- After “weeks of fruitless negotiations,” DirecTV dropped Versus on Tuesday, shrinking the cable net’s distribution from 75 million homes to 61.5 million. The dispute centers on Versus’ price tag — “around $0.27-0.29 per subscriber per month.” In a statement, DirecTV says Versus parent company Comcast “has forced us to take down the channel because we will not agree to their ridiculous demands.” Programming affected includes the IRL, college football games involving Texas and Florida State, and by October, the NHL.
- ESPN has ended its silence on the Erin Andrews story. Andrews’ upcoming appearance on Oprah is being reported by SportsCenter and by ESPN.com — the latter of which has placed the story on the front page. This marks the first time since video of Andrews surfaced in July that ESPN has covered the story.
- Despite losing the BCS, FOX is not abandoning college football. FOX and the Cotton Bowl have agreed to extend their television agreement through 2014. FOX will air the Cotton Bowl in prime time in 2011, the first year of the extension. A FOX spokesman told the Dallas Morning News that the net “has yet to determine” whether future Cotton Bowls will air in prime time.
News: March Madness expansion, Russell Wilson, Nexstar and more
The NCAA basketball tournaments are officially expanding to 76 teams; Russell Wilson is mulling between playing football and starting...
