Tom Brady will reportedly be allowed to attend production meetings in his second season as a broadcaster; Ian Darke is said to be returning to Fox Sports for the FIFA World Cup; and The CW and Pac-12 Conference have agreed to a media rights extension. Plus news on Cam Newton, “The NFL Today+,” Stan Verrett and DAZN and ESPN.
Brady will reportedly be permitted to attend production meetings
Lead NFL on FOX analyst Tom Brady will reportedly be allowed to attend production meetings this season, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic was first to report Wednesday. Brady had been barred from these meetings last year by the NFL — with the exception of Super Bowl LIX — because he holds a minority ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders.
The ban on production meetings was one in a series of limitations placed on Brady in his rookie season as a broadcaster, which became colloquially known as the “Brady Rules.” He was also barred from team practices, a ban that per Marchand is expected to remain in place.
“Tom’s been abiding by the issues that we raised through the committee voluntarily since he began his broadcasting,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said when Brady’s ownership stake was approved last October.
For his part, Brady said in a pre-Super Bowl conference call that the biggest impact of his absence from production meetings was on relationship-building. “I’m sure everybody likes being a part of production meetings for a number of reasons. I think the best part is there’s just genuine relationships that get built up over time and a shared experience with people on your own crew. Maybe that is what I miss out on. Just the in-between time with [Kevin Burkhardt], Erin [Andrews] and Tom [Rinaldi] and [Richie Zyontz] and [Rich Russo] and just talking about football.”
Darke reportedly returning to Fox Sports for FIFA World Cup 26
Longtime soccer play-by-play announcer Ian Darke will reportedly be part of FIFA World Cup coverage on Fox Sports next summer. Darke, who has been calling La Liga games for ESPN and freelancing on Premier League broadcasts, would be announcing his ninth World Cup tournament. Richard Deitsch of The Athletic was the first to report the news on Wednesday. Fox Sports declined comment to Sports Media Watch.
Darke had previously made his debut with Fox Sports during the 2022 iteration of the tournament. While calling the World Cup in 2010, he delivered a memorable call of the 91st-minute goal by Landon Donovan that resulted in the United States advancing into the knockout stage. Donovan ended up working together at Fox Sports on the tournament three years ago, and they also paired on broadcasts during the UEFA European Championship last summer.
Prior to his time with ESPN, Darke worked with Sky Sports where he called games within the UEFA Champions League and FA Premier League. Moreover, he called boxing matches and football games for BBC Radio at the beginning of his career and worked his first World Cup with the entity in 1982.
FIFA World Cup 26 is scheduled to commence on Thursday, June 11 and will take place across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Fox Sports holds the English-language broadcast rights for the FIFA World Cup under an extension of a media rights deal that expires after the upcoming tournament. Netflix recently garnered U.S. broadcasting rights to the FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament in 2027 and 2031, which had previously been broadcast by Fox Sports.
The CW, Pac-12 Conference extend media partnership through 2030-31 season
The CW has reached a media rights extension with the Pac-12 through the 2030-31 season, it was announced Wednesday. Under the five-year deal, The CW will air 13 regular-season football games on its network that will be produced by Pac-12 Enterprises. In addition, 35 men’s basketball games and 15 women’s basketball games will be televised on The CW during the regular season, including the semifinal and championship games of the women’s basketball tournament.
The CW joins CBS as Pac-12 media partners moving forward, with the latter also reaching a five-year extension with the conference. Per independent reporter John Canzano, the Pac-12 is expected to strike additional deals.
The deals comes ahead of the conference expanding to nine teams next season with the additions of Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, San Diego State, Texas State and Utah State. Pac-12 games accounted for the three largest football audiences on The CW last season, with the 11 total Pac-12 football games on the network averaging 431,000 viewers.
For this season, the last for the Pac-12 as a two-team conference, the 13 home football games between Oregon State and Washington State this season will be split between The CW, ESPN and CBS. The lead broadcast booth for Pac-12 football games on The CW will include play-by-play announcer Ted Robinson, booth analyst Ryan Leaf and sideline analyst Nigel Burton.
Plus: Cam Newton, The NFL Today+, Stan Verrett, DAZN-ESPN
- Former NFL quarterback Cam Newton has signed an extension with ESPN, expanding his role on the morning debate show “First Take.” Newton will make his return to the weekday program on Thursday as part of a live show at Norfolk State University for the “First Take” HBCU tour.
- CBS announced the cast of its new “The NFL Today+” digital pregame show on Wednesday, naming Matt Ryan, Kyle Long and Antonio Pierce as analysts alongside host Amanda Guerra. The show, which will stream live on Paramount+, CBS Sports HQ and the NFL on CBS YouTube channel, will debut in Week 1 on-site from Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
- Former ESPN “SportsCenter” anchor Stan Verrett has joined the New Orleans Saints to host its pregame show across its digital platforms. The show will feature interviews, analysis and exclusive coverage, along with contributions from former Saints linebacker Scott Shanle and team reporter Erin Summers.
- DAZN will sublicense ESPN college football and basketball games in territories across Europe and the Middle East and North Africa region under a multiyear agreement. The content, which will include up to 25 regular-season college football games per week this fall, will be available free to view for DAZN users in these locales for a limited time.
