Mike Breen agrees to a contract extension with ESPN; ESPN to launch ESPN BET this month; YouTube says last week’s Sunday Ticket technical issues have been solved; and more.
Mike Breen agrees to extension with ESPN
ESPN has reached a multi-year contract extension with lead NBA play-by-play voice Mike Breen, the network announced this week. Per the New York Post, the extension tacks an additional four years onto Breen’s contract, which was originally set to expire in two years. The new deal will be contingent on Disney retaining NBA rights during upcoming negotiations with the league.
Breen, who called NBA games for NBC and Turner prior to joining ESPN in the 2003-04 season, has called 18-straight NBA Finals.
The new deal takes Breen off the market for any prospective newcomers in the NBA’s coming media rights deal. Should Breen and ESPN eventually part ways, ESPN head of NBA production Dave Roberts indicated earlier this year that the network’s new NBA “B” team — Ryan Ruocco, JJ Reddick, and Richard Jefferson — are in position to move up to the number one slot in the future. (NY Post, 10.30)
ESPN BET to launch this month
ESPN announced Thursday that its branded sportsbook ESPN BET will launch a week from Tuesday in 17 states, with the official launch preceded by the rebranding of the ESPN2 gambling program “Daily Wager” as “ESPN BET Live” on November 10. ESPN on Thursday began using ESPN BET-branded odds across all platforms.
In August, ESPN agreed to a 10-year $2bn deal with PENN Entertainment to license its namesake to the sportsbook formerly branded by Barstool Sports.
ESPN BET will be offered in the following states, pending approval: Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. (Disney, 11.2)
YouTube TV Sunday Ticket problems “mitigated,” per exec
The buffering issues that plagued NFL Sunday Ticket last weekend are “completely mitigated,” YouTube executive Lori Conkling told Sports Business Journal Thursday. After a smooth start for the service through seven weeks, YouTube ran into widespread technical issues during Week 8. Conkling did not comment about calls to rebate Sunday Ticket subscribers for the week, a practice DirecTV used when they owned the package.
In other Sunday Ticket related news, advertising industry self-regulator BBB National Programs said Thursday that it is recommending DirecTV alter ads that indicate its Sports Central service provides access to every NFL game. Sports Central serves as a hub for customers to access every sporting event, but requires third party subscriptions (such as NFL Sunday Ticket) to actually watch the games. The NAD recommended that DirecTV amend its advertising to disclose that additional subscriptions may be required to watch games using Sports Central. (SBJ, 11.2, NAD, 11.2)
Plus: Disney/Hulu, Bob Knight, FOX earnings call
— Disney has agreed to purchase Comcast/NBCUniversal’s remaining 33% stake in Hulu for approximately $8.6b. The exact price, which is not yet set in stone, will be determined via an appraisal process that will set a “fair market value” for Hulu. Per Disney’s press release, the company anticipates the deal will close in the 2024 calendar year. (Disney, 11.1)
— Former ESPN college basketball analyst Bob Knight passed away Wednesday. Far better known for his successful and controversial coaching career, Knight worked as a college basketball studio analyst for ESPN from 2008 to 2015. Knight occasionally served as a game analyst, even calling an Indiana game in November of 2012 during his self-imposed exile from the university.
— Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch said on the company’s earnings call Thursday that it is close to reaching a contract extension with NASCAR. Sports Business Journal reported earlier in the year that a deal was expected by the end of summer, but that timeline has been pushed back. (Awful Announcing 11.2)
