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ESPN Writer Clarifies Remarks On Gay NBA Player As Media Adjust To New Reality

By PATRICK HIPES, Managing Editor | Tuesday April 30, 2013 @ 12:44pm PDTTags: Chris Broussard, ESPN, jason collins, NBA

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.

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LA Lakers And New York Knicks Score Big Christmas Day Ratings On ABC

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday December 26, 2012 @ 6:43pm PSTTags: NBA
Nellie Andreeva

ABC and ESPN did solid ratings business on Christmas Day with a quintet of NBA games, led by the LA Lakers-New York Knicks matchup on ABC. Kicking things off was the Boston Celtics-Brooklyn Nets at 12 PM on ESPN (2.7 overnight rating). That was down from the first Christmas Day game last year between The Boston Celtics and New York Knicks (4.1), but that game aired on TNT and marked the kickoff of the 2011-12 NBA season, which was delayed by a labor dispute. The Celtics-Nets faceoff matched the corresponding 2010 game between Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks. At 3 PM, NY Knicks at LA Lakers on ABC (5.9) was up both from last year’s 2:30 PM ABC game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat (5.6) and the 2010 game between Boston Celtics-Orlando Magic in 2010 (5.3). That was ABC’s best overnight ratings delivery ever for a Christmas Day game in the early window of a doubleheader, proving once again that LA Lakers are probably the biggest audience draw in the NBA. The second part of the ABC doubleheader, Oklahoma City Thunder at Miami Heat at 5:30 PM (6.0) was down from last year’s Lakers-Chicago game (6.5 with the LA Lakers factor). Read More »

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Fanboy Alert! ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ And NBA Mash-Up Video

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Saturday April 7, 2012 @ 7:28am PDTTags: Disney XD, NBA, Ultimate Spider-Man

Disney XD and Marvel team up with the NBA to present the “Ultimate Spider-Man” animated series and NBA highlights mash-up video, premiering today on Disney XD and DisneyXD.com:

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ABC Drinks Up Budweiser Reality Series

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday December 13, 2011 @ 10:18am PSTTags: ABC, NBA

ABC is continuing to experiment filling its weekend afternoon time slots with original, primetime-like programming. The network has picked up Bud United Presents: The Big Time, a branded content reality show put together by Budweiser that features adults competing to … Read More »

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NBA Players Reject Latest Contract Offer, Plan To Decertify Union; Season In Doubt

By PATRICK HIPES, Managing Editor | Monday November 14, 2011 @ 11:30am PSTTags: ABC, David Stern, ESPN, NBA, NBA Lockout, TNT, Turner

The NBA’s locked-out players rejected the league’s latest offer for a new collective bargaining agreement today, with union executive director Billy Hunter calling the proposed deal “extremely unfair.” He said the players’ association is beginning the process of disbanding … Read More »

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Live Nation Delivers Sour 3Q Numbers, But Investors Are Relieved

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Thursday November 3, 2011 @ 4:13pm PDTTags: Live Nation, Live Nation Earnings, Michael Rapino, NBA

Live Nation sure made it hard to find the good news in its 3Q report. The basic data looks terrible: It had net income from continuing operations of $63M, down 3.1% from last year’s 3Q, on revenues of … Read More »

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Huh? ABC Schedules New Game Show On Sunday Afternoon

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday October 13, 2011 @ 2:53pm PDTTags: ABC, NBA, NBA Lockout
Nellie Andreeva

UPDATED: ABC’s game show Million Dollar Mind Game (formerly The Six) is finally getting its day in the sun after almost a year on the shelf. But there is a twist — ABC is scheduling the series, originally developed and … Read More »

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NBA Cancels First Two Weeks Of Season

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday October 10, 2011 @ 8:15pm PDTTags: ABC, ESPN, NBA, TNT, Turner

It’s not good news for ABC/ESPN and Turner, who own the lucrative national TV broadcast rights to the league’s games and reaps millions in advertising — even more of late as NBA ratings have grown during the past few years. And it’s no picnic for teams, who have been slashing … Read More »

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Ex-Laker Shaquille O’Neal Wants To Direct

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday August 17, 2011 @ 11:10am PDTTags: NBA

Recently retired NBA star Shaquille O’Neal is about to graduate from the New York Film Academy’s Filmmaking Conservatory. Shaq has received private instruction in directing and cinematography and spent several days filming on the Universal Studios back lot … Read More »

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Sports Report: NFL Thursday TV Package In Play; Dodgers Anger Ally Fox Sports; NBA Lockout Hits The Courts

By PATRICK HIPES, Managing Editor | Tuesday August 2, 2011 @ 7:00pm PDTTags: Bud Selig, Fox Sports, Frank McCourt, Los Angeles Dodgers, NBA, NBA Lockout, NFL, NFL Network, Roger Goodell

The NFL is shopping an eight-game Thursday primetime TV package, with commissioner Roger Goodell having informal conversations with networks last week, according to the Sports Business Journal, which is reporting that a stake in the league’s NFL Network might be in play for the winning bidder. The talks are expected to gain momentum now that the league-imposed lockout is over. The NFL Network currently has rights to eight late-season Thursday NFL games; the new package will cover the early season. The SBJ says Turner and Comcast would be front-runners, especially since they have cut previous deals that included league-owned assets (Turner pacted with the NBA in 2007; Comcast has a similar deal with the NHL). Fox and ESPN also are expected to be interested in the package. … Read More »

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Sorry Sports Fans And TV Networks, NBA Is Right On NFL’s Heels With Labor Unrest

By PATRICK HIPES, Managing Editor | Friday April 15, 2011 @ 4:57pm PDTTags: ABC, David Stern, ESPN, NBA, TNT, TV Contracts

NBA commissioner David Stern was hit with questions today about the league’s upcoming negotiations with players on a new collective bargaining agreement. The bottom line: It doesn’t look good. If this all sounds familiar, it’s because the NFL’s labor talks ended last month with the owners locking out the players and the players suing the league. (The two sides in the NFL dispute finished their second day of court-mandated mediation in Minneapolis today as a judge decides whether to grant the players’ injunction request to halt the lockout.)

By all accounts, an NBA labor standoff could make the NFL’s look like backyard touch football. Whereas the NFL’s main sticking point is how to divide $9 billion in revenue, Stern has said the NBA has been losing more than $300 million a season and offered up today during a press conference that this year’s losses could reach that figure again. (Currently, players receive 57% of the league’s gross revenue, which Stern says is unsustainable going forward.) This shortfall is despite lucrative TV broadcast contracts with ESPN/ABC and TNT that go through the 2015-16 season and pay the league more than $900 million a year. Last year’s NBA Finals and this year’s All-Star Game saw big ratings gains, and more of the same is expected for this year’s playoffs, which begin this weekend. Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: CBS Dramas Up, ‘American Idol’ Down

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday March 11, 2011 @ 10:17am PSTTags: American Idol, Bones, CSI, NBA, Rules of Engagement, The Big Bang Theory, The Mentalist, TNT
Nellie Andreeva

After the dramatic American Idol results show last week featuring the elimination of 11 semifinalists, which shot up 15% from the week before and 30% from last year, the show came back to Earth last night with a respectable showing as broadcasters faced big NBA games on TNT. The hourlong … Read More »

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Hannah Storm Extends Deal With ESPN

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday January 26, 2011 @ 8:03am PSTTags: Cable TV, ESPN, NBA, SportsCenter, Super Bowl, TV, Wimbledon
Nellie Andreeva

Hannah Storm has signed a multi-year extension with ESPN. Storm co-hosts the 9 a.m. to noon ET edition of ESPN’s flagship news program SportsCenter with Josh Elliott. As part of the extension, Storm expands her responsibilities beyond her initial SportsCenter … Read More »

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Peter Guber Co-Buys Golden State Warriors

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Thursday July 15, 2010 @ 10:40am PDTTags: NBA, Sports

peter-guberIt’s no secret in Hollywood that Peter Guber is really really rich. So, like most rich guys, he’s indulging his sports fantasies. CNBC just broke the news that he’s bought the NBA team with Joe Lacob, managing partner at private equity … Read More »

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