Scott Van Pelt could continue his “Countdown” responsibilities while hosting a 5 PM show; Netflix is reportedly looking at Premier League rights; and YouTube TV reaches a new carriage deal with TelevisaUnivision. Plus news on “MLB on ESPN,” the PGA TOUR, Scripps and Jason Garrett.
Van Pelt could continue ‘Monday Night Countdown’ with potential 5 PM show
Appearing on the “SI Media” podcast published Wednesday, ESPN president of content Burke Magnus said that Scott Van Pelt could continue to host “Monday Night Countdown” and postgame editions of “SportsCenter” should he land a 5 PM daily show. Magnus previously said as much to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic.
“It would be restricted to likely Monday nights during the NFL season and then a handful of other events throughout the year, other nights throughout the year where the night was just so enormous that you want Scott Van Pelt doing ‘SportsCenter,'” Magnus told host Jimmy Traina, mentioning the NBA Finals, World Series and Stanley Cup Final as possible events.
Magnus added that a new Van Pelt show “could easily have a partner or a cohort in it, but it would reflect him and his sensibilities.” Van Pelt has worked with several partners throughout his career across platforms, including Steve Coughlin and Ryen Russillo.
Van Pelt is one of a short list of people being considered for the timeslot, and ESPN is not in a rush to come to a decision, Magnus said, floating next fall as a possible launch date. In the meantime, the 5 PM ET edition of “SportsCenter,” currently co-anchored by Matt Barrie and Christine Williamson, is doing better than “Around the Horn” in that window previously.
Netflix reportedly looking at Premier League rights
Netflix is reportedly considering bidding for rights to the Premier League when they next become available, per Martyn Ziegler of The Times, though it was not specified which territories the streamer would be targeting. NBC Sports owns EPL rights in the United States through 2028, with Sky and TNT Sports doing so in the UK through the following year. Ziegler reported that bids for new packages “are expected during next year.”
Netflix previously bid for rights to the UEFA Champions League in Germany, losing out to Paramount. Ziegler reported that Netflix also submitted a bid for the global contract to the UEFA Super Cup — a matchup featuring the winners of the Champions League and Europa League. CBS Sports has held the U.S. rights to the Super Cup since 2019, with TNT Sports owning rights in the UK.
Ziegler added that UEFA offered a global rights package for one Champions League match per round but that “streaming platforms were not yet ready to commit resources to that.” Netflix has indicated taking an ‘event’ strategy around live sports, underscored by recent contracts with WWE for “Raw,” the NFL for a Christmas Day doubleheader and MLB for both Opening Night and the Home Run Derby.
Netflix is also going to carry the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031 and had reportedly looked at presenting a standalone Notre Dame-USC college football game.
YouTube TV, TelevisaUnivision reach carriage deal
YouTube TV and TelevisaUnivision announced Wednesday that they have reached a new carriage agreement, ending a blackout that stretched nearly two months. Under the terms of the new deal, TelevisaUnivision U.S. networks will be distributed on the YouTube TV base plan and Spanish plan, and the Vix streaming service will be offered through the YouTube “Primetime Channels” feature in both the U.S. and Mexico.
“We are also excited to partner with TelevisaUnivision to grow their presence across YouTube by bringing more content to YouTube’s global audiences and new bundled offers to the marketplace,” a YouTube spokesperson said. YouTube claims that its main app registered more than 9 billion views globally for Spanish-language content this past June.
The agreement marks the second carriage dispute involving YouTube TV resolved in the last few weeks. Earlier in the month, the vMVPD reached a pact with The Walt Disney Company that gave it flexibility to include select Disney networks in genre-specific packages. As part of the deal, ESPN Unlimited is also available for YouTube TV subscribers, and some live and on-demand programming from the DTC product can be viewed through YouTube TV as well.
YouTube TV narrowly avoided blackouts of NBCUniversal and Fox Corporation programming earlier in the year.
Plus: MLB on ESPN, PGA TOUR, Scripps, Jason Garrett
- ESPN executive Burke Magnus, on the aforementioned “SI Media” podcast, said that he is not sure if its lead MLB booth of Karl Ravech, David Cone and Eduardo Pérez will return next season, as Cone’s YES Network commitments could conflict with ESPN’s new weeknight-focused schedule.
- Whispers about the PGA TOUR reducing its schedule to 20 events “have gained momentum,” which could result in the season beginning in late February, according to Joel Beall of Golf Digest. Pro golfer Harris English said last week at the RSM Classic that it would be a good thing for the PGA TOUR to potentially start after the Super Bowl “because we can’t really compete with football.”
- The E.W. Scripps Company has adopted a shareholder rights plan that would take effect if any entity acquires 10% or more of company Class A shares without approval. The “poison pill” was introduced just days after Sinclair, which has a 9.9% stake in Scripps, issued a cash and stock bid of $7/share for the company.
- NBC Sports analyst Jason Garrett will be in the booth for the network’s Thanksgiving Day game for a second consecutive season alongside play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico and reporter Melissa Stark. Garrett, a regular on “Football Night in America,” is stepping in for Cris Collinsworth, who last called an NFL game on the holiday in 2023.
