The FOX broadcast network has set the schedule for its new Friday night college football package. Plus: Noah Eagle has yet another assignment for NBC Sports; Greg Olsen has won a Sports Emmy; and more.
FOX sets Friday night college football slate
Fox Sports announced the schedule for its new package of Friday night college football games on Wednesday, which will debut with a Big 12 matchup of Arizona and Kansas State on Friday, September 13.
Games will air on all-but-one Friday through conference championship weekend, including October 25 — the night of Game 1 of the World Series — when FOX carries Rutgers-USC in a late night 11 PM ET window. FOX does not have a game scheduled on November 1, when it would carry Game 6 of the Fall Classic.
Most games will start at 8 PM ET, with the exception of the October 25 game, Iowa-UCLA on November 8 and UCLA-Washington on November 15. The schedule concludes with the Mountain West Championship on December 6.
Noah Eagle named voice of NBC French Open coverage
NBC Sports announced Wednesday that Noah Eagle will take over as the voice of its French Open tennis coverage, filling a role previously occupied by Dan Hicks. Eagle, the up-and-coming son of Ian, is the lead voice of NBC college football coverage and the network’s Olympic men’s and women’s basketball games. He previously called French Open matches for Tennis Channel in 2020, working on-site at the COVID-delayed tournament.
Eagle will work alongside the usual NBC tennis analyst duo of John McEnroe and Mary Carillo.
Soon-to-be-demoted Olsen wins Sports Emmy
Fox Sports NFL analyst Greg Olsen, who is expected to be demoted from the network’s “A” team in favor of newcomer Tom Brady, won the Sports Emmy for event analyst Tuesday night — prevailing over a field that included TNT’s Charles Barkley and Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN and Amazon.
Olsen is the first FOX NFL analyst to win the event analyst award since John Madden in 1999.
Plus: TNT NHL studio, FA Cup deal, Aaron Taylor
— The TNT NHL studio team of Liam McHugh, Anson Carter, Wayne Gretzky, Henrik Lundqvist and Paul Bissonnette will remain in Atlanta for the Oilers-Stars Western Conference Final, per a network spokesperson. This year marks the first time that the TNT crew will not head out on the road during the playoffs; the network was on-site for last year’s Stanley Cup Final and the 2022 Western Conference Final.
— CBS Sports college football analyst Aaron Taylor is joining the cast of the network’s primary College Football Today studio show, the network said Wednesday. Taylor, who has served as the lead college football game analyst for CBS Sports Network, will join the returning cast of Adam Zucker, Brian Jones and Rick Neuheisel. He previously served as ABC’s lead studio analyst from 2004-06 alongside Craig James and the late John Saunders.
— ESPN has reached a four-year media rights extension to continue carrying the English soccer FA Cup, it was announced this week. The deal kicks in next season and runs through the 2027-28 campaign. Matches will continue to air primarily on ESPN+.
