New FOX NFL analyst Tom Brady could face significant restrictions on his access to players and teams in the event he acquires a stake in the Las Vegas Raiders. Plus: Disney and DIRECTV are sparring ahead of the expiration of their carriage agreement this weekend; CBS’ Jason McCourty has added a role with ESPN; YES and MSG have set the pricing for their new combined app.
Brady could face severe restrictions on access if given stake in Raiders
Incoming NFL on FOX analyst Tom Brady would be subject to considerable limitations on his access to team personnel and facilities if approved as a partial owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, including a ban on attending pregame production meetings, Seth Wickersham of ESPN reported Wednesday. Brady last year was said to be in discussions to acquire an ownership stake in the Raiders.
In addition to the ban on production meetings, Brady would also be barred from all team facilities and practices other than those of the Raiders. (Update 8/29: Per Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press, the restrictions on Brady are already in place as he is a pending owner.)
It is rare, though not unprecedented, for a team owner to serve as a national game analyst. TNT NBA analyst Grant Hill is a partial owner of the Atlanta Hawks and in 2021 stepped aside from his Eastern Conference Finals assignment when the team advanced to the round. It is not clear whether there are any restrictions on Hill’s access to other teams.
Disney, DIRECTV, sparring as deadline approaches this weekend
The carriage agreement between Disney and DIRECTV expires this week and the sides are thus far engaging in an accusatory back-and-forth through the media. Disney executive Justin Connolly told multiple publications Tuesday that DIRECTV had failed to act upon the company’s proposals, which he says have included sport-specific packages that would be anchored by ABC and ESPN — though it is unclear how such a proposal would satisfy distributors’ desires to carry only the valuable sports networks without being burdened with low-rated channels like Freeform and FXX.
As for DIRECTV, CEO Rob Thun has invoked the recent ruling against Venu Sports as evidence of media companies “dirty pool.”
Should Disney and DIRECTV go down to the wire, it would mark the second-straight year that millions of cable or satellite subscribers faced the loss of ESPN/ABC on the opening weekend of the college football season. Last year, the ESPN networks went dark on Charter on the opening night of the college season.
CBS analyst McCourty joining ESPN
CBS NFL game analyst Jason McCourty will also cover the league as a studio analyst for ESPN, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported Wednesday. McCourty will appear on ESPN studio programming twice a week while retaining his full-time role with CBS. His ESPN role essentially replaces the position he held on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” show, which he left upon its relocation from New York to Los Angeles.
MSG, YES Network, set pricing for combined app
The previously announced joint streaming venture of MSG and YES Network will be named the “Gotham Sports app” and serve as the exclusive home of MSG+ and the YES app, it was announced Wednesday. Subscribers can bundle both apps for $42/mo or $360/year or purchase them separately, with MSG+ costing $30/mo ($280/year) and the YES app $25/mo ($240/year). The individual prices are virtually unchanged from what those services already cost — the annual price of MSG+ is slightly lower than the previous mark of $310 — but the bundled price is a considerable discount.
