Golf Channel cancels the upcoming season of “Big Break”; the Oklahoma City Thunder establish a local broadcast solution; and The CW adds two bowl games. Plus news on LIV Golf, “Hard Knocks,” the Oklahoma City Thunder and ESPN.
Golf Channel cancels upcoming season of “Big Break”
Golf Channel has canceled the upcoming season of “Big Break,” which was to mark the return of the competition series after an 11-year absence. The Versant-owned network had previously postponed the season in response to the backlash against Good Good for a controversial advertisement with Callaway, which has since terminated its relationship with the brand.
“Following recent developments involving Good Good, and including the fact that the intended outcome of the series can no longer be fulfilled, Golf Channel will not be able to complete this season of Big Break as planned,” the Golf Channel said in a statement. “While we are disappointed for the 12 competitors, our production team that worked tirelessly on the season, and the show’s passionate fans, we look forward to Big Break’s return to Golf Channel in 2027.”
The upcoming season had already been filmed, but the situation changed shortly before a collaboration between “Big Break” and Good Good was supposed to premiere on YouTube. The winner of the series would have received a sponsorship exemption for the PGA TOUR-sanctioned Good Good Championship. While the ensuing fallout from the advertisement has resulted in the series being canceled, the golf event will proceed without Good Good being involved, nor the winner of the series.
In a statement posted to social media, Good Good said it is “grateful” for its relationship with the PGA Tour and is hopeful to eventually work with the organization again.
Thunder establish linear, digital broadcast solution for local games
The Oklahoma City Thunder announced Thursday that their games will be carried on the “Thunder Gameday Network” this season, a combination of linear and streaming platforms that includes a new “Thunder+” direct-to-subscriber platform on the NBA app, and a combination of over-the-air and cable coverage on Griffin-owned KSBI and KQCW.
Griffin will produce all games not exclusive to national TV, with ten of those cleared for over-the-air distribution and the remainder distributed to Cox and Spectrum cable and DirecTV satellite customers. The full Thunder broadcast team is returning next season, including play-by-play voice Chris Fisher, analyst Michael Cage, and reporters/hosts Nick Gallo, Paris Lawson and Royce Young.
Thunder games had been broadcast regionally by FanDuel Sports Network Oklahoma and its predecessors since the organization moved to Oklahoma City from Seattle in the 2008-09 season. With network owner Main Street Sports Group preparing to wind down operations at the end of last season, the Thunder joined 12 other NBA teams in needing to find a new home for the coming season.
Several teams have made the move to DAZN in recent weeks, either with full exclusivity over rights or as the streaming component within a larger solution. The Pacers and Timberwolves struck exclusive deals with DAZN — though the former has the option to set aside 15 games for over-the-air simulcasts — and the streamer struck deals with RSNs MSG, YES and Monumental that will result in exclusive streaming rights to Knicks, Nets and Wizards games. DAZN is expected to acquire exclusive rights for the San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies, per a report by Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal.
Ben Huddleston contributed reporting to this article.
CW Network adds Holiday, Poinsettia bowl games
Nexstar-owned CW has acquired rights to the college football Holiday Bowl and Poinsettia Bowl, the company announced on Thursday, adding to a postseason slate that already included the Arizona Bowl. All three games will be available on ESPN Unlimited, which is now the exclusive streaming home of sports on CW. Both games will take place from Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Calif. in late December.
Fox Sports had been televising the Holiday Bowl since 2017, initially airing the game on FS1 before moving it to the broadcast network for the last four years. The last iteration of the game between Arizona and SMU averaged 2.34 million viewers, which was down by 20% from the previous year. ESPN held rights to the Holiday Bowl for three decades starting in 1986.
The Poinsettia Bowl is returning after a decade-long absence. The last edition of the game in 2016 averaged 2.4 million viewers on ESPN at the time. CW Network SVP/sports Mike Perman said in an interview with Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports last March that the company was looking to acquire more bowl game rights.
The CW is in its fourth season of college football coverage, adding Pac-12 rights this season to its existing slate of ACC and Mountain West games.
Plus: LIV Golf, “Hard Knocks,” UEFA, ESPN
- Shortly after canceling its season-ending event, LIV Golf is preparing for layoffs as the league looks to continue operations sans fiscal backing from the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF). The league has been referring to its new era as LIV 2.0, and a LIV Golf spokesperson said in a statement provided to Sports Media Watch that it was “scaling back operations” amid the transition. Most of the employees will be working their final day on Tuesday, Sept. 1, “with a select few staying on during the transition,” per a report by Brody Miller and Gabby Herzig of The Athletic. LIV Golf is hoping to bring back many of its employees for the next iteration of the league.
- The offseason edition of “Hard Knocks” is returning next summer after a two-year hiatus, spanning the NFL Scouting Combine, free agency and NFL Draft for an entire division, it was announced on Wednesday. The New York Giants are the only franchise to have been spotlighted on this edition of the show, which took place in the summer of 2024 when RB Saquon Barkley departed and signed with the rival Philadelphia Eagles. The offseason version of the show joins the traditional training camp version, which this year featured the Seattle Seahawks, along with the divisionally-focused in-season edition.
- UEFA is preparing a criminal complaint against FIFA president Gianni Infantino in Switzerland alleging financial mismanagement after the governing body explored what amounted to establishing and selling equity stakes in the World Cup, according to numerous reports on Thursday. UEFA said in a statement that trust with the FIFA president’s office “has been broken” and subsequently called for new leadership. Although the organization is provisionally suspending its boycott of FIFA tournaments, it said that its “position will remain under constant review and may be reconsidered immediately if circumstances so require.” FIFA is holding the Women’s World Cup next year, which is airing on Netflix for the first time in the United States and Canada.
- ESPN “College GameDay” producer Jim Gaiero is leaving the show ahead of this season, taking on new roles at the network that involve college football events and Super Bowl coverage. Gaiero will be working with EVP Mike McQuade on golf events next season, such as the Masters and PGA Championship, and is expected to gain the full production responsibilities as part of a long-term succession plan in 2028. Matthew Garrett, who has been the VP/production for the last three years, will take on executive producer responsibilities for “College GameDay” as it enters its 40th anniversary season.
