Dick Vitale shares he’s cancer-free after PET scan. Plus: NFL heads to Brazil and expands international schedule from four to eight games; NBC Sports considering Geoff Ogilvy for lead analyst role; The Atlantic 10 Conference announces new media rights agreements
Vitale announces he’s cancer-free
ESPN college basketball announcer Dick Vitale shared in a social media post Thursday that he is cancer-free after receiving results from a PET scan. The Hall of Fame broadcaster has been recovering from treatment stemming from vocal cord cancer, a diagnosis he announced in July. Vitale underwent six weeks of radiation following the announcement, and has since been dedicated to recovery with an eye towards returning to the microphone this season.
In a video released on social media in October, Vitale disclosed he had not spoken in seven months. He planned on returning to call the Kentucky-Miami game on November 28th but ultimately needed more time to heal his voice after treatment. Vitale did not provide a timetable for his return.
Read the social media post here.
NFL to play in Brazil next season
NFL ownership agreed to expand its inventory of international games from four to eight, including a game in São Paulo, Brazil starting in 2024, the league announced Thursday. The game will be the first ever for the NFL in South America. The league has announced five international games for 2024 so far: three in London, one in Munich, and on in São Paulo.
According to Judy Battista of NFL.com, the São Paulo game will likely be played in the 4:25PM ET window due to its time zone. However, the expansion of the NFL’s international schedule leaves open the possibility for more games in the 9:30AM ET window, and thereby more inventory that could potentially break away to streaming. Battista sites the 9:30AM ET window as appealing to NFL fans in Australia and Asia, where Sunday afternoon games occur in the overnight hours. (NFL, 12.14)
Geoff Ogilvy under consideration to replace Azinger at NBC
U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy is a frontrunner for the vacant lead analyst role on NBC’s golf coverage, per Sports Business Journal. The role became open when NBC and Paul Azinger failed to agree to a contract extension earlier this year. NBC is expected to make an announcement in the next week.
According to the report, NBC could split the lead analyst role between two people, with Ogilvy handling the bigger events. SBJ mentioned Brandel Chamblee, David Duval, Brad Faxon, and Paul McGinley — who called the Hero World Challenge earlier this month in NBC’s first tournament after Azinger’s ouster — as potential candidates for the second analyst position. (SBJ, 12.15)
A-10 reaches agreements with CBS, ESPN, NBC
The Atlantic 10 Conference will continue its partnerships with CBS, ESPN, and NBC with a new set of deals that expands the conference’s linear footprint for men’s and women’s basketball. The deals include airing 77 regular season men’s and women’s basketball games along with 21 postseason games on linear platforms. The A-10 will receive a 40% increase in media rights revenue in the new deal, per release. The new deals will also increase conference tournament inventory on linear television by 30% over the previous agreements.
NBC and CBS will use USA and CBS Sports Network respectively to fulfill linear obligations. All basketball games not chosen for linear distribution will air on ESPN+. The A-10 Men’s Basketball Tournament final will air on broadcast with CBS and the A-10 Women’s Basketball Tournament final will air on an ESPN property.
Read the full press release here.
