An update on the NFL Sunday Ticket lawsuit; Kirk Herbstreit expresses interest in an extension with ESPN and Amazon; and the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame announces its Class of 2025. Plus news about Netflix, FOX NFL Sunday, ESPN and Connoisseur Media.
NFL Sunday Ticket lawsuit update
In an order filed Wednesday obtained by Daniel Kaplan of Awful Announcing, the judge presently overseeing the NFL Sunday Ticket class-action lawsuit wrote that the previous judge in charge of the case erred in dismissing plaintiffs’ claims for injunctive relief without consideration of their ability to demonstrate “threatened loss or damages.”
Had the original jury verdict of $4.7 billion in damages not been overturned, the NFL could have been forced to pay more than $14 billion since damages can be tripled under federal antitrust law. Judge George H. Wu also claimed that the prior judge arrived to the case “quite late in the game” and was not as familiar as the counsel with the issues that were presented.
The NFL was accused of collusion with DirecTV, the former primary home of the out-of-market game package until 2023, along with CBS and Fox to raise the subscription prices for watching the games. The jury had voiced that consumers were placed at a disadvantage through the NFL conspiring to fix prices for this service, which has been in operation since 1994.
Wu made these remarks as he ruled on staying the order for the plaintiffs to pay the NFL approximately $321 million in court costs. Upon plaintiffs referring to the case as a “landmark issue of national importance,” Wu argued that such a claim is not an exaggeration based on the number of amicus briefs that are filed in the pending appeal. NFL Sunday Ticket continues to be available through YouTube TV under a seven-year deal that is reportedly worth $14 billion over the term.
Herbstreit hopes to sign extension with ESPN and Amazon at some point
Pro and college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit is hoping to reach a contract extension with his employers ESPN and Prime Video, according to a profile by Chris Vannini of The Athletic. Herbstreit has been an analyst for ESPN’s “College Gameday” since 1996, ESPN/ABC’s lead college game analyst since 2006, and and a game analyst on Amazon’s Thursday Night Football since 2022.
Herbstreit said in the piece that he thought about stepping away from “Gameday” when he took on “TNF” in 2022, but credited the arrival of Pat McAfee for changing his mind. “Pat [McAfee] coming on the show, it’s been a game-changer for me and for the show,” Herbstreit said. “He brings a certain level of intensity and energy. Him and I have a great relationship. I’m loving the NFL. I would never want to leave that job on Thursday, and I love ‘GameDay.’ I can’t imagine not sitting in that seat. It’s a dream to have all three of these.”
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame announces Class of 2025
Recently retired ESPN “College Gameday” analyst Lee Corso is among the inductees in the 2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame class, it was announced on Thursday. Corso, Fox Sports reporter Pam Oliver and the late CBS Sports host Greg Gumbel are the other on-air talent being honored.
ESPN founder and cable television pioneer Bill Rasmussen and former Turner Networks president David Levy are also being inducted, as is Dallas Cowboys owner, president and general manager Jerry Jones — who chairs the NFL Media O&O Committee.
Former executive producer Curt Gowdy Jr. will be inducted into the Hall of Fame for his achievements in production, which includes working on “ABC’s Wide World of Sports,” the Olympics and numerous championship broadcasts. The Class of 2025 will officially be inducted on Tuesday, Dec. 16 in a ceremony hosted by former CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus.
Plus: Netflix, FOX NFL Sunday, ESPN, Connoisseur Media
- Netflix will be the official global broadcaster of the Six Kings Slam tennis tournament at Riyadh Season this year, taking place from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from October 15 to 18. it was announced by the company. This second iteration of the tournament will feature several prominent tennis players, including Jarrik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
- The “FOX NFL Sunday” pregame show will air a two-hour live show from KC Live! within the Kansas City Power & Light District on Sunday, Sept. 14 beginning at 11 a.m. EST featuring Curt Menefee, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Michael Strahan, Rob Gronkowski and Jay Glazer. After this show concludes, the cast will move to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium ahead of the Super Bowl rematch between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs on “America’s Game of the Week.”
- ESPN has announced that it has signed reporter Jeff Darlington to a multiyear contract extension, under which he will continue covering the NFL and golf while adding the Super Bowl, Masters Tournament, PGA Championship and Wimbledon to his responsibilities. The network also announced a multiyear contract renewal for sports betting analyst Erin Dolan, who will continue appearing on shows such as “ESPN BET Live,” “Sunday NFL Countdown” and “SportsCenter.”
- Connoisseur Media has completed its acquisition of Alpha Media, officially garnering a combined platform that includes 216 outlets in 47 marketplaces. Some of these stations are in the sports talk radio format, including 94.1 San Antonio’s Sports Star and 750 The Game Portland, and a local marketing agreement for the 207 former Alpha entities had commenced on May 5.
