David Feherty has his first non-LIV broadcast assignment in two years; Randy Moss shares he is battling a health issue; NBC plans a “Madden”-themed simulcast on Peacock; a class-action lawsuit has been filed against WBD.
Feherty joining TNT’s coverage of PGA-LIV showdown
Longtime golf broadcaster David Feherty will appear as an analyst on TNT’s coverage of the primetime golf event between PGA Tour stars Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler and LIV Golf counterparts Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka, the network announced Monday. Since joining LIV Golf as its lead analyst in 2022, Feherty has not appeared on any other golf telecast since leaving NBC Sports.
Feherty will join TNT’s regular golf crew of Ernie Johnson, Trevor Immelman, and Charles Barkley for the December 17 event, which is set to air across TNT, TBS, truTV, and Max.
The event, billed as “The Crypto.com Showdown”, is being marketed as a proxy for the tensions between the established PGA Tour (represented by McIlroy and Scheffler) and the upstart LIV Golf (represented by DeChambeau and Koepka). The two leagues announced their intention to merge in June of last year, but those negotiations have been stalled since.
Randy Moss shares health issue
In response to viewer concern about the coloration of his eyes the prior week, ESPN NFL analyst Randy Moss announced on the latest edition of Sunday NFL Countdown that he is battling an undisclosed health issue. While Moss did not share specifics of the issue, he said he is receiving medical treatment from “some great doctors” and encouraged other men to practice routine medical care. Moss proceeded to wear sunglasses for the duration of Sunday’s show and said he intends to continue working his regular schedule.
“Madden” alt-cast announced for Texans-Chiefs
NBC Sports has announced it will present an alternate stream on Peacock of the December 21 Texans-Chiefs game styled after the “Madden NFL” video game series. The game will not be fully-animated, but will feature live video integrated with data-powered overlays.
NBC’s Paul Burmeister will call the game along with Chad Ochocinco and Madden NFL experts Kurk Benkert and Henry Leverette.
The presentation is the latest in a growing list of secondary coverage options for pro sports events. ESPN will debut the Simpsons-themed ESPN+ stream of Bengals-Cowboys next week, and CBS will continue its Nickelodeon-themed telecast during its Wild Card game on January 11/12.
NBC noted that execution of the alt-cast is dependent on suitable weather conditions in Kansas City given the visibility required to produce it.
WBD faces lawsuit from shareholders
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. representing investors that purchased shares in the company between February 23 and August 7 of this year. The suit seeks to recover damages to the stock incurred by the company’s failure to secure a rights renewal with the NBA. The suit alleges WBD failed to disclose to investors the status of renewal negotiations, which materially impacted the stock’s performance.
Since its formation in 2022, WBD’s legal woes have been highly publicized. Earlier this year, WBD was forced to pay out $125 million to shareholders after a Delaware court found it had discriminated against investors during the merger of AT&T’s Warner Bros. and Discovery, Inc., according to Deadline. Then after nearly two years of public negotiations, WBD sued the NBA, alleging the league’s new deals with Comcast and Amazon violated WBD’s contractual matching rights. That suit was eventually settled with WBD receiving highlight rights and rights to games in certain international markets.
