Scott Hanson apologizes for misleading Sunday’s RedZone viewers; Lee Fitting’s ouster from ESPN was reportedly due to his behavior; the Braves announce an OTA package; and the X Games have a new streaming home.
Scott Hanson apologizes for “commercial-free” tagline
NFL RedZone host Scott Hanson apologized on social media Friday for using his signature catchphrase “Seven hours of commercial-free football starts now!” at the top of last Sunday’s show, despite the presence of a handful of split-screen advertisements during Week 15 coverage. In a short video, Hanson addressed his desire to display accuracy and integrity, but did not address the future of advertisements on the program.
Hanson had amended his line to “seven hours of RedZone football start now” to lead off the late window on Sunday.
The NFL is said to be testing ads on its RedZone program, although it does not have plans for any more this season following the test’s widespread condemnation by fans.
Lee Fitting ESPN ouster reportedly due to behavior
The abrupt ouster of former ESPN producer Lee Fitting came shortly a human resources complaint about his behavior in the workplace, according to Katie Strang and Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. Per the report, which cited a number of current and former ESPN employees, Fitting had a history of commenting about women’s appearance, making suggestive jokes, and engaging in interactions that were interpreted as sexual advances. Staffers said they felt as if they had to go along with Fitting’s comments or risk their careers.
Fitting, who served as the executive producer of College GameDay for more than 20 years after joining the network in 1996, was abruptly terminated in August 2023, weeks before the start of football season. No explanation had been given for his ouster. He currently works as the head of production for WWE.
Fitting was also involved in a long-running scheme to secure Sports Emmy awards for talent that were ineligible to receive them, news which The Athletic was first to report shortly after Fitting’s firing. For a time, it appeared as if the Emmy scheme was behind his termination.
Braves announce OTA simulcasts
The Atlanta Braves have announced a deal with Gray Media to simulcast 15 regular-season games on a network of broadcast stations across the southeast. The flagship station will be WPCH-TV, “Peachtree TV” in Atlanta. The OTA games will be simulcast on FanDuel Sports Network Southeast, along with the rest of the team’s local games.
The Braves are the first MLB team to announce a partial OTA deal, joining a handful of teams in the NBA and NHL in exercising a right the teams gained in their renegotiations with Diamond Sports that resulted in a lower rights fee.
The return of Braves games to Atlanta’s channel 17 is somewhat of a full-circle moment for the station, which began carrying the team’s games in the 1970s. During Ted Turner‘s ownership of the station, then known as WTCG and later WTBS, it began transmitting the local signal via satellite to cable distributors, becoming known as TBS, the first national cable network. The national availability of Braves games on TBS resulted in the team’s moniker as “America’s Team”. Eventually, the national TBS feed was separated from WTBS in Atlanta, which rebranded as Peachtree in 2007 before affiliating with the CW network in 2023.
X Games announce Roku partnership
The X Games have announced Roku Channel will be the new streaming home for live competition, beginning with the Aspen games in January. The X Games were created by ESPN in 1994 before being sold to a private equity firm in 2022. Roku operates a selection of FAST networks available on a variety of platforms, including a new X Games TV channel. Roku took over the series of Sunday morning MLB games this past summer.
Despite the new deal with Roku, linear coverage will continue to air on ABC and the ESPN networks.
