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NFL Scores Investment Partnership With Providence Equity Partners

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Tuesday March 19, 2013 @ 1:45pm PDTTags: NFL, Providence Equity Partners

NFLThe partners aren’t saying how much they’re kicking in, but the global venture will invest “primarily in sports and entertainment related media assets.” They’re targeting growth equity investments of as much as $50M in private companies and, they add, “have the capacity to make larger investments as needed.” They see “many traditional and digital media properties that complement the NFL‘s business and can add lasting value,” says Providence Senior Managing Director Paul Salem. Each will own equity in the partnership and run it jointly. Providence has a lot of experience in media; it was a major investor in Hulu, the YES Network and Warner Music and backs Univision and The Chernin Group. “We selected Providence as our partner because they share our vision of the opportunities and bring exceptional experience and relationships in the industry,” NFL exec Eric Grubman says. “Together we will focus on innovative media assets that create meaningful value for both the business of the NFL and our fans.”

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NFL Sets 2nd Hollywood Boot Camp For Current, Former Pros At Universal Studios

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday February 27, 2013 @ 10:37pm PSTTags: NFL, NFL Pro Hollywood Boot Camp, Universal Studios

What comes after the professional football careers of NFL players? For some of them it might be Hollywood. Twenty-two current and former NFL players have signed up for the second annual NFL Pro Hollywood Boot Camp. Directed by NFL Player Engagement and New York-based Film Life Inc., the March 11-15 event will provide a wide-ranging crash course on creative disciplines in the film industry including screen writing, directing, producing, and film financing. Session leaders include Legendary Pictures partner-producer and member of the Pittsburgh Steelers ownership group Thomas Tull (The Dark Knight, Inception, We Are Marshall), director-producer Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights), and writer-actor-director Robert Townsend (The Five Heartbeats, Hollywood Shuffle). This spring’s group of current and former NFL players will include 2005 NFL MVP Shaun Alexander (Seattle, Washington DC) and four active first-round draft picks – Darrius Heyward-Bey (Raiders), Alex Mack (Browns) Gerald McCoy (Bucs), and Jared Odrick (Dolphins). Participants will have the opportunity to shoot and edit a short film at Universal. Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: Football Dominates Primetime, Pushes ABC Dramas Down

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday January 21, 2013 @ 9:25am PSTTags: Hawaii-Five 0, NFL, Revenge, TV Ratings
Nellie Andreeva

The NFL‘s penultimate game of the season — the AFC Championship Game matchup between the Ravens and Patriots — was the only game in town last night, towering over mostly repeat competition. In non-time-zone-adjusted fast nationals, the Ravens’ surprise victory drew 41.3 million viewers and a 14.6/34 in adults 18-49, numbers bound to go higher when the live West Coast ratings are factored in, along with the conclusion of the game, which bled into the 10 PM hour. CBS opted to give Monday drama Hawaii Five-0 a boost with a special airing behind the monster NFL game. Somewhat surprisingly, Hawaii, which has been facing uphill battle against NBC’s Revolution and ABC’s Castle in the Monday 10 PM slot this season, didn’t take full advantage of its huge lead-in. In time-adjusted ratings, the procedural averaged a 3.4 rating in 18-49 and 12.9 million viewers. Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Biggest Loser’ Debut Rises, NFL Dominates As Fox Wins Night

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Monday January 7, 2013 @ 9:21am PSTTags: NFL, Once Upon a Time, The Biggest Loser, The Mentalist, TV Ratings

There were original shows across the board on the networks last night with football, winter returns and premieres. Trainer Jillian Michaels rejoined The Biggest Loser (2.9/7) as the weight-loss series returned to TV with its Season 14 premiere. Centering on child obesity, this season’s two-hour debut Sunday was up a solid 21% from the 2.4/6 rating of last season’s January 3, 2012 premiere. NBC began the night at 7 PM with a two-hour Sunday season debut of Dateline NBC (1.5/4); the newsmagazine was up 20% from its January 8 airing.

Fast nationals for Fox’s Sunday primetime are approximate due to live football. The NFL playoff opener between Washington and Seattle and postgame show pushed the network’s animation block back to 8:03 PM, causing the rest of the night to slide. The game (12.1/32) pulled in an audience of 33.94 million, while the overrun and postgame show (7.6/19) garnered 19.29 million viewers in the 7:30 PM slot. After that, The Simpsons (4.4/11) was back with its first new show in three weeks as was Bob’s Burgers (3.1/8). (Three weeks ago, both saw pre-emptions due to the Sandy Hook school shooting memorial service in Newtown, which led to 1.9/5 and 1.2/3 ratings, respectively.) Compared with the last uninterrupted airings December 9, last night’s The Simpsons was up 29% and Bob’s Burgers was up 48%, the latter’s highest rating since it debut two years ago. Family Guy (3.5/8) was up 40% from its last original show two weeks ago as was American Dad (2.8/7). With an average audience of 13.676 million, Fox won the night in total viewers and adults 18-49.
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LA’s NFL Stadium Plan Approved By City Council

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday September 28, 2012 @ 2:54pm PDTTags: AEG, NFL

The LA City Council today gave final approval to plans to build a new NFL stadium downtown, a key step in returning a pro football team to the nation’s No. 2 media market by 2017. The $1.5 billion project, which includes upgrading a portion of the adjacent LA Convention Center, is the one proposed to be privately funded by  Anshutz Entertainment Group — the same AEG that has just put itself up for sale. That complication, plus the fact the plans face potential lawsuits from environmental and anti-poverty groups, usually means a governing body might have reservations about moving forward. But AEG gave city lawmakers a bit of assurance this week the key players who have carried the ball this far plan to stay, with AEG president Tim Leiweke saying earlier this week he has signed a deal to remain atop the company no matter who ends up buying it (AEG is financing the deal with help from city redevelopment bonds). It’s clear by the 12-0 vote that the Council is fully behind the 72,000-seat Farmers Field and the projected 10,000 temp and 4000 full-time jobs it will create. It now sets up the next step: finding a team. Read More »

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NFL Owners Fold To Public & Player Pressure And End Lockout With Real Referees: New Deal Reached Tonight

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday September 26, 2012 @ 9:51pm PDTTags: NFL

UPDATE: The coaches were pretty pissed, too. About the only people not fed up with those inept replacement refs were the Big Media TV execs thrilled that the controversies were creating buzz among viewers. Tonight the NFL … Read More »

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R.I.P. Steve Sabol

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday September 18, 2012 @ 12:02pm PDTTags: NFL

Steve Sabol, who ran NFL Films for more than 25 years after the Emmy-winning production company was created by his father, died Tuesday after a long battle with brain cancer. He was 69. Sobol was originally a cameraman … Read More »

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NBC Scores Highest-Rated ‘Sunday Night Football’ Ever

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Tuesday September 11, 2012 @ 9:22am PDTTags: NBC, NFL, Ratings, Sunday Night Football

It turns out the season premiere of NBC‘s Sunday Night Football featuring Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos against the Pittsburgh Steelers was the highest-rated SNF ever. It pulled in a 16.5/29 rating. The previous titleholder was last season’s final-week deciding game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, which drew a 15.7/25. With an audience of 27.57 million, this weekend’s game, which saw Manning’s debut with Denver, was the second-most-watched regular-season primetime game ever on NBC. (Last year’s Cowboys-Giants game drew 27.62 million viewers. This year’s SNF opener was up 8% in household ratings and 7% in viewership over last year’s Cowboys-New York Jets SNF opener, which earned a 15.3/25 rating and 25.8 million viewers.

Related: RATINGS RAT RACE: Touchdown For NBC With Highest-Rated Regular Season NFL Game In 14 Years Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: Touchdown For NBC With Highest-Rated Regular Season NFL Game In 14 Years

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Monday September 10, 2012 @ 8:47am PDTTags: Big Brother, NFL, Ratings, Sunday Night Football

NBC really punched the ball into the end zone last night. The network’s Sunday Night Football broadcast of the Denver Broncos-Pittsburgh Steelers game in the first weekend of the NFL‘s regular season garnered the best overnight rating — 18.0 — for any regular-season NFL game on any network in 14 years. (The record-holder is the December 15, 1997 game between Denver and the San Francisco 49ers, which earned a 19.3 rating.) Last night’s Broncos’ victory and 18.0/29 rating in metered-market households also scored NBC its best primetime regular season rating ever. The game, which featured Peyton Manning’s debut with the Broncos, beat the 17.7 rating of the September 9, 2010 telecast of the Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints. Last night’s game was also up from the first game last year on NBC between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets, which landed a 16.9/27. Fast-affilate ratings are not time-zone adjusted, so expect Sunday’s numbers to change later in the day. As it is, with an audience of 20.1 million, NBC won the night in viewers and the adults 18-49 demo.

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Chris Berman Extends Deal With ESPN

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday September 7, 2012 @ 8:18am PDTTags: ESPN, NFL
Nellie Andreeva

Chris Berman ESPN ContractOne of ESPN’s original anchors Chris Berman, who joined the cable sports network a couple of weeks after its 1979 launch, has signed a new multi-year contract extension. The new deal … Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: NFL Opener Down, DNC Flat, ‘Big Brother’ & ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Slip

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Thursday September 6, 2012 @ 9:04am PDTTags: Big Brother, Democratic National Convention, NFL, Ratings

The big shows last night on TV were football and Bill Clinton. The NFL regular season kicked off on NBC (8.7/23) as the Dallas Cowboys beat the defending Super Bowl champs the New York Giants. However, it wasn’t all touchdowns — this year’s 8:30-11 PM ET opener was down 15% from the 10.2/27 fast nationals of last season’s September 8 opener. Nonetheless, the Cowboys-Giants game dominated the night, pulling in 21.81 million viewers and leading NBC to the nightly win in total viewers and adults 18-49. The network’s 8:30 PM NBC Sports NFL Kickoff (5.5/17) was also down from last year, falling 14% from the 6.4/21 of last September 8. Read More »

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NFL & Nicktoons Team For ‘Rush Zone: Season Of The Guardians’: LAT

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday September 5, 2012 @ 4:00pm PDTTags: NFL

As the NFL season officially gets under way tonight, the league and Viacom’s Nicktoons are teaming up to produce Rush Zone: Season Of The Guardians, an … Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘NFL Preseason Football’ Wins Night For NBC, ‘Big Brother’ Up

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Monday August 27, 2012 @ 9:15am PDTTags: Big Brother, NFL, TV Ratings

As the XXX Summer Games showed earlier this summer, sports can be very good for NBC. Sunday night’s NFL Preseason Football (2.9/8) won’t be the most watched event in TV history like the London Games was … Read More »

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CBS Sports Names NFL Broadcasting Teams For Upcoming Season

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday August 21, 2012 @ 2:26pm PDTTags: CBS, NFL, Sports

Football starts on CBS on September 9 and today CBS Sports announced its on-air roster for the upcoming NFL season. Jim Nantz and Phil Simms will once again lead the charge for the … Read More »

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How Will NFL’s Kickoff Time Change Affect CBS’ Sunday Schedule?

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday June 28, 2012 @ 7:30pm PDTTags: 60 Minutes, CBS, NFL, The Mentalist
Nellie Andreeva

Starting this fall, the NFL‘s 4:15 PM Sunday games will start at 4:25 PM, the league announced today. The move is designed to reduce the number of instances when stations have to cut away from the final minutes of … Read More »

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WME Signs NFL Star Ray Lewis

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Friday June 1, 2012 @ 4:32pm PDTTags: NFL, WME

EXCLUSIVE: Ray Lewis of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens has signed with WME. The Super Bowl XXXV MVP will be repped by the agency for all off-field opportunities including public appearances, speaking engagements, TV, film and books. Lewis will … Read More »

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Miami Dolphins Answer HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday May 29, 2012 @ 3:11pm PDTTags: Hard Knocks, HBO, NFL

Hard Knocks Miami DolphinsHBO will return for a seventh season of its NFL training camp series Hard Knocks on August 7 featuring the Miami Dolphins, a year after the network scrapped the Emmy-winning documentary series because … Read More »

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DirecTV Slashing Price Of NFL Package

By PATRICK HIPES, Managing Editor | Thursday April 19, 2012 @ 3:30pm PDTTags: DirecTV, NFL, NFL Sunday Ticket

DirecTV is dropping the price for its exclusive NFL Sunday Ticket package this year to $199.95 for existing customers, about a 40% reduction over last year’s cost, the company announced today. That’s the lowest price for the service in … Read More »

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NBC Unveils ‘Sunday Night Football’ Schedule

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday April 17, 2012 @ 4:50pm PDTTags: NBC, NFL, Sunday Night Football

NBC hopes to retain the ratings power of its Sunday Night Football franchise, unveiling today the 19 NFL games it will show in primetime for the 2012-13 season. The lineup kicks off Wednesday, September 5 when the Super Bowl champion New York Giants host their division rival — and TV favorites — the Dallas Cowboys. On September 9, Peyton Manning makes his first start with his new team, the Denver Broncos, at home in a match-up with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the season’s first Sunday night game. Former Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow makes his first appearance on SNF when his new team the New York Jets hosts the New England Patriots in the first Thanksgiving night game. NBC will broadcast a Thanksgiving game each season through 2022 as part of its new NFL agreement. Here’s the full SNF schedule: Read More »

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