Standard General’s co-founder has reportedly been in talks about investing or purchasing WBD TV networks; Isiah Thomas will be a guest analyst on NBC NBA coverage; and Doug Gottlieb is taking a break from his radio show. Plus news on ESPN NBA, NBC Olympics, the PGA TOUR and Greg Papa.
Standard General reportedly in talks re. WBD TV networks
Standard General co-founder Soo Kim has been in talks about either investing in or purchasing television networks owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, according to a report from The Financial Times published Thursday. In addition, the company is said to have been approached by “at least one” major WBD shareholder about acquiring part of or all its cable assets. Standard General is the largest shareholder in Bally’s Corporation and owner of MediaCo, and it nearly merged with Tegna before the deal was terminated due to regulatory concerns.
In an SEC filing on Wednesday, WBD disclosed that another company had demonstrated interest “in a potential transaction” with its global networks business. In fact, the company submitted a preliminary bid after WBD had signaled it was exploring “strategic alternatives to maximize stockholder value.” The firm, which Corbin Boiles of TheWrap reported as being Starz, proposed an acquisition of Discovery Global, along with its 20% stake in Warner Bros. (streaming/studios) for $25 billion in cash. WBD determined that the proposal “was not actionable at that time,” and the company did not end up returning to the sweepstakes.
Of course, Paramount had always been interested in acquiring the global networks in addition to the streaming/studios arm of WBD and bid for both entities six times. Paramount chairman/CEO David Ellison, however, recently revealed that the company is valuing the linear television “stub” at $1/share.
Earlier this week, WBD’s board of directors recommended shareholders to reject Paramount’s hostile $30/share all-cash bid for the entirety of the company. The media conglomerate stood firm in its support of the Netflix deal, a cash-and-stock transaction worth $27.75/share. Alex Fitch, director of U.S. research for WBD stakeholder Harris Associates (3.9%), said in an interview with Thomas Buckley of Bloomberg is that Paramount can address WBD’s concerns. “…[W]e would welcome another bid from them. This is not over yet.”
Thomas returning to NBC NBA coverage as guest analyst
Two-time NBA champion and Hall of Fame guard Isiah Thomas is making his return to NBC Sports as a guest analyst for the next three Monday night editions of “NBA Showtime,” the company said Thursday. Thomas will work alongside host Ahmed Fareed and analyst Derek Fisher in the studio, beginning with Monday’s doubleheader exclusive to Peacock and NBCSN (Hornets-Cavaliers, Grizzlies-Thunder).
Thomas had been appearing on NBA TV for more than a decade as a studio analyst, including throughout the final season it was operated by TNT Sports. In addition, he was part of the last “NBA on NBC” run as a game and studio analyst from 1997-2000, initially as the network’s lead game analyst alongside Bob Costas and later Doug Collins in a 1997-98 season that culminated in the most-watched NBA Finals on record. Thomas moved into the studio the following two years before leaving to coach the Indiana Pacers.
The return of Thomas, albeit for three weeks, is an added piece of nostalgia as NBC Sports broadcasts NBA games for the first time in 23 years. Throughout the season, the network has brought back familiar voices such as Costas, Marv Albert and Tom Hammond to narrate game opens. Furthermore, NBC Sports has utilized an AI-generated voice of longtime narrator Jim Fagan and brought back its laser peacock open sequence.
Among the headline acquisitions for NBC was bringing on six-time NBA champion and Hall of Fame guard Michael Jordan as a special contributor. Jordan has appeared for three editions of the “MJ: Insights to Excellence” series thus far, which, thus far, seems to have been pre-recorded with Mike Tirico. NBC Sports president Rick Cordella recently said to Richard Deitsch of The Athletic that having Jordan on its broadcast team has been “a positive for us” and that the company hopes to be in business with him “for a long time.”
Gottlieb taking a break from radio show to focus on coaching
Doug Gottlieb has decided to “take a break” from his radio show with iHeart-owned Fox Sports Radio in order to focus on his role as the head coach of the UW-Green Bay men’s basketball team. Gottlieb is in his second season with the school and had been balancing both roles, anchoring the radio show from his office on campus. Gottlieb will still be hosting a podcast outside of his office hours and credited iHeart for being “amazing about it.”
“It’s really hard,” Gottlieb said in a postgame news conference Wednesday. “It’s going to be, obviously, a bit of a financial hit. I mean, I’ll work through it. I’ve been blessed beyond all measure, but ‘The Doug Gottlieb Show’ on radio in the afternoon as of now is, we’re going to take a break from it.”
Gottlieb did not possess any Division I coaching experience before arriving to UW-Green Bay, and the team had a difficult first season under his leadership with a 4-28 record. Yet there is marked improvement this year with a 6-7 clip through the first 13 games, and Gottlieb affirmed that the players deserve a “fully dedicated coach,” although he believes he has been such thus far.
Before Gottlieb was hired last season, he had been hosting on Fox Sports Radio and contributing to FS1 since 2017. Before that time, he was a member of CBS Sports Radio where he also made contributions for regular-season college basketball coverage on CBS and then-Turner Sports. Gottlieb previously worked for ESPN where he was involved with ESPNU, appeared on “SportsCenter” and hosted afternoon drive on the radio.
Plus: ESPN NBA, NBC Olympics, PGA TOUR, Greg Papa
- ESPN announced that play-by-play voice Marc Kestecher will call the Christmas Day game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets on ESPN, ABC and the ESPN App with Stephanie White and Alyssa Lang. Kestecher moves into the 10:30 PM ET slot that had been held by Michael Grady last year, who is now working for NBC Sports and Amazon’s Prime Video under the new NBA media rights deals.
- Former U.S. figure skating champion Ashley Wagner is joining NBC Olympics coverage as the first-ever analyst within the “Gold Zone” whiparound show on Peacock/NBCSN, it was announced Thursday. Previous hosts Jac Collinsworth, Matt Iseman, Scott Hanson and Andrew Siciliano are all returning to the program for the Olympic Games Milan Cortina 2026.
- PGA Tour Studios and Pro Shop Holdings are working on a reboot of the “Wonderful World of Golf” series, with the PGA TOUR having filed a trademark for the title earlier this year, according to Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal. The series last aired on Golf Channel in 2003 and enjoyed a nonconsecutive run of more than four decades, but it is not known when the program would return, nor where it would air.
- San Francisco 49ers radio play-by-play announcer Greg Papa will return to the broadcasting booth for the team’s final two regular-season games, starting with a Week 17 matchup against the Chicago Bears. Papa stepped away from his 49ers announcing duties after being diagnosed with leukemia, but he said on his KNBR radio show Wednesday that tests demonstrated that the cancer was in remission.
