New Orleans Pelicans and Atlanta Hawks agree to broadcast 10 games on local Gray TV affiliates; Al Michaels says he’ll return for Thursday Night Football on Amazon next year; XFL and USFL agree to merger. Plus: Jess Sims expands role at ESPN; PGA-PIF agree to extend negotiations past deadline; ESPN apologizes for slip up during Sugar Bowl broadcast.
Pelicans and Hawks to air ten games locally on Gray Television channels
The New Orleans Pelicans and Atlanta Hawks will become the first NBA teams under contract with Bally Sports to air games on local over-the-air channels this season, The New Orleans Advocate and WSFA reported Sunday. The Pelicans’ January 12th game against the Nuggets and the Hawks’ January 12th game against the Pacers will air locally on Gray Television stations in the local markets, the first of up to ten games Bally-affiliated teams can shop to over-the-air broadcast partners as part of an agreement reached with the NBA in November. The Pelicans have finalized nine of the ten allotted games for its over-the-air schedule while the Hawks have finalized all ten.
Per the Advocate report, the move to broadcast will increase the Pelicans’ television penetration by a factor of ten — from around 700,000 viewers to around 7 million viewers including those in neighboring states such as Mississippi and Alabama. The Hawks will also reach fans across state lines in Alabama. Both teams will use the Bally Sports production and broadcast crews for games aired on the Gray Television affiliates. (New Orleans Advocate, 12.31, WSFA, 12.31)
Al Michaels says he will return to Amazon next year
Two weeks following the news that Al Michaels will not call an NFL playoff game on NBC, the broadcaster stated his intention to return for Amazon’s Thursday Night Football next season. Michaels told USA Today last Friday, “I told Amazon that I’d do three years and next year will be three, and I’m definitely doing it. We’ll see after that.” In its second year, Amazon’s Thursday Night Football saw a 24% overall year-over-year viewership increase.
Last season Michaels faced criticism for lacking energy in his call of a historic 27 point comeback during a Jaguars-Chargers Wild Card round game on NBC. This year — despite having three Wild Card round games — NBC is opting to use its lead team of Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth for two games and its lead college football team of Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge for the third. (USA Today, 12.29)
XFL and USFL merge to form UFL
Spring football will return in 2024 with the United Football League set to launch on Saturday, March 30th. The new league is a product of a merger between the USFL and XFL, two leagues that curiously competed for a limited audience in 2023. Former XFL CEO, Russ Brandon, will serve as CEO of the UFL while former USFL president of football operations, Darryl Johnston, will run football operations for the UFL.
The UFL will be broadcast across FOX and ESPN properties. Details for the ownership structure of the league have not yet been made public. FOX owned and operated the USFL while ESPN’s exact financial relationship with the XFL was less clear. NBC — who partnered with FOX to air USFL games last year — is not included as a broadcast partner for the new league. (USFL, 12.31)
Plus: Jess Sims, PGA-PIF, ESPN’s Sugar Bowl slip up
— ESPN announced Jess Sims will join the network’s ESPN Saturday Primetime men’s college basketball package as a sideline reporter. Sims will be replacing Holly Rowe, who has opted focus on her role on ESPN’s women’s basketball coverage. Sims joined ESPN in 2022 as a feature reporter on College GameDay. (ESPN, 12.30)
— The PGA Tour announced it will extend negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the DP World Tour past the original December 31st deadline. In addition, the PGA Tour will continue negotiations with Strategic Sports Group (SSG), a firm headed by Fenway Sports Group, in an effort to find “minority co-investors” for the newly formed PGA Tour Enterprises in 2024. (PGA Tour, 12.31)
— ESPN apologized Tuesday for inadvertently showing a reveler exposing herself in a shot of Bourbon Street during its Sugar Bowl broadcast on Monday. The shot aired as the network came back from commercial during the second half. (AP, 1.2)
