UPFRONTS 2013: The Overachievers 
‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ On Track For $27M … 
‘Mike & Molly’ Creator Mark Roberts To … 
Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts Set For … 
Hammond On Cannes: Weinstein Brings Out Stars For 2013 … 
Cannes: Fake Gunshots Interrupt Canal Plus Live Broadcast … 
‘The Great Gatsby’ Starts With $5.4M … 
Cannes: Music Box Acquires Competition’s … 
Cannes: Bruno Wu & Pierre-Ange Le Pogam Kick Up Angel … 
UPDATE: Amazon Studios Begins Pilot Pickups; … 
Bruce Rosenblum Bids Classy Goodbye 
RATINGS RAT RACE UPDATE: ‘American Idol’ Hits … 
UPDATE: ‘Iron Man 3′ Box Office Crosses $1B … 
John Lesher’s Le Grisbi Teams With DCM Productions … 
Upfront Market: Will Auto Makers Subsidize TV … 
Cannes: Thief Makes Off With $1M+ In Chopard Jewelry Meant … 
Cannes: Cyrus Nowrasteh To Helm Film On Soviet Dissident … 
‘Scandal’ Finale On Small Screen And Onstage At … 
Cannes: Cassian Elwes, Robert Ogden Barnum Launch e2b … 
SPOILER ALERT! NBC’s ‘The Office’ Finale 
‘Modern Family’ Gets Cable Makeover For Launch … 
After 45 years, the U.S. Open tennis tournament is leaving CBS and moving to cable. Beginning with the 2015 tournament, ESPN networks will air the sporting event exclusively. The U.S. Tennis Association and ESPN announced an 11-year deal today that includes 130-plus hours of TV coverage from the tournament, from the first serve through the men’s finals. The tournament finals had been carried by CBS since 1968. Its current deal expires in 2014. ESPN began televising 100 hours of early-round and some second-week matches in 2009. As part of the new deal, ESPN will televise the middle weekend of play, including Labor Day, in addition to the men’s and women’s semifinals and finals. Starting in 2015, the women’s semifinals will be played on a Thursday in prime time, with the men’s semifinals on Friday. The women’s finals will be on Saturday and the men’s finals on Sunday. This year’s Open is scheduled for August 26-September 8.
US Open Tennis Tournament To Air Exclusively On ESPN Beginning 2015
ESPN Inks Deal With Twitter For Ad-Supported Sports Highlights
Twitter users soon will be able to see — rather than just read about — more hail Marys, big air, and golden goals. ESPN said today it is broadening its ties to the 140-character world, making ad-embedded clips of several major events available on Twitter and mobile devices, creating yet another potential revenue stream. The sports behemoth becomes the latest TV entity to get cozier with the site as video becomes a bigger part of the twitterverse. Last month, Twitter was said to be holding talks with Viacom and NBCUniversal about hosting clips from those companies’ shows, and BBC America tweeted a few weeks back that it had signed up for the first “in-Tweet branded video synced to entertainment TV series.” The Disney-run “Worldwide Leader in Sports,” as it brands itself, soon will make the clips available on Twitter and mobile devices shortly after they happen live on-air. Expect video from NCAA football, the X Games and action from the pitch during the run-up to next year’s soccer World Cup. The net will detail its plans during its upfront Tuesday in New York. Read More »
ESPN, Southeastern Conference Team To Launch SEC Network In 2014
The Southeastern Conference and ESPN have signed a 20-year agreement through 2034 to create and operate a multiplatform network, which will launch in August 2014, it was announced today by SEC Commissioner Mike Slive and ESPN President John Skipper. The new network and its accompanying digital platform will air SEC content 24/7 including more than 1,000 events in its first year. The network will televise approximately 45 SEC football games, more than 100 men’s basketball games, 60 women’s basketball games, 75 baseball games, and events from across the SEC’s 21 sports annually. Programming will also include studio shows, original content such as SEC Storied, spring football games, signing day and pro days coverage. Hundreds of additional live events from various sports will be offered exclusively on the digital platform. The network and its digital extensions will connect with each SEC institution and create opportunities for each school to produce and develop content.
ESPN Writer Clarifies Remarks On Gay NBA Player As Media Adjust To New Reality
Chris Broussard became part of the story yesterday with his outspoken comments about NBA player Jason Collins‘ coming-out in a Sports Illustrated column, making the journeyman center America’s first openly gay major sports figure. Broussard, a Christian and a longtime respected NBA beat writer who now works for ESPN The Magazine, called homosexuality a sin during a segment on the network’s newsmagazine OTL discussing Collins’ revelation. Not sure why anyone is surprised that a TV commentator provided commentary — agree or disagree with his take that’s what they pay the guy for, and he won’t be the last to offer an opposing view in this debate — but it prompted an apology from ESPN last night and a clarification by Broussard via Twitter:
Today on OTL, as part of a larger, wide-ranging discussion on today’s news, I offered my personal opinion as it relates to Christianity, a point of view that I have expressed publicly before. I realize that some people disagree with my opinion and I accept and respect that. As has been the case in the past, my beliefs have not and will not impact my ability to report on the NBA. I believe Jason Collins displayed bravery with his announcement today and I have no objection to him or anyone else playing in the NBA.
ESPN Moving X Games Out Of LA
Beginning in 2014, LA residents will no longer able to hear the sound of snapping fibulas and ulnas echoing throughout the basin on hot summer days. That’s because ESPN announced today it … Read More »
ESPN Scores Record Masters Ratings
The 2013 Masters Tournament on Friday notched the highest rated and most-viewed Friday performance for the sports network, and drew the fourth-best golf viewership ever on cable television. Per Nielsen, ESPN‘s Friday Masters coverage had 4.2 million … Read More »
NBC Sports, ESPN, Turner Lead Sports Emmys Nominations
The networks of the NBC Sports Group, which aired the London Olympics over the summer, drew a leading 48 nominations for the 34th annual Sports Emmy Awards, which … Read More »
Super Bowl Champ Ray Lewis Officially Joins ESPN
It was not the best-kept secret that the outspoken (and out there) Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis was being courted by ESPN — as well as every other network … Read More »
Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival Sets Lineup
[New York, NY – March 12, 2013] – The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF) today announced the lineup for the seventh annual Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival. Founded to broaden the audience for independent film through stories about sports and competition, this year’s Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival will consist of nine films, including four titles from ESPN Films’ highly anticipated “Nine for IX” series which celebrates the fortieth anniversary of Title IX with nine documentary films about women in sports directed by outstanding female filmmakers. The 2013 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival will run during the 12th edition of TFF, presented by American Express, April 17 – April 28 at locations around New York City.
The Festival revealed that the world premiere of Big Shot, directed by Kevin Connolly, will serve as the gala premiere of the program on Friday, April 19. Connolly is returning to Tribeca having debuted his feature film Gardener of Eden in 2007. In Big Shot, Connolly chronicles John Spano’s fraudulent purchase of the New York Islanders. In 1996, Spano bought the New York Islanders for a staggering $165 million. The scheme behind Spano’s acquisition of the team is revealed as Big Shot takes viewers behind the scenes of the biggest fraud in hockey history.
Disney Picks Nielsen To Guarantee Online Ratings For ABC, ESPN, and ABC Family
NEW YORK — March 5, 2013 — ABC, ABC Family and ESPN have adopted Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings to manage demographic guarantees for online video campaigns. Each network is using Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings audience composition data in conjunction with total delivered impression counts from ad servers to calculate viewer demographics.
Fox Sports 1 To Go Live In August; Regis Philbin To Host Show On National Cable Net
The Fox Sports Media Group has an upfront presentation scheduled for this afternoon and is expected to use that platform to announce the launch of its first national cable sports network, Fox Sports 1. The all-sports network will go live in August, timed to the start of college football season and David Hill, the former head of the Fox Sports Media Group, has been brought in to oversee the creation and launch. Plans for the channel have been brewing for some time – News Corp. COO Chase Carey last month called it the “world’s worst kept secret” – but up to now details were scant including what sports the network would carry. According to The New York Times, Fox Sports 1 will have Nascar, Major League Baseball, college basketball and football, soccer (including the 2018 and 2022 World Cups) and UFC fights. Also, an in-studio show will be hosted by Regis Philbin who last week hinted at the prospect. Read More »
Dish Network (Sort Of) Wins Breach Of Contract Case Against ESPN
This was the judicial equivalent of damning with faint praise. In a breach of contract suit in New York, a federal jury unanimously agreed today with one of Dish Network‘s four claims against ESPN. It required the Disney-owned … Read More »
BT Scores ESPN’s UK & Ireland TV Business, Including Soccer Rights Portfolio
In a deal expected to close in late July, UK telecommunications provider BT will acquire ESPN‘s UK and Ireland TV channels business which primarily includes the ESPN and ESPN America channels. As part of the deal, … Read More »
ESPN Close To Deal For Big East Games Through 2020: Reports
ESPN is said to have matched NBC’s offer for a media rights package to the Big East conference’s games through the 2019-2020 academic year in a deal worth $130M, according to various sports media reports. … Read More »
BT In Talks With ESPN To Acquire Additional UK-Euro Soccer Rights
UK telecommunications provider BT is negotiating to buy soccer rights from ESPN as the Disney-owned channel explores an exit from the UK, the Financial Times reports. BT aims to launch as many as three sports channels offering soccer, rugby … Read More »
UTA Signs ESPN’s Matthew Berry
EXCLUSIVE: ESPN Fantasy Sports Analyst Matthew Berry has signed with United Talent Agency. UTA will be representing Berry, who was previously with CAA, in all areas. As well as appearing on ESPN 2’s Fantasy Football Now, the … Read More »
Disney Fiscal Q1 Earnings And Revenues Beat Expectations
The company had warned that the year-end quarter would be more complicated than usual, but the results may come as a mildly encouraging surprise. Disney reported net income of $1.38B, -5.6% vs the period last year, on revenues of $11.34B, +5.2%. Revenues came in ahead of the expected $11.21B. Earnings at 79 cents a share not including one-time items beat forecasts for 76 cents. At the largest unit, Media Networks, revenues were up 7% to $5.1B with operating income +2% to $1.2B. Income at the cable networks fell slightly due to higher programming and production costs including ESPN‘s outlays for college football, NFL, and NBA games. But ABC helped out with higher ad sales, including political ads at the TV stations. The Studio Entertainment operation fared less well with revenues -5% to $1.5B and operating income -43% to $234M. Disney says that the theatrical and home video releases couldn’t match last year when Real Steel was going strong at overseas box offices and both Cars 2 and The Lion King 3D on the shelves. It also noted an expense of $321M set aside in light of losing final appeals in a breach of contract suit involving affiliates ABC, Buena Vista TV and Valleycrest Prods over Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.
Related: Disney To Release Additional Films Based On ‘Star Wars’ Characters Read More »
A Fox National Sports Net Would Make Sense, But Wouldn’t Ding ESPN: Analyst
Nomura Equity Research’s Michael Nathanson does a nice job this morning of laying out the likely business arrangements for News Corp‘s still unannounced but widely expected plan to convert its Speed channel into a national network to be called Fox Sports 1, with Fuel to be rebranded as Fox Sports 2. Rupert Murdoch is betting on “what the company believes will be increasing value of live sports over the next couple of decades,” Nathanson says. Advertisers spent a record $13.3B on broadcast and cable sports last year, confident that viewers would watch them live — instead of recording the shows to zip past the commercials. News Corp’s sports initiatives also seem to make sense according to Nathanson’s calculations of pay TV fees: Speed and Fuel together collect about $300M a year. Under what the analyst calls his “blue sky scenario,” the company could see nearly $1.5B in additional revenue from cable and satellite companies (and, presumably, their customers) as Fox hikes their prices once the channels are rebranded. Read More »
Juan José Alfonso Joins ABC Studios As VP Drama
ESPN programming executive Juan José Alfonso has been named VP Drama Development for ABC Studios. He will report to SVP Drama Development Michael McDonald. Alfonso comes from sister Disney company ESPN, where he was VP of Program Development, overseeing all international original content, including documentaries, scripted series, … Read More »
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