Tom Brady addresses perceived conflicts of interest between broadcasting and minority ownership; Burke Magnus discusses the ESPN NBA broadcast team; and UEFA is said to be changing the broadcast tender process for the Champions League. Plus news on SEC rivalries, Kirk Herbstreit, NFL pregame shows and Dick Vitale.
Brady: Intersection between broadcasting, ownership roles is not a conflict
In his weekly newsletter, lead Fox NFL analyst and Raiders part-owner Tom Brady characterized those who are concerned about potential conflicts of interest between his television and ownership roles as “paranoid and distrustful.” Brady painted his dual roles as helping him “grow, evolve and improve the game,” which he described as his “ethical duty.”
While the conflict-of-interest concerns have circulated for more than a year, they recently heated up after Brady was shown sitting alongside Raiders personnel wearing a headset during a game one day after a Fox broadcast.
“If I can bring my knowledge and experience to bear inside the Raiders organization to ensure there’s one more team that does things the right way; and then I can apply it in the booth so millions of people know and enjoy what the right way looks like—then I will have lived up to the expectations I have for myself, and I will have done so in service of a much greater duty,” Brady wrote. “One that I believe every person involved with pro football shares, whether they know it or not.”
Brady added that being “blinded by distrust” renders it difficult to see other motivations beyond self interest.
Magnus discusses change to ESPN NBA lead broadcast team
ESPN’s decision to demote NBA analyst Doris Burke from its top NBA broadcast team was motivated in part by the belief that she works best in a two-person booth, ESPN president of content Burke Magnus told the “Sports Media with Richard Deitsch” podcast. Magnus: “We honestly believe that now with a little experience in the top team in a three-person arrangement, that the best manifestation of Doris’ work is actually alone with a play-by-play person.”
ESPN last month replaced Burke with Tim Legler on its lead NBA broadcast team that also includes Mike Breen and Richard Jefferson, but she will continue to work a regular slate of games on the network’s “B” team alongside Dave Pasch.
ESPN, a model of consistency on its NBA Finals broadcasts during the previous decade, is now on its fourth-different lead NBA booth in the last two years. After the network laid off analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson in 2023, the network promoted Burke and added Doc Rivers to work with Breen. Three months into the 2023-24 season, Rivers joined the Milwaukee Bucks as head coach, and JJ Redick ended up stepping into the role shortly thereafter. Redick then landed a head coaching job with the Los Angeles Lakers, effectively altering the “succession plan” that also included Jefferson and play-by-play announcer Ryan Ruocco.
“Nobody would like to get off the merry-go-round more than me,” Magnus said, addressing the turnover. “We were put in a very difficult situation.”
UEFA reportedly ‘overhauling the broadcast tender process’ for Champions League
UEFA is said to be “overhauling the broadcast tender process” for the Champions League, partially to become more appealing to streaming companies including Amazon and Netflix, according to a report by David Hellier of Bloomberg. The new arrangement would allow companies “to bid for rights in multiple markets at the same time,” something that could facilitate potential bundled media rights packages. This deviates from the current arrangement wherein companies have bid at different times in major markets depending on the existing deals.
Within the report, Hellier discusses how the media rights have been “fragmented,” something that could presumably occur due to the varied timing of the deals. UEFA is also reportedly discussing longer-term contracts and a potential global offering that could permit “a single provider to show a game around the world for the first time.”
The report indicates that UEFA will “put tenders out for bidding for 2027 onwards in the coming weeks,” and Hellier divulged that the entity is going to consider reach and promotional support in the process. It should be noted that Paramount currently holds the U.S. media rights for the UEFA Champions League under a six-year deal that expires in 2030 reportedly worth a total $1.5 billion.
Plus: SEC rivalries, Kirk Herbstreit, NFL pregame shows, Dick Vitale
- With the new nine-game conference scheduling format for the SEC, some rivalry matchups will no longer take place on a yearly basis as the entity looks to have all 16 teams play one another biannually at the least. Some of the games that are not on the schedule includes LSU-Florida and Tennessee-Georgia in 2026, along with LSU-Alabama in 2027, and each team will have three annual opponents for the next four seasons.
- ESPN and Prime Video analyst Kirk Herbstreit has been named the recipient of the 2026 Pat Summerall Award and will receive the honor at the Legends for Charity Dinner ahead of Super Bowl LX. The award is given annually to a national broadcaster or sports personality who “has had an outstanding career” and “has made a significant impact in their community,” characteristics Summerall wanted the honor to represent.
- NBC will air “Football Night in America” on location from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas ahead of the “Sunday Night Football” matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers. In addition, CBS Sports is broadcasting “The NFL Today” on site from Kansas City, Mo. ahead of an afternoon matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens.
- ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale announced Wednesday that he is still cancer free following the results of a PET scan after undergoing surgery for lymph node cancer last June. Vitale called his first college basketball game in two years last February after facing battles with melanoma, lymphoma, pre-cancerous dysplasia and laryngeal cancer.
