NBC Sports sets analysts for its MLB Opening Day doubleheader; Matt Barrie will reportedly succeed Laura Rutledge as the host of “SEC Nation”; and the PWHL Walter Cup Finals will be on national television for the first time in the U.S. Plus news on YouTube, NFL Sunday Ticket, Marquee Sports Network and Fox Sports.
NBC sets MLB analysts for Opening Day doubleheader
NBC Sports announced Thursday that former Diamondbacks OF Luis Gonzalez and Dodgers analyst Orel Hershiser will join play-by-play voice Jason Benetti as the analysts on its primetime Diamondbacks-Dodgers Opening Day game next Thursday. The news was first reported by Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports.
Gonzalez called the 2006 NLCS for Fox Sports alongside Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, and he also has other booth experience for ESPN Radio and on select Diamondbacks games. Hershiser is the primary analyst for Dodgers games on SportsNet LA with play-by-play announcer Joe Davis, and he had two separate stints with ESPN where he worked on game broadcasts and the “Baseball Tonight” studio program.
As previously reported, the earlier National League matchup between the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets will feature Matt Vasgersian in the booth with Al Leiter and Neil Walker. Leiter is an analyst for MLB Network, while Walker calls select Pirates games throughout the season. NBC/Peacock broadcasts of MLB games this season will feature analysts who have ties to the competing teams. It remains unknown if any of the analysts being used in the first week of game action will return for matchups later in the year.
On-site pregame coverage from Dodger Stadium will feature host Bob Costas alongside former Dodgers SP Clayton Kershaw, who is making his NBC Sports debut. Kershaw joined the network in February alongside former 1B Joey Votto and Anthony Rizzo. Prior to first pitch of Pirates-Mets, host Ahmed Fareed and analyst Adam Ottavino will be part of pregame coverage from Citi Field.
Barrie reportedly succeeding Rutledge as host of “SEC Nation”
ESPN “SportsCenter” anchor Matt Barrie will replace Laura Rutledge as host of “SEC Nation” on ESPN-owned SEC Network, according to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. Rutledge had been host for nine years, preceded by Joe Tessitore and Maria Taylor.
Barrie would work alongside the returning Tim Tebow, Jordan Rodgers, Roman Harper and Paul Finebaum. ESPN declined comment to Sports Media Watch about the reported hosting change.
Barrie, who signed a multiyear deal with ESPN last March, has worked at ESPN for the last 13 years in a variety of roles, including as a “SportsCenter” anchor and host of TGL coverage. He has an expansive role on ESPN college football coverage, calling Thursday night games and hosting studio coverage on Saturdays. It remains unknown how a potential new role as host of “SEC Nation” would impact those responsibilities or any of his other obligations at ESPN.
Rutledge recently completed her first season as a full-time reporter for “Monday Night Football” and also continues to host “NFL Live.” She will reportedly be part of the network’s Super Bowl coverage next season as well and recently anchored two episodes of “Super Bowl Live.” Rutledge has reported from the sidelines of a CFP Semifinal game for the last eight seasons and appears on some regular-season matchups as well. ESPN signed Rutledge to a new multiyear deal last February.
PWHL Walter Cup Finals to air nationally on ION
The championship series of the Professional Women’s Hockey League — the Walter Cup Finals — will air on ION this season under a deal with Scripps Sports. The best-of-five series had previously been televised on regional networks in the United States and streamed on YouTube. Games in Canada have aired on Bell Media-owned TSN, RDS and other digital outlets.
The news comes one week after ION announced it will air a matchup between the New York Sirens and Montréal Victoire on Saturday, March 28, marking the first time a PWHL game will be on national linear television in the United States.
Scripps Sports president Brian Lawlor said in that announcement that there was “mutual interest to continue to grow the relationship” with the PWHL and did not characterize the game as a one-off.
ION has continued to grow its women’s sports portfolio in recent years, agreeing to deals with leagues including the NWSL and WNBA. Scripps president/CEO Adam Symson said in a statement that the company would be “keeping the momentum going” established in the Winter Olympics by adding the championship round to its platform.
Plus: YouTube, NFL Sunday Ticket, Marquee Sports Network, Fox Sports
- FIFA has named YouTube a “preferred platform” for the upcoming World Cup, an agreement that allows media partners to stream the opening 10 minutes of all matches on the platform, plus select matches in their entirety. Rightsholders will have the option to stream live content on YouTube, but will not be required to do so. Fox Sports has yet to announce its digital plans for the tournament.
- EverPass Media, a joint venture between RedBird Capital Partners and the NFL (through 32 Equity), will become the “exclusive commercial option” for NFL Sunday Ticket starting next season, according to a report by Jacob Feldman of Sportico. The reported shift to a streaming-only distribution model occurs a few years after the NFL moved its out-of-market package from DirecTV to YouTube. DirecTV had distributed NFL Sunday Ticket under a three-year deal that began in 2023, but the two sides were reportedly unable to agree to terms for a renewal.
- Marquee Sports Network is back on Hulu + Live TV under a new distribution deal that comes more than five years after the network was dropped from the platform. Separately, Marquee’s direct-to-consumer service will now be available for purchase through Amazon’s Prime Video. The channel joins MSG Networks and YES Network, which operate a joint direct-to-consumer platform in The Gotham Sports App, as RSNs with subscriptions accessible through Prime Video.
- Fox Sports announced Tuesday that former soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimović will serve as a studio analyst on its coverage of the FIFA World Cup this summer. The company’s pursuit of Ibrahimović, who is the all-time leading scorer for Sweden, reportedly began last fall, per Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. Marchand also reported that Fox pursued David Beckham and Jürgen Klopp, the latter who he wrote at times “appeared as if he might do it.”
