Dreams” game from Dyersville, Iowa, has generated more advertising revenue for FOX than any regular season game since the network began airing games in 1996 — presumably including the September 1998 game in which Mark McGwire set the single-season home run record — according to Sports Business Journal. … Former ESPN reporter Brett McMurphy, who had been working for Stadium, is reportedly moving to The Action Network. … ESPN has not changed its plans to have College Gameday visit Atlanta for the August 28 MEAC/SWAC Challenge, though it has called off plans for First Take to hit the road for the same event, according to Awful Announcing. [Sports Business Journal 8.9, Awful Announcing 8.9]
