ESPN continues negotiations with its biggest star; the Royals re-sign with FanDuel Sports Network. Plus: ESPN gears up its MegaCast for Championship Weekend; another video game-themed alt-cast is coming to the NBA; Peacock’s multiview coming for the Premier League.
Conflicting reports on ESPN-Smith negotiations
Variety reported Tuesday that ESPN and Stephen A. Smith are nearing agreement on a new contract, to take effect after the current deal expires in 2025. However, hours later, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic disputed Variety‘s characterization, saying while negotiations are ongoing, a deal is not close. Smith reportedly told Marchand, “I was born AT NIGHT, not last night. I don’t talk about my contract negotiations. Never have. Never will.”
Both reports indicate the new deal will give Disney a “first-look” agreement for any of Smith’s projects to be featured across Disney’s entertainment assets. Marchand reported the renewal will be for six years at a price tag of around $20 million annually, up from his current $12 million salary.
The face of the network has been with ESPN since 2005, save for a short stint from 2009-12. Smith hosts the First Take morning debate show, serves as an analyst on select editions of NBA Countdown, and appears across a variety of other ESPN programming.
Smith has often mused publicly about his other interests, including political commentary or even running for office. A new deal with Disney would presumably rule out the potential of a landing spot on cable news.
Royals re-up with Diamond
The Kansas City Royals have reached an agreement to return to Diamond Sports Group’s FanDuel Sports Network for the 2025 season, with “the organization able to re-evaluate their options next offseason”. The Royals join the Braves, Marlins, Tigers, Rays, Cardinals, and Angels in going with DSG for next season, although at a reduced rights fee. MLB Local Media will televise games from the Padres, Diamondbacks, Guardians, Twins, Brewers, Rockies, Reds, and Mariners.
The news leaves the Texas Rangers as the only team without a clear local TV home for the 2025 season. Prior to the 2024-25 season, the Dallas Mavericks signed a new deal with Tegna, Inc. to present its games on a network of OTA stations across Texas along with a team-owned paid streaming service. The Stars moved to a free streaming network.
Plus: MegaCast, “NBA 2K”, EPL on Peacock
–ESPN announced coverage plans for its first presentation of the SEC Football Championship since 2000. ABC will air the traditional telecast at 4 PM with the lead team of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, and Holly Rowe on the call. ESPN will revive its “Field Pass” coverage with SEC Network analysts, and SEC Network will present a SkyCast option with natural sound for the Georgia-Texas rematch. For Clemson-SMU in primetime, ACC Network will also present a “Command Center” telecast to complement the traditional coverage on ABC.
–TNT Sports has announced it will present alternate coverage of their four NBA Cup knockout games on truTV and Max in the style of the “NBA 2K” video game series. The games will not be fully-animated, but will feature live video integrated with data-powered overlays. The presentations will air for all three quarterfinal games TNT airs on December 10-11, and the semifinal game in Las Vegas on December 14. The news comes just days after NBC Sports announced it will present an alternate stream on Peacock of the December 21 Texans-Chiefs game styled after the “Madden NFL” games.
–Peacock will debut its “multiview” functionality–which received critical acclaim during the Summer Olympics–during Wednesday’s Premier League matches. During the four matches at 2:30 PM, viewers will be able to navigate between the matches and switch the audio between games. The “Goal Rush” whiparound coverage will also be available on Peacock. The multiview feature will return this weekend during Saturday and Sunday’s morning windows.
