News: Zach Lowe, Fubo-NBCU, Sunday Night Baseball and more

The Bill Simmons Show/The Ringer

Amazon Prime Video continues to add to its NBA studio roster, this time picking up Zach Lowe for select appearances. Plus: NBCUniversal has gone dark on Fubo in the latest carriage dispute; ESPN will carry at least one Sunday night baseball game next season; and more.

Zach Lowe to join Amazon NBA studio in select weeks

Former ESPN NBA analyst Zach Lowe will make select appearances on the Amazon Prime Video NBA studio show starting next week, according to Richard Deitsch of The Athletic. Lowe worked for ESPN From 2012 until he was laid off last year, first as a contributor to Bill Simmons’ Grantland and later as an analyst across ESPN platforms.

After being laid off from ESPN, Lowe joined The Ringer as a podcast host earlier this year, reuniting with Simmons.

Lowe joins an Amazon NBA studio show that has been generally well-received in its short time on the air, featuring a younger cast than the established NBA studio shows and a greater focus on basketball analysis.

He will be just the latest analyst to debut on the Prime studio show, after Candace Parker and Swin Cash did so this past Friday. The show primarily features host Taylor Rooks with analysts Blake Griffin, Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash and Udonis Haslem.

NBCU networks blacked out on Fubo in latest dispute

The NBCUniversal networks were pulled from the streaming MVPD Fubo on Friday after the sides failed to reach a new carriage deal, marking just the latest dispute to impact national sports programming. It is also the first such dispute to involve Fubo since the streamer merged its operations with Hulu + Live TV as part of an acquisition by Disney.

It was Disney that just came out of a carriage dispute with Google-owned YouTube TV that centered primarily on price, specifically YouTube TV’s desire for a lower rate in line with the top distributors. Now, the company is on the other side of table, with Fubo saying Friday that NBCU was offering rates “egregiously” higher than those offered to other distributors — and going as far as to call it “discrimination.”

More than any other streaming MVPD, Fubo has a history of willingness to go without major networks. It was the last streamer to begin carrying the ESPN networks, not doing so until 2020 — five years into its existence. It dropped the Warner Bros. Discovery channels that same year, which have yet to return.

The NBCU blackout is only impacting Fubo, not the Hulu + Live TV service that is now under Fubo management. NBCU and Hulu would have a separate carriage deal.

ESPN to carry at least one Sunday night baseball game next season

Despite giving up its “Sunday Night Baseball” package to NBCUniversal, ESPN will carry at least one Sunday night Major League Baseball game next season, with the MLB Little League Classic set to remain in its traditional Sunday primetime window. First pitch for the Brewers-Braves game from Williamsport, Pa., is scheduled for 7:10 PM ET on August 23.

Assuming NBCU does not carry a Sunday night game that week — a near lock, given “Sunday Night Baseball” is supposed to be a timeslot-exclusive window — it will likely be one of a handful of Sunday nights next year on which NBC does not carry live sports.

NBCU will likely still have an MLB game on that day, as the company acquired the “Sunday Leadoff” package of morning games as part of its rights deal. Those games will primarily air on Peacock, but NBC is set to simulcast at least one on July 5 of next year.

As for ESPN, the Little League Classic is part of a 30-game package of exclusive MLB windows that will primarily air on weeknights. The company will also continue broadcasting “Sunday Night Baseball” on the radio.

Plus: MLS, College Gameday, TNT studio, arena football

The FOX broadcast network will carry a Nashville SC-Atlanta United Major League Soccer match in primetime on Friday, July 17, leading into the final weekend of the FIFA World Cup, it was announced this week. That will be one of the first MLS matches after the league returns from a near two-month break to accommodate the World Cup, a hiatus necessitated by the spring-to-fall calendar that MLS is abandoning after next season. Next season is also the last of Fox Sports’ deal to carry non-exclusive MLS matches, and with the league’s Apple TV deal now set to expire three years ahead of schedule, any renewal talks could carry added weight.
ESPN is making its “College Gameday” pregame show available for free via the ESPN app and social media for the remainder of the regular season, the network announced Thursday. ESPN initially made “Gameday” available for free three weeks ago, when the Disney networks were first blacked out on YouTube TV, and continued to do even after the blackout ended last weekend.
The new TNT Sports college basketball studio show will be on-site from Las Vegas for next week’s Players Era tournaments, with the team of Adam Lefkoe, Bruce Pearl, Jamal Mashburn and Jalen Rose joined for the first time this season by Chris Webber. TNT will also have a separate team working from its Atlanta studios with host Tim Doyle joined by Dennis Scott, Dalen Cuff and Seth Davis.
The Indoor Football League, the oldest and currently only major arena football league in operation, has reached a rights deal with FanDuel Sports Network to carry a 60-game package of games next season. The FDSN RSNs will carry Sunday night games each week — presumably preempted in markets where local NBA, NHL or MLB teams are playing — plus a conference championship game and the IFL National Championship.

Paramount is only known WBD bidder seeking TNT, other cable networks

Jon Lewis

Jon Lewis has been covering the sports media industry on a daily basis since 2006 as the founder and main writer of Sports Media Watch. You can contact him here or on the social media websites X (Twitter) or Bluesky.

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Comments 15

Jtk1 says:

8 months ago

I know the network schedules are starting to come into focus for next year. That said, I know everyone is saying that NBC is doing around 26 games next season, and ESPN will show around 30, so I have a couple questions about that. I know that NBC will do a game on opening night, and I heard Labor Day, not sure about Memorial Day, but does that number include just NBC network games or also games on Peacock,NBCSN? And if it doesn’t I wonder if the Opening Day game and Labor Day game will also count toward that number? Also anyone know if ESPN will show more than one game a week? Because I know in April and May they will be busy with both the NBA and NHL playoffs. Also one other thing when NBC takes over Sunday night games, will the game still begin at 7 est?
Fred W says:

8 months ago

I’m surprised NBC didn’t jump on the opportunity to sign Lowe since he lives in that area
- Matt Galvin says:
  
  8 months ago
  
  NBC has Mannix as Insider,Amazon Haynes,NBATV none,ESPN a couple.
Roshan Singh says:

8 months ago

The thing is, it doesn’t matter if a game isn’t on NBC—NBCU still owes 25 Sunday Night Baseball games. If they’re not on NBC, they have to land on Peacock or NBCSN.

But with no SNB on Aug 23 (LL Classic) and none on the final Sunday (all games start around 3 PM ET), there simply aren’t enough Sundays to fit all 25 exclusive-window games.

Unless MLB schedules a doubleheader on another Sunday and gives up exclusivity… or slots one on July 12, the Sunday before the ASG. But MLB hasn’t scheduled SNB—or any late game—on that Sunday in recent years.

Hey Jon, do you know if MLB is even allowed to put a SNB game on the Sunday before the ASG?
NBC already has the Futures Game in an early window and could easily air SNB later—if the rules allow it.
- Jon Lewis says:
  
  8 months ago
  
  I think the games on Opening Day and Labor Day should solve that issue. Doubt this new deal changes the way MLB schedules All-Star break, I imagine they got rid of the Sunday night game to accommodate players.
  - Roshan Singh says:
    
    8 months ago
    
    Ohh but aren’t they separate games? I read them as separate in the NBC PR about the deal — the press release lists Sunday Night Baseball, Opening Day, Labor Day, and the Futures Game in different bullets.
    
    One bullet specifically says something along the lines of:
    
    Beginning with the 2026 season, Sunday Night Baseball will consist of 25 primetime games per year, a mixture of games on NBC/Peacock and Peacock/NBCSN exclusives.
    
    Then, in a different bullet, it says:
    
    The agreement creates two new traditions – exclusive Opening Day and Labor Day primetime games. NBC and Peacock will be the exclusive home of the primetime game on the first full day of games (March 26, 2026). In a first for MLB, there will be an exclusive Labor Day primetime game on NBC/Peacock. No other game will be played at that time.
    
    Wikipedia entry for MLB on NBC (I know doesn’t mean much) mirrors this too, with separate bullets for:
    • “25 Sunday Night Baseball games per season”
    • “Yearly primetime Labor Day and Opening Day games on NBC and Peacock
    - Rick James Bible Owner says:
      
      8 months ago
      
      There are roughly 27 Sunday nights next baseball season from March 29 to September 27, down to 26 if you don’t count the Sunday night before the ASG July 12 (that particular SNB before All-Str Game week was scrapped after 2017). SNB won’t be an NBC priority because of prior commitments before May 24 or 31 (NBA) or after August 30 (ND-Wisconsin Sept. 6, SNF the last 3 Sundays). Instead of NBCU parachuting in and sharing production costs/teams with ESPN (which does happen on occasion; since they’re already in Williamsport for 2+weeks) to do that one game, NBCU more than likely, willingly gave up this mid-August slot for exhibition football, with either Opening Night or Futures Game counting as an ‘exclusive’ window, if not both.
    - Wyatt Smith says:
      
      8 months ago
      
      Are they allowed to air later 10 pm et games on SNB on nights when MLB airs (since NBA has Doubleheaders on March 29 and April 5), but with April 12 being the last day of the NBA season, and ESPN airing primetime games that night, could they put Sunday night baseball there? (Plus with the uncertainty of how NBA playoffs will go this year, some of those weekends could also open up, especially if a game 7 or something like that doesn’t happen), also we don’t know what the standard SNB time is yet either, but I believe there is a good chance it will be 7/10 pm et DH or even a standalone 8 pm et game (with the pregame starting in the 7 pm et hour), since having the pregame at 6 pm ET hour would cause local programming to be preempted, yes Fox starts their baseball coverage earlier to end earlier to fit their common prime schedule (but with sports all day that’s not a problem), but for NBC it’s a different case, unless they start the game at 7 pm et and air a 1 hour post game after the game (like how they are doing a half hour NBA showtime after NBA games, vs starting at 8:30 pm et like ABC does on Saturday nights)
Rick James Bible Owner says:

8 months ago

Just glad they kept the Little League Classic going. Ham-handed as it can be, it’s for the kids meeting some Major Leaguers and getting to see a game while they’re at the LLWS. And because I try to do some research before making some of these posts as to not come off half-cocked (can’t help it sometimes), Braves-Brewers is probably the best combination of a team willing to give up a home game (Milwaukee) while not being too far away from Williamsport during that weekend (Braves & Brewers have two early games Friday & Saturday).
Ryan P Strnad says:

8 months ago

In place of a Sunday Night BASEBALL game on NBC during that night, 8/23, they’ll probably aire
a preseason NFL game. It should be week 3 of the preseason then.
ESL says:

8 months ago

Jon, question about the NBC Sunday night baseball package. Do you know if anything was announced about the last day of the season, which is a Sunday? Will NBC broadcast have any game coverage that day? They obviously would not postpone Sunday Night Football, but wondering if NBC would show an afternoon game on the last day of the season? I always found it embarrassing for mlb that they had no national coverage on the last day. Hope it’s not just peacock that day.
- Jon Lewis says:
  
  8 months ago
  
  NBC will have a game in 2027 and 2028. Not sure what happens in 2026.
- Ryan P Strnad says:
  
  8 months ago
  
  A few years ago, TBS wouid show a “single game” on that day. I think it was before the 3:10p. ET universal start time. I remember the Marlins beat the Mets on there and got my Brewers in to the playoffs. First time in 26 years. Closed Shea stadium too.
  - ESL says:
    
    8 months ago
    
    True, but as always TBS had a terrible deal where local markets were blacked out. I remember turning on tbs to see what kind of coverage they had, and it was a black screen in the NY market on last day of season. You have to go back about 25 years when ESPN did the last day of the regular season that it was covered right. They would come on in the early afternoon and would show the game with most importance. And stay on for whip around coverage through the west coast games. They would have baseball coverage on for about 6 hours on a Sunday afternoon up against the NFL. Yes, this happened.
    - Ryan P Strnad says:
      
      8 months ago
      
      I remember in ESPN’s first contract (that ran from 1990-93), they were allowed to televise a “last day of the season” Sunday afternoon game only if it had implications on the playoff race (remember., it was just a 2 division per league setup back then and no wild cards). In 1990, the end of the regular season ended on a Wednesday because a start of the season lockout pushed the schedule back, so they naturally showed an (early time slot) Sunday afternoon game (Blue Jays at Red Sox) going up aganst NFL football with still a 3 game series for all MLB teams left to go. Both, in 1991 & 1992, there were no ESPN final day of the season games because all division races were locked up by then. In 1993, it was known the day before that the NL West division race wouldn’t be decided until (or after) the Giants at Dodgers that final Sunday (this was that memorable Braves/Giants pennant race), so ESPN televised that one. From 1994 onwards, it was a new contract, ESPN 2 came.on board, they added playoff spots, so they changed everything, but I remember starting with 1995, they’d usually televise a game (or even 2) that final day, and put them on “the duece”..