ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball will have an earlier start next year. Also: Disney will reportedly sell its newly acquired RSNs to multiple parties; ESPN has extended Mark Teixeria; and ESPN has hired British soccer voice Jon Champion.
Sunday Night Baseball to Start Earlier
Starting next season, ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball games will begin an hour earlier at 7 PM ET. ESPN announced the move on Monday, one day after it was initially reported by the Associated Press.
ESPN has on occasion aired Sunday night games before 8 PM ET, including last season’s finale in September.
There will be at least two exceptions to the new schedule. Dodgers-Rockies on April 7 and Red Sox-Yankees on September 8 will start at 8:30 and 8:00, respectively, due to preceding live events. [ESPN PR 12.10; AP 12.9]
Report: Disney to Split Fox RSNs in Sale
Disney will sell the 22 regional sports networks it is acquiring from 21st Century Fox to multiple parties, the New York Post reported Monday. According to the report, Disney wanted to sell the RSNs in a single deal, but there was little interest. Sinclair Broadcasting was reportedly the only company interested in buying all of the RSNs, and it made a “lowball bid.”
CNBC previously reported that Amazon bid for all of the RSNs, but a later report by Fox Business indicated that Amazon’s involvement was limited to a joint bid with the Yankees to acquire YES Network. Per the Post, Amazon is not interested in the other RSNs. [NYP 12.10]
ESPN Extends Teixeira
ESPN announced Monday that it has reached a contract extension with MLB analyst Mark Teixeria, who will continue in his current role as an MLB studio analyst on Baseball Tonight and SportsCenter. Teixeria, who joined ESPN last year, will also work select game telecasts. [ESPN PR 12.10]
Champion Joins ESPN For MLS
ESPN announced Monday that it has hired British soccer play-by-play voice Jon Champion to serve the same role on its Major League Soccer coverage. Champion, who previously called 2014 FIFA World Cup matches for ESPN, will work alongside Taylor Twellman on the network’s lead MLS team. [ESPN PR 12.10]
