Top Stories
ESPN won't change 'Monday Night' booth with NFL Saturday a possibility
Andrew Marchand, New York Post
With the potential of Saturday NFL games in the event of college football being totally canceled in the fall, ESPN's current plan is to stick with its newly created but yet-to-be-announced "Monday Night Football" team of Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Louis Riddick, The Post has learned. That doesn't mean that its No. 1 college football broadcast team of Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit won't do multiple NFL games.
Networks Prepare For The Worst As College Football Decision Looms
John Ourand, Sports Business Journal
Because of how much they pay in rights fees, everyone assumes that media companies are at the table for every big college sports decision. This week, however, executives from the networks that carry college sports are just as confused as I am about whether there's going to be a football season.
WNBA, Twitter Extend Livestreaming Pact to Cover 2020 Season
David Cohen, Adweek
Games from the Women's National Basketball Association will be livestreamed on Twitter for the fourth consecutive year following the renewal of the pact between the league and the social network. The agreement covers 10 regular-season games, and the Twitter livestreams will exclusively feature alternative commentators including basketball analysts Ros Gold-Onwude and LaChina Robinson.
PGA Championship delivers TV ratings success for CBS, ESPN
SportBusiness
The PGA Championship delivered a domestic television ratings boost for both CBS Sports and ESPN as viewers tuned in to see American Collin Morikawa take the first men's golf major championship of the year. CBS's primetime final-round coverage of the spectator-less event at at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, California, averaged 5.153 million viewers, with viewership peaking at 6.873 million viewers from 8.30-8.45pm ET.
TUDN drew 1.1 million viewers for Barcelona-Napoli on Saturday, the most-watched Champions League R16 game ever in the US
Joe Lucia, Awful Announcing
With complaints about the CBS All-Access paywall and a lack of carriage for CBS Sports Network, many viewers ended up turning to TUDN for their coverage on Friday and Saturday. In fact, a record number of viewers for a Round of 16 match tuned in to TUDN's coverage of Barcelona-Napoli on Saturday.
College Sports
Heart condition linked with COVID-19 fuels Power 5 concern about season's viability
Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach, ESPN
A rare heart condition that could be linked with the coronavirus is fueling concern among Power 5 conference administrators about the viability of college sports this fall. Myocarditis, inflammation of the heart muscle, has been found in at least five Big Ten Conference athletes and among several other athletes in other conferences, according to two sources with knowledge of athletes' medical care.
Scott Frost says Nebraska 'prepared to look at any and all options,' including playing outside Big Ten
Mark Schlabach, ESPN
Nebraska football coach Scott Frost said Monday that the Cornhuskers are prepared to play this upcoming season - even if it's outside the Big Ten. It was previously reported that Big Ten presidents following a meeting on Saturday were ready to cancel the fall sports season.
Trump, coaches push for college football as cracks emerge
Ralph D. Russo, The Associated Press
President Donald Trump on Monday joined a U.S. senator and a number of coaches calling to save the college football season from a pandemic-forced shutdown as supporters pushed the premise that the players are safer because of their sport. There was speculation two of the five most powerful conferences - the Big Ten and the Pac-12 - might call off their seasons and explore the possibility of spring football.
Old Dominion's AD explains his program's solo decision to call off fall football
Nicole Auerbach, The Athletic
ODU made the decision alone, with the rest of Conference USA still scheduled to play FBS football this fall. C-USA commissioner Judy MacLeod was supportive of the decision, said Selig, who added that the membership is naturally diverse and spread out, and that not every decision may be right for every member.
With The College Football Season In Doubt, Marketers Plan For Multiple Scenarios
E.J. Schultz, Ad Age
A cancellation of the season would disrupt the fall marketing calendars of dozens of brands, from beers and sodas to automakers and insurance marketers, that rely on the sport's reach to capture coveted audiences. Marketers have been planning multiple scenarios that include the season being delayed, canceled or even started and then stopped midway through.
Power 5 football players want to play. But can they unionize?
Alicia Jessop, The Athletic
The NLRA is a federal law enacted by Congress in 1935 following Americans' return to work after the Great Depression. It provides employees of private-sector employers in the United States three rights: the right to unionize, the right to collectively bargain and the right to engage in concerted activities. As it relates to NCAA football players unionizing, the law presents hurdles.
GBO
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- Administrators from the Big Ten, Pac-12 and Big 12 are all reportedly expected to make decisions at separate meetings today about whether they plan to move forward with fall sports, including football, or further delay or cancel them amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Big Ten and Pac-12 both reportedly seem close to canceling or postponing their seasons, while multiple administrators described the Big 12 as "split" on how to proceed. (Sports Illustrated)
- The Mountain West Conference became the second FBS conference to cancel fall sports due to concerns about the health and safety of players, bringing the number of FBS schools that have opted not to play this fall to 26. League presidents are said to have overwhelmingly wanted to move forward with plans to play football this fall, but an increasing number of positive COVID-19 cases in the conference's footprint and the Mid-American Conference's decision to cancel its season were enough to flip opinions. (Stadium)
- MLB has held preliminary conversations about holding this season's 16-team postseason inside several "bubble" environments, according to sources familiar with the talks who said the outbreaks among the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals have illustrated to leadership how the virus could potentially upend the playoffs if they are held at teams' home ballparks. The league would need multiple hubs to accommodate the expanded playoffs, and sources said the metropolitan areas of New York, Chicago and Los Angeles would make the most sense based on the number of available facilities. (ESPN)
ESPN won't change 'Monday Night' booth with NFL Saturday a possibility
Andrew Marchand, New York Post
With the potential of Saturday NFL games in the event of college football being totally canceled in the fall, ESPN's current plan is to stick with its newly created but yet-to-be-announced "Monday Night Football" team of Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Louis Riddick, The Post has learned. That doesn't mean that its No. 1 college football broadcast team of Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit won't do multiple NFL games.
Networks Prepare For The Worst As College Football Decision Looms
John Ourand, Sports Business Journal
Because of how much they pay in rights fees, everyone assumes that media companies are at the table for every big college sports decision. This week, however, executives from the networks that carry college sports are just as confused as I am about whether there's going to be a football season.
WNBA, Twitter Extend Livestreaming Pact to Cover 2020 Season
David Cohen, Adweek
Games from the Women's National Basketball Association will be livestreamed on Twitter for the fourth consecutive year following the renewal of the pact between the league and the social network. The agreement covers 10 regular-season games, and the Twitter livestreams will exclusively feature alternative commentators including basketball analysts Ros Gold-Onwude and LaChina Robinson.
PGA Championship delivers TV ratings success for CBS, ESPN
SportBusiness
The PGA Championship delivered a domestic television ratings boost for both CBS Sports and ESPN as viewers tuned in to see American Collin Morikawa take the first men's golf major championship of the year. CBS's primetime final-round coverage of the spectator-less event at at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, California, averaged 5.153 million viewers, with viewership peaking at 6.873 million viewers from 8.30-8.45pm ET.
TUDN drew 1.1 million viewers for Barcelona-Napoli on Saturday, the most-watched Champions League R16 game ever in the US
Joe Lucia, Awful Announcing
With complaints about the CBS All-Access paywall and a lack of carriage for CBS Sports Network, many viewers ended up turning to TUDN for their coverage on Friday and Saturday. In fact, a record number of viewers for a Round of 16 match tuned in to TUDN's coverage of Barcelona-Napoli on Saturday.
College Sports
Heart condition linked with COVID-19 fuels Power 5 concern about season's viability
Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach, ESPN
A rare heart condition that could be linked with the coronavirus is fueling concern among Power 5 conference administrators about the viability of college sports this fall. Myocarditis, inflammation of the heart muscle, has been found in at least five Big Ten Conference athletes and among several other athletes in other conferences, according to two sources with knowledge of athletes' medical care.
Scott Frost says Nebraska 'prepared to look at any and all options,' including playing outside Big Ten
Mark Schlabach, ESPN
Nebraska football coach Scott Frost said Monday that the Cornhuskers are prepared to play this upcoming season - even if it's outside the Big Ten. It was previously reported that Big Ten presidents following a meeting on Saturday were ready to cancel the fall sports season.
Trump, coaches push for college football as cracks emerge
Ralph D. Russo, The Associated Press
President Donald Trump on Monday joined a U.S. senator and a number of coaches calling to save the college football season from a pandemic-forced shutdown as supporters pushed the premise that the players are safer because of their sport. There was speculation two of the five most powerful conferences - the Big Ten and the Pac-12 - might call off their seasons and explore the possibility of spring football.
Old Dominion's AD explains his program's solo decision to call off fall football
Nicole Auerbach, The Athletic
ODU made the decision alone, with the rest of Conference USA still scheduled to play FBS football this fall. C-USA commissioner Judy MacLeod was supportive of the decision, said Selig, who added that the membership is naturally diverse and spread out, and that not every decision may be right for every member.
With The College Football Season In Doubt, Marketers Plan For Multiple Scenarios
E.J. Schultz, Ad Age
A cancellation of the season would disrupt the fall marketing calendars of dozens of brands, from beers and sodas to automakers and insurance marketers, that rely on the sport's reach to capture coveted audiences. Marketers have been planning multiple scenarios that include the season being delayed, canceled or even started and then stopped midway through.
Power 5 football players want to play. But can they unionize?
Alicia Jessop, The Athletic
The NLRA is a federal law enacted by Congress in 1935 following Americans' return to work after the Great Depression. It provides employees of private-sector employers in the United States three rights: the right to unionize, the right to collectively bargain and the right to engage in concerted activities. As it relates to NCAA football players unionizing, the law presents hurdles.
GBO
Ma
