The next edition of “The Match” was announced with a high-profile field; the upcoming “Unrivaled” 3×3 league expands in hopes of Caitlin Clark; NBC Sports FAST channel to air college hoops for the first time; Comcast explores a spin-off of its media business.
Star-studded “The Match” set for November
The next edition of “The Match”, TNT Sports’s made-for-TV exhibition golf series, is set for November 21-22 and will feature celebrities across sports and entertainment, including actors Bill Murray, Nate Bargatze, and Mark Wahlberg, six-time NBA All-Star Blake Griffin, 13-time MLB All-Star Ken Griffey Jr., 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, and TNT studio analysts Wayne Gretzky and Charles Barkley. Calling the action for TNT from Breakers West Country Club in West Palm Beach, FL will be Ernie Johnson, Trevor Immelman, Kathryn Tappen, and Bubba Watson, who joins the series for the first time.
This is the tenth edition of “The Match” series, which began in 2018 with a duel between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. This series is unrelated to the upcoming exhibition match between the PGA Tour’s Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler and LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka, also televised by TNT from Las Vegas on December 17.
“Unrivaled” league expands in hopes of Caitlin Clark
The upcoming “Unrivaled” 3×3 women’s basketball league is expanding its rosters in pursuit of Caitlin Clark, according to Sportico. The initial 30-player league, which had already received commitments from 29 players, will expand to 36 in hopes that the Indiana Fever star will join the ranks. The league, which was co-founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, is set to tip off on January 17 with games televised across TNT Sports platforms.
Clark’s presence in Iowa and Fever games were at least partially responsible for the record ratings for the NCAA Women’s Basketball tournament and WNBA regular season this year, so the addition of Clark would certainly raise the profile of the upstart league.
NBC Sports FAST channel to air live college basketball
The NBC Sports FAST Channel will televise the inaugural WBCA Showcase women’s college basketball event, it was announced today. This is the first live sporting event to be distributed exclusively on the free streaming channel, which is available as a part of Peacock, as well as other FAST platforms (Roku Channel, Amazon Fire TV, PlutoTV, etc.) The three day event will take place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida from November 21-24 and will feature six games between eight teams Tulsa, Georgia, Marshall, Penn State, South Florida, Louisville, Jacksonville, and Mississippi State.
NBC Sports is already set to televise more than 150 men’s and women’s basketball games from the Big Ten, Big East, and Atlantic 10 conferences. Those games will mostly air on Peacock (the premium tier, not the FAST channel), with 7 games simulcast on the NBC broadcast network. NBC will also begin televising the NBA across its platforms in the 2025-26 season.
Comcast exploring spinoff of media assets
During an earnings call Thursday, Comcast acknowledged it is exploring a restructuring of its media assets, according to Cord Cutters News. The company is contemplating spinning off its cable networks (USA Network, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, and Syfy) into a separate company controlled by Comcast shareholders. Additionally, the company is seeking partnerships for its Peacock streaming service, which has struggled to achieve profitability. The NBC broadcast network would remain in the Comcast umbrella alongside the company’s movie studios, theme parks, and Xfinity cable/internet provider.
