NBC Sports is planning to bring “Sunday Night Baseball” studio shows on the road; Robert Griffin III returns to NFL coverage this weekend; and some athletic directors are reportedly threatening to freeze out Notre Dame from their schedules. Plus news on Netflix, MLB Network, Paul Biancardi and FloSports.
NBC planning for on-site SNB studio show
NBC Sports’ “Sunday Night Baseball” studio show will air on-site from the week’s game, following the lead of the network’s Sunday night NFL and NBA packages, NBC Sports president Rick Cordella told Richard Deitsch of The Athletic in an upcoming episode of “The Sports Media Podcast.”
“You want to be on site [for] this stuff so it feels big,” Cordella told Deitsch. “We’re gonna have what we think will be the best matchups throughout the year and hire top talent that are brand names.”
NBC is aiming to bring elements of its other Sunday night presentations to baseball as it regularly televises the sport on broadcast television for the first time since the turn of the century. That includes a weekly “anthem” akin to the Carrie Underwood “Sunday Night Football” and yet-to-debut Lenny Kravitz “Sunday Night Basketball” opens.
NBCUniversal officially acquired “Sunday Night Baseball,” the Wild Card playoff series, Opening Day and additional rights last month in a prolonged media rights negotiation triggered by ESPN opting out of its contract in February. Though NBC only acquired rights to the three years remaining on ESPN’s contract, Cordella told Deitsch that his “hope and expectation is that we’re in business for baseball for a super long time,” echoing comments he made on the Sports Media Watch Podcast in September.
Griffin to call Week 15 ‘NFL on Fox’ game
Fox college football analyst Robert Griffin III will call his first NFL game since joining the company this Sunday, working Panthers-Saints alongside college football broadcast partner Jason Benetti and reporter Sarah Kustok.
“Being out and away from it showed me that the passion to do it never waned,” Griffin said in an interview with Joe Reedy of the Associated Press. “Fox was the first place that I auditioned and immediately saw my ability both in the broadcast booth and also in studio. I wanted to make sure when I came over that I gave them my best foot forward.”
Griffin previously contributed to NFL game coverage last Christmas Day as a studio analyst on Netflix. The last time he appeared on a game carried by one of the league’s primary broadcast partners was during the 2023 season while on ESPN “Monday Night Countdown.” Griffin departed the network in 2024 after he was reportedly fired with two years remaining on his deal.
Griffin joined Fox Sports in August where he was slated to call college football games while continuing to host his podcast, “Outta Pocket with RGIII,” to be featured on Fox Sports and Red Seat Ventures. Before working in sports media, he enjoyed an eight-year NFL career and also won the Heisman Trophy in 2011.
Notre Dame could reportedly be frozen out of future schedules
The revelation that Notre Dame will be automatically granted a spot in the College Football Playoff next year if ranked in the top 12 has resulted in competing athletic directors “threatening to freeze Notre Dame out of future schedules,” per Dan Wolken of Yahoo Sports. The news comes on the heels of outcry from Notre Dame advocates and officials — including athletic director Pete Bevacqua — after the team was left out of this year’s playoff.
Wolken added that Bevacqua’s press tour is “not going over well” in the industry. Bevacqua said in an interview with Dan Patrick on Monday that there is “permanent damage” to its relationship with the ACC. While the team has no FBS affiliation, all 24 of its other sports exist within the power conference.
Bevacqua on Tuesday called for an expansion of the CFP that would feature “five automatic qualifiers and 11 at-large teams,” saying that a 16-team format would create “more opportunity” while still preserving “the integrity and importance of the regular season.”
Plus: Netflix, MLB Network, Paul Biancardi, FloSports
- Award-winning musician Kelly Clarkson will be starring in the show open for NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix with a performance of her song, “Underneath the Tree.” The Cowboys-Commanders and Lions-Vikings games will be exclusive to Netflix except in the participating team marketplaces, in which games will also air on the local CBS affiliates.
- MLB Network is launching a new interview program titled “Pack in Time” in which host Greg Amsinger will interview a former MLB player pulled from a deck of baseball cards. Initial guests for the show, which will air every Sunday at 1:30 PM ET, include Nelson Cruz, Shawon Dunston and Mike Cameron.
- ESPN has re-signed Paul Biancardi to a multiyear agreement under which he will continue serving as the lead analyst on the network’s high school basketball coverage and appearing on select college basketball games. Biancardi, who is also continuing as the national recruiting director for boys high school basketball, will surpass two decades with the company with this contract.
- FloSports has acquired the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, adding to a sports portfolio that contains wrestling, jiu-jitsu and another dirt racing property. Lucas Oil is remaining the title sponsor under a multiyear agreement that will create more opportunities for FloSports to use its marketing, ad sales and production resources.
