Dick Vitale is taking time off due to a vocal cord issue that he says is not life-threatening. Plus: news on the passing of ESPN reporter Jeff Dickerson. Also: Nielsen has admitted undercounting viewership in September of last year.
Vitale taking time off to rest voice
ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale is taking a leave of absence from the broadcast booth due to a vocal cord issue unrelated to his ongoing battle with lymphoma. In a statement released through ESPN earlier this week, Vitale said that the he has a precancerous dysplasia on his vocal cords that is not life-threatening, but will require him to rest his voice.
Vitale previously underwent surgery to remove ulcers from his vocal cords in 2007, which caused him to miss game assignments for the first time in his decades-long tenure with ESPN.
In his statement this week, Vitale said that he has made “fantastic progress” in his cancer treatment. [ESPN PR]
ESPN reporter Dickerson, 44, passes away
ESPN NFL reporter Jeff Dickerson died of cancer this week at 44. Dickerson had been with ESPN since 2001 and was a regular presence on the company’s various studio shows. He also hosted an ESPN Radio show and worked on local Chicago television covering the Bears and Loyola-Chicago men’s basketball team.
Dickerson’s death came just two years after his wife Caitlin died at 36 of melanoma. A GoFundMe for his 11-year-old son Parker has already raised more than $1 million. [ESPN.com 12.28]
Nielsen admits undercounting out-of-home audience last year
Nielsen said last week that it undercounted out-of-home viewing starting in September of last year and will reissue data from the affected months, just the latest admission of error from the beleaguered measurement company. Nielsen previously admitted to undercounting ratings in February of 2020 and has been widely criticized for failing to maintain the quality of its measurement panel throughout that year. It lost its accreditation by the Media Research Council in September of this year.
Recall that the fall of 2020 included an unusually high number of sporting events, from the usual (NFL and college football) to the highly unusual (NBA and NHL playoffs, Kentucky Derby, and golf’s U.S. Open).
It should be noted that September 2020 was the first month in which Nielsen began incorporating out-of-home viewing into its final nationals. The company had initially sought to delay the addition of OOH viewing, but relented upon pushback from the networks. [Variety 12.22]
