Longtime NBA analyst Steve “Snapper” Jones has died. Also: Fox Sports will begin airing BIG3 basketball live next season, Premier League viewership hit a two-month high, and the LPGA scored a big increase for its season finale.
Fmr. NBA Analyst Jones Has Died
Longtime NBA broadcaster
Steve “Snapper” Jones has passed away at 75,
The Oregonian reported Saturday. Jones served as a game analyst, studio analyst and sideline reporter over the course of a three-decade career from 1976-2008. He worked for every national outlet that held NBA rights over that span, spending time with CBS, Turner Sports, USA Network, NBC, ESPN/ABC and NBA TV.
He was best known for his 12 season run on NBC from 1990-02, where he spent several years working alongside Bill Walton in a popular ‘odd couple’ pairing. Jones and Walton, who worked one NBA Finals together in 2002, reunited on ESPN/ABC from 2004-06. After his national broadcasting career ended in 2006, he continued to work local games, most recently with the defunct Sonics during the 2007-08 season. [The Oregonian 11.25]
Fox to Air BIG3 Games Live Next Year
Fox Sports will begin airing coverage of the BIG3 basketball league live next season, ending the practice of airing games on a 24-hour tape delay. Games will move from Sunday afternoons to Friday nights, with FS1 or FOX airing a three-hour block each week. FOX will air four primetime telecasts, including the playoff and championship rounds on back-to-back weeks in late August. [Fox Sports]
EPL Hits Two-Month High on NBC
Last Saturday’s Manchester United-Newcastle English Premier League match had a 0.55 rating and 837,000 viewers on the NBC broadcast network, up 22% in ratings and 30% in viewership from Tottenham-West Ham last year (0.45, 642K) but down 27% and 22% respectively Stoke City-Chelsea in 2015 (0.75, 1.1M). It was the most-watched EPL match since September 9.
Earlier in the day, NBCSN scored a 0.31 (+3%) and 467,000 (-2%) for Leicester City-Manchester City and a 0.30 (-6%) and 425,000 (-13%) for Arsenal-Tottenham. The following day, Watford-West Ham scored a 0.23 (-4%) and 334,000 (-16%). Monday’s figures were not available. [ShowBuzz Daily 11.21]
LPGA Finale Posts Big Increase
Final round coverage of the LPGA Tour Championship, the final tournament of the season, had a 0.5 rating and 699,000 viewers on ABC last Sunday, up 32% in ratings and 37% in viewership from last year (0.38, 509K) and up 28% and 30% respectively from 2015 (0.39, 539K). [ShowBuzz]
