The NBC broadcast network will carry two of the four games per day during the MLB Wild Card Series. Plus: NBC’s Jason Benetti is officially joining the network’s NBA roster; ESPN has not retained NFL analyst Damien Woody; and more.
NBC broadcast network to carry two games per day during MLB Wild Card round
The NBC broadcast network will carry two games per day during the Major League Baseball Wild Card Series, with the other two airing on NBCSN and all four streaming on Peacock, Sports Media Watch has learned. NBCUniversal is carrying the Wild Card Series for the first time this season, having acquired most of the rights ESPN gave up when it opted out of its MLB contract early last year.
When ESPN held rights to the Wild Card Series, it typically distributed one game per day on ABC — always in the afternoon — and the remainder on its flagship cable network. No single broadcast network has carried more than five postseason games prior to the World Series since 2013, but NBC could potentially air as many as six.
Other than the change in rights, the Wild Card Series schedule is unchanged from the previous three seasons, with all four series taking place on three consecutive days Tuesday-Thursday. (The Wild Card round ran Friday-Sunday in the first year of the format in 2022). The rest of the postseason schedule is also unchanged, save for Fox and TBS alternating leagues as is customary.
Times have not been determined for the Wild Card games. The only other time NBC carried weekday games this season, Opening Day, the network aired a 1 PM ET matinee between the Pirates and Mets and then a primetime 8 PM game between the Diamondbacks and Dodgers.
Benetti adds NBA play-by-play role on NBC
NBC Sports lead Major League Baseball play-by-play voice Jason Benetti is joining the company’s NBA broadcasting roster for the coming season, it was announced Thursday. Benetti, who joined NBC from Fox Sports at the start of the MLB season in March, called a Sixers-Celtics NBA playoff game for Peacock in April.
Benetti has called occasional NBA games throughout his career, including national games for ESPN and Chicago Bulls games for NBC Sports Chicago. He also co-hosted an NBA altcast alongside the late Bill Walton for the NBA app. He has not previously held a regular national role on NBA game coverage.
It is not clear what other roles Benetti might occupy during his time with NBC. With Fox, his primary assignment was on college football, where he was second on the company’s depth chart behind Gus Johnson. He has also called college basketball games for both television and radio. NBCUniversal owns rights to both properties thanks to its deals with various conferences and Notre Dame.
NBC, which has more games than any other NBA rights partner, already has a deep roster of play-by-play voices that includes Mike Tirico, Noah Eagle, Terry Gannon and Michael Grady, plus occasional voices Mark Followill and John Fanta.
Longtime ESPN analyst Woody not retained
Longtime ESPN NFL analyst Damien Woody is leaving the company after his contract was not renewed, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported Wednesday. Woody will reportedly continue appearing on ESPN for the remainder of the month and was on the network’s “Unsportsmanlike” show Thursday.
Inside ESPN, Woody’s exit is seen “differently” from the network’s recent layoffs, per Marchand. ESPN parted ways with Karl Ravech, Ryan Clark and others late last month. ESPN and Woody are said to have discussed the possibility of his remaining with the network, but ultimately that did not come to fruition.
Woody joined ESPN straight out of retirement 15 years ago this month and has been a regular contributor to the company’s suite of NFL and general studio shows. On his social media feed Wednesday, he described his tenure at ESPN as “a joy” and said that overcoming a “serious speech impediment” to pursue a career in broadcasting is one of his “proudest accomplishments.”
According to Marchand, Woody will “pursue other avenues.” He was pursued by FS1 in 2022 before reaching a new extension with ESPN.
Plus: Apple-British Open, Paramount HQ, Disney-Formula E, Jimmy Traina
- Apple has had early talks with the R&A about acquiring rights to the British Open, Matt Hughes of The Guardian reported this week, and fellow streamers Netflix and Amazon are also expected to express interest in rights to the tournament, which become available in 2028. Incumbent NBCUniversal acquired rights to the event in a deal struck in 2015, during the brief period the company was completely without major golf. Rights are now split between NBCU and the spinoff of its cable networks Versant.
- Paramount is reportedly threatening to relocate its headquarters from California if state attorney general Rob Bonta does not enter into settlement talks to resolve the multi-state lawsuit seeking to block the company’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to multiple reports this week. Paramount has agreed to put its efforts to acquire WBD on hold until the legal matter is resolved or until June 1 of next year, whichever date comes first. A trial is not set until next March, and Paramount will begin incurring hundreds of millions in quarterly “ticking fees” owed to WBD shareholders after the ongoing Q3 ends next month.
- Disney this week announced an agreement to acquire global rights to Formula E racing, with events set to air on Disney+ and ESPN+ in the United States, and Disney+ alone in “most” international markets. Paramount previously held rights to Formula E, with races airing on CBS and Paramount+.
- Longtime Sports Illustrated media writer Jimmy Traina announced this week that he is leaving the company. Traina, who worked for SI from 2000-13 before returning in 2017, had been hosting the “SI Media” podcast since 2018. He said on the final edition of the podcast that he will begin hosting a new podcast on a new feed starting next month.
