Jason Kelce says he regrets repeating a heckler’s homophobic slur; Blake Griffin is in talks to join Amazon’s NBA coverage; John Fanta will call games for NBC this year; and more.
Kelce comments after incident with fan
ESPN NFL analyst Jason Kelce made an on-air expression of regret Monday after a viral incident that occurred Saturday as he was leaving the College GameDay set in State College, PA. A fan approached Kelce and directed a homophobic slur at his brother Travis, which caused Kelce to react by grabbing the fan’s phone, smashing it to the ground, and repeating the slur back to the fan. In his comments on Monday Night Countdown, Kelce said, “I chose to greet hate with hate, and I don’t think that’s a productive thing.”
Blake Griffin in talks with Amazon
Six-time NBA All Star Blake Griffin is in talks with Amazon Prime Video to be a part of the company’s NBA coverage beginning next season, per Front Office Sports. Griffin, who retired this summer after 13 seasons, has made a variety of television appearances, including comedic and acting roles, but has not held a formal role with any network. Per the FOS report, ESPN and NBC Sports have also expressed interest in the 35-year-old.
John Fanta joining NBC Sports
Fox and Big Ten Network college basketball voice John Fanta will reportedly join NBC Sports to call Big Ten and Big East college basketball, according to the New York Post. Fanta will continue working for Fox as well. Most of NBC’s college basketball inventory will air exclusively on Peacock. NBC and Fox currently also share the services of analyst Robbie Hummel.
Other notes
–The NFL has flexed the Bengals-Chargers game in Week 11 to Sunday Night Football, replacing Colts-Jets, which will now air at 1 PM on CBS. The November 17 game was originally scheduled for the 4:25 PM window on CBS, alongside Chiefs-Bills, which will now be a full national telecast on CBS.
–NBC Sports’ coverage of the Washington-Penn State college football game this Saturday will be made available in select IMAX theaters nationwide. The game will also stream on Peacock at 8 PM with Noah Eagle, Todd Blackledge, and Kathryn Tappen will be on the call. The #6-ranked Nittany Lions will host the Huskies in the annual Penn State “White Out” game, which provides a unique visual atmosphere to be captured by IMAX, which also distributed NBC’s coverage of the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony this summer.
–Advertising inventory for Fox’s presentation of Super Bowl LIX has sold out, according to Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch. Sports Business Journal first reported the news following Fox’s earnings call Monday morning. Murdoch said he believes the ads were sold at “record pricing”. Last year’s ads sold for around $7M for a 30-second spot, resulting in nearly $600M in revenue for CBS.
