Netflix reportedly looked for ways around existing contracts to acquire rights to a Notre Dame-USC game; NBC sets its line-up for the Olympic Opening Ceremony; Prime Video unveils more NBA contributors; and more.
Netflix reportedly tried to get rights to Notre Dame-USC game
According to John Ourand of Puck, Netflix sought to acquire rights to a Notre Dame-USC college football game, and both the streamer and USC considered getting around existing rights deals by scheduling the matchup at a neutral site. The Big Ten rejected the plan as no member school is allowed to sell individual rights to games, even non-conference games played at neutral sites.
News of Netflix interest in a college football rivalry game is the latest indication of the streamer’s “event” strategy — purchasing rights to individual games rather than full packages — and opens the door to monetization opportunities in college football that have not previously been considered. Outside of independents like Notre Dame, schools cede control of media rights for their home games to the conferences or organizations like the College Football Playoff. Schools selling individual rights to certain rivalry games would severely undermine that business model, if they were even able to get that far.
Rights to early season “kickoff” games tend to correspond with the broader conference deals. When Notre Dame hosted the annual Dublin game two years ago, it aired on NBC. The annual Atlanta-based kickoff game, which usually pits the ACC against the SEC, has typically aired on ESPN networks. (CBS aired the game once, but it held SEC rights at the time.)
The only college football rights not tied to a conference deal are bowl games, and the most prestigious of those are part of the CFP. While ESPN has made liberal use of its option to sublicense CFP games, it is hard to imagine the network would be willing to hand over a Rose Bowl — for example — to a company it views as a real threat. Outside of the CFP, last year’s most-watched bowl games were the Alamo Bowl and Pop-Tarts Bowl, neither of which perform consistently enough to make sense for a Netflix.
Gannon to co-host Olympic Opening Ceremony
NBC Sports announced Tuesday that Terry Gannon will co-host the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony alongside “Today” host Savannah Guthrie, with former snowboarder Shaun White joining the pair for the Parade of Nations. Mike Tirico, who hosted every Opening Ceremony dating back to 2018, will be preparing for the Super Bowl. Next year will mark the first time that NBC’s lead Olympic host has skipped the Opening Ceremony since 2016, when NBC went solely with “Today” personnel for the event.
Gannon has hosted the Closing Ceremony of the past four Olympics, doing so alongside his figure skating colleagues Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir, but the Opening Ceremony is arguably the highest-profile assignment of his nearly 40-year broadcasting career. The Opening Ceremony is part of an expanding portfolio for Gannon — who joined NBC in 2010 after a long run with ESPN/ABC — as he will also serve as an NBA play-by-play voice for NBC starting this season.
The Opening Ceremony roster is a return to normalcy after NBC went with the unusual pairing of Peyton Manning and Kelly Clarkson alongside Tirico last year in Paris.
NBC previously announced that the actor Stanley Tucci will serve as a travelogue host for the Milan-based Olympics. Tucci has hosted Italy-focused travel series for CNN and National Geographic.
Prime announces more NBA acquisitions
Amazon Prime Video announced Tuesday that it has hired Jim Jackson, Rudy Gay, Swin Cash and JayDee Dyer for its NBA coverage that begins next month. Jackson, a current Fox Sports college basketball analyst who has previously called pro and college games for Turner Sports, will serve as a game analyst. He joins a rotation that also includes Stan Van Gundy, Candace Parker, Dwyane Wade, Steve Nash, Brent Barry and Dell Curry.
Gay, a former NBA player who co-hosts Carmelo Anthony’s “7 PM in Brooklyn” podcast, will make occasional appearances as a studio analyst. Cash, who between her WNBA playing and NBA front office careers had a stint working NBA games for ESPN, will serve as an in-studio front office insider. The studio roster also includes Parker, Wade, Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Blake Griffin, Udonis Haslem and John Wall.
Dyer, who anchored five NBA Finals for Sky Sports overseas, will serve as a sideline reporter. Previously announced sideline reporters include Cassidy Hubbarth, Allie Clifton and Kristina Pink.
Plus: Corso, Suns/Mercury deal, Disney+ pricing, Brees
- Former ESPN “College Gameday” analyst Lee Corso is expected to be in attendance at the October 4 Miami-Florida State game, and FSU has preliminary plans to honor him in some fashion, according to Jim Henry of the Tallahassee Democrat. The Miami-FSU game will air in primetime on ABC and is almost a lock to be the site of that week’s “College Gameday,” creating the opportunity for some sort of cameo from the recently-retired longtime analyst.
- The Phoenix Suns and Mercury have reached a two-year contract extension with Gray Media to continue distributing games on broadcast television, Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported last week. The new deal is worth $30 million/year, which per the report is on par with what the teams would have earned had they stayed with the bankrupt Diamond Sports Group in 2023. The length of the contract means the deal would expire ahead of the 2027-28 season, the point at which the NBA is hoping to launch its own consolidated streaming option.
- Disney is raising the price of its Disney+ streaming service and of several bundles that include both Disney+ and ESPN Select (ESPN+), it was disclosed Tuesday. As of next month, a base Disney+ subscription will cost $12/mo (up from $10), a premium subscription will cost $19 (up from $16), and bundles that include Hulu and ESPN Select will cost $20, $25 or $30, depending on whether one has an ad-free subscription to the first two services (up from $17, $22 or $27). There is no change to the price of bundles that include ESPN Unlimited.
- Drew Brees made his debut as a weekly contributor to ESPN’s “First Take” debate show on Tuesday, the latest broadcasting assignment for the former NBC NFL analyst. Brees also appeared on Fox NFL Sunday over the weekend and is slated to call a Christmas Day game for Netflix. The former New Orleans Saints QB was highly coveted by the networks coming out of retirement and upon joining NBC was thought to be a potential successor to Cris Collinsworth, but ultimately fizzled in a short one-year stint.
