A federal judge has again ruled in favor of Sling in the dispute over the streamer’s short-term ‘passes’. Plus: the NBA and FIBA will begin recruiting teams for a new European league; more news on why the USC-Notre Dame rivalry fell apart; and more, including the retirement of Pam Ward.
Judge rules in favor of Sling again in dispute over short-term ‘passes’
For the second time in as many months, a federal judge on Tuesday ruled in favor of Dish-owned Sling in the legal dispute over the streaming MVPD’s short-term ‘passes’ that give users access to its “Sling Orange” package — which includes the ESPN and TNT Sports networks — for as little as $5 a day. Warner Bros. Discovery had been seeking a preliminary injunction to block the short term ‘passes,’ arguing that they are not traditional subscriptions and thus constitute a breach of contract, but was denied by Judge Arun Subramanian.
The same judge ruled against Disney when it sought an injunction last month.
Sling announced the short-term plans in August. Disney promptly sued, arguing that the plans violated “the terms of our existing licensing agreement” by offering access to its networks outside of a traditional monthly subscription. WBD joined Disney in suing not long after, making the same argument. But per Winston Cho of The Hollywood Reporter, Judge Subramanian found that nothing in either company’s contract defines ‘subscription’ as requiring recurring payments or monthly terms. Subramanian, per THR: “[N]othing in the License Fee provision says that partial-month subscribers are foreclosed.”
After Subramanian ruled against Disney last month, Sling celebrated by reducing the price of its one-day pass to just $1. As might go without saying, the Sling passes are easily the cheapest way to access the ESPN and TNT Sports networks. A monthly Sling Orange plan costs $45/mo, ESPN Unlimited costs $30/mo, and the cheapest HBO Max tier that includes TNT Sports costs nearly $19/mo.
NBA, FIBA, to begin recruiting teams for European league amidst opposition
The NBA and FIBA this week announced that they will begin recruiting teams and ownership groups starting next month for a potential pan-European pro basketball league. The league would use the American pro sports system of permanent placement in the league, rather than the promotion/relegation model preferred in European sport. But all teams in any FIBA-affiliated league would have “a merit-based pathway to qualify on an annual basis,” which FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis said “respects European sport model principles.”
According to Ali Walker of Politico EU, there is “unease” among the European sports establishment about the venture, with EU Sports Commissioner Glenn Micallef saying after a meeting with FIBA officials that “restricting open competition comes at the expense of national leagues and the wider sporting pyramid.” Per Walker, representatives of the Spanish LaLiga soccer league told their NBA counterparts at a recent meeting that the closed format “is contrary to the European sports model and that, if implemented, it would be met with staunch opposition from EU institutions and other sporting organizations from across Europe.”
The NBA has reportedly held talks with officials at major European brands Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Real Madrid about joining the new league. According to Tim Reynolds of the AP, the “working target” for launch would be October of 2027, and the NBA and FIBA are exploring a 16-team league with 12 permanent spots and four that would be obtained through qualifying.
The new league would in some ways resemble the abandoned European SuperLeague in soccer, which was to include 12 of the highest-profile soccer clubs — Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham, AC Milan, Juventus, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Barcelona.
USC reportedly gave Notre Dame “week zero” ultimatum over guaranteed playoff spot
USC and Notre Dame were close to announcing a continuation of their football rivalry series, but negotiations fell apart after USC officials found out that Notre Dame had reached a deal with the College Football Playoff guaranteeing them a playoff spot if they finish ranked in the top 12, according to Ryan Kartje of the Los Angeles Times. Per Kartje, USC believes that the guarantee would give Notre Dame “a material advantage” in any late season matchup, and thus requested that their annual meeting move to “week zero” of the season.
That request, which Kartje reported was made just last week, was turned down by Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevaqua. “Week zero,” which takes place on the Saturday before the traditional start of the season, features the occasional high-profile matchup but never hosted an annual rivalry game.
Ross Dellinger of Yahoo Sports previously reported that the sides were close to a deal and that the timing of the game had been a factor in that falling apart, but that report had not specifically cited Notre Dame’s CFP arrangement as the reason.
The Notre Dame-USC rivalry, which save for 2020 has been played every year since 1945, will not be played the next two seasons at least. Kartje reported that USC believes the game could be played again starting in 2028, but that Notre Dame believes the earliest resumption would come in 2030. Notre Dame previously paused its long-standing rivalry game with Michigan, which was last played in 2019 and will not resume until 2033.
Plus: Pam Ward, SportsDesk, Richardson, Jefferson
- Longtime ESPN play-by-play voice and studio host Pam Ward has retired from the company, it was announced Tuesday. Ward had been with ESPN for nearly three decades and in recent years had primarily worked as its #2 WNBA voice. Earlier in her ESPN tenure, she called college football games from 2000-11. She was the first woman to serve as a play-by-play voice on a Division I football game and for most of her run was the only woman in any prominent play-by-play role on a men’s sport. In the early days of the sports blogosphere, she was a frequent target for criticism in a manner that probably would not fly today. In addition to her sport-specific roles, Ward originally joined ESPN as an anchor for ESPNews and occasionally anchored “SportsCenter.”
- NBC Sports announced Tuesday that it will use Mary Carillo, figure skating medalist Adam Rippon, Paralympic medalist Ezra Frech and NBC News correspondents Peter Alexander, Anne Thompson, Sam Brock, Gadi Schwartz and Savannah Sellers as roving “SportsDesk” reporters during next year’s Winter Olympics. Most of the crew will be based in Milan, with Schwartz and Sellers in Cortina and Brock in Livigno. For Carillo, primarily known as a tennis analyst, it will be her 17th Olympic assignment.
- ESPN announced Tuesday that it has reached a contract extension with “Hoop Streams” host Vanessa Richardson. Richardson, who also serves as the sideline reporter on Houston Rockets games, joined ESPN as host of “Hoop Streams” earlier this year and has filled in on the network’s “NBA Today” studio show. She also filled in as the sideline reporter for ESPN Radio’s broadcasts of the NBA Finals when Jorge Sedano was called up to the TV broadcast in Games 2 and 3.
- The NBA is debuting a new Richard Jefferson-hosted show on Wednesday that will feature the ESPN analyst conducting comedic interviews with the league’s stars. Titled “The Richard Show,” the series will debut on NBA TV, the NBA App and NBA social media platforms.
