Fred Hickman, a fixture on sports television during a career that included stops on CNN, ESPN and YES Network, has died. Also: Conference USA has a new, weeknight-heavy media rights deal; Tiger Woods is returning to “The Match”; and more.
Former CNN, ESPN and YES host Fred Hickman dies
Longtime sportscaster Fred Hickman, best known for his tenure on CNN Sports Tonight alongside partner Nick Charles, has died at age 66. The news broke Wednesday night. Hickman worked for CNN from 1980-84 and again from 1986-2001 during a period when the network aired nightly sports coverage on its flagship network (and later the short-lived CNN/SI venture). His time at CNN also included other roles within Turner Broadcasting, including hosting an early version of TNT’s Inside the NBA.
Hickman joined the then-fledgling YES Network after leaving CNN and later moved onto ESPN, where he was a SportsCenter anchor and briefly served as the network’s lead NBA studio host. He worked primarily in local news since leaving ESPN in 2008.
Hickman’s passing comes more than a decade after that of his former partner Charles, who died of cancer at age 64 in 2011. (YES Network)
Conference USA sets new deal with CBS, ESPN
Conference USA has agreed to a five-year media rights deal with ESPN and CBS Sports starting next season, Sports Business Journal and The Athletic reported Wednesday. Games are currently split between ESPN, CBS, Stadium and NFL Network. The most notable item in the new deal is that the conference will only schedule weeknight games during the month of October, mostly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
CBS will continue to serve as the primary broadcaster of Conference USA games, carrying the championship games of football, men’s and women’s basketball, softball and baseball. (Sports Business Journal 11.9, The Athletic 11.9)
Tiger Woods to play in next edition of “The Match”
Tiger Woods, who has played sparingly since being seriously injured in a car accident early last year, will headline the next edition of the made-for-TV golf series “The Match,” it was announced this week. Woods and Rory McIlroy are set to team up against Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in a competition that is scheduled for Saturday, December 10, on TNT, TBS, TruTV and HLN.
Woods has not played in “The Match” since the second edition two years ago, one of the first live sportscasts after the wave of cancellations and postponements that decimated the industry. (Turner Sports)
Plus: Fowler, Corso, Edwards, Hammon
Fox Sports is considering a pursuit of ESPN lead college football voice Chris Fowler, whose contract is expiring next year, Front Office Sports reported last week. Per the report, Fox would want Fowler to host its “Big Noon Kickoff” pregame. Fowler hosted ESPN’s “College Gameday” from 1993-2015. … ESPN “College Gameday” analyst Lee Corso missed the show for a fourth time in six weeks last weekend as he continues to deal with a health issue. … Former ESPN pro and college football analyst Herm Edwards is returning to the network. Edwards worked for ESPN from 2009 until joining Arizona State as head coach in 2017. … ESPN also announced last week that it has hired WNBA Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon as an NBA studio analyst. Hammon is also technically a re-hire, having previously worked for ESPN as an NBA sideline reporter during her WNBA career. (Front Office Sports 11.4, “Gameday” 11.5, ESPN PR)
