NBC \u201clike[s] the idea of\u201d having reporters in the dugout as part of MLB coverage; ESPN-owned NFL Network will continue presenting the NFL Draft; and Scripps is set to launch a FAST channel. Plus news on Madelyn Burke, Netflix, David Yadgaroff and Rodger Brulotte.<\/p>\n
NBC likes idea of analysts in dugout for broadcasts, will use reporters on \u2018Sunday Leadoff\u2019<\/p>\n
NBC Sports \u201clike[s] the idea of\u201d using analysts \u201cin the dugout\u201d for its MLB coverage this season, taking a similar approach to its \u201cOn the Bench\u201d broadcasts for NBA games, NBC Sports executive producer Sam Flood said Monday, but the network is still working out specifics and needs to have conversations \u201cwith a number of people.\u201d While networks have traditionally had reporters near or inside the dugout during games, it has seldom, if ever, been carried out for analysts. Play-by-play announcer Matt Vasgersian said on an upcoming edition of the \u201cSports Media Watch Podcast\u201d that he thinks NBC Sports has \u201ckicked the tires on that for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flood revealed that the network has an agreement with one more yet-to-be-announced play-by-play voice for its \u201cSunday Leadoff\u201d MLB package. Earlier this year, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported<\/a> that NBC had interest in Orioles play-by-play announcer Kevin Brown, who has called games nationally for ESPN as well. Vasgersian will call many of the MLB Sunday Leadoff games, reprising his role from the 2023 season. The \u201cSunday Leadoff\u201d game broadcasts will feature reporters as well, although it is not known if NBC is bringing on a dedicated person in the role.<\/p>\n Flood said NBC Sports will \u201cmaintain a consistent approach\u201d between the NBC and Peacock telecasts of \u201cSunday Night Baseball\u201d broadcasts this season, as it has for NBA games. The network is creating a musical open for \u201cSunday Night Baseball\u201d NBC\u2019s Sunday night games that will debut April 12 for Guardians-Braves. NBC broadcasts of \u201cSunday Night Football\u201d have traditionally started with Carrie Underwood since 2013, and the network created an introduction sequence with Lenny Kravitz for \u201cSunday Night Basketball\u201d this season.<\/p>\n The first-ever edition of \u201cSunday Night Baseball\u201d to air on NBCU \u2014 Guardians-Mariners on Peacock and NBCSN this weekend \u2014 will feature Guardians TV analyst Rick Manning and Mariners TV analyst Ryan Rowland-Smith alongside Jason Benetti. While both teams are featured on \u201cSunday Night Baseball\u201d again later this season, it remains unknown if the analysts will return for future NBC MLB games.<\/p>\n ESPN-owned NFL Network to continue airing presentation of NFL Draft<\/p>\n Although it is now under ESPN ownership, NFL Network will continue to air its own presentation of the NFL Draft taking place next month, Sports Media Watch has confirmed. Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports was the first to report<\/a> the news on Monday, writing that there had been \u201cgrowing concern\u201d ESPN would opt to eliminate the coverage.<\/p>\n Rich Eisen is reportedly expected to continue anchoring NFL Network coverage for a 20th consecutive year. He has usually worked with insider Ian Rapoport and analysts Daniel Jeremiah, Charles Davis and Joel Klatt. Eisen, a former \u201cSportsCenter\u201d anchor, already has a presence at ESPN since his daily radio program, \u201cThe Rich Eisen Show,\u201d moved to ESPN Radio, Disney+ and the ESPN App last fall.<\/p>\n Mike Greenberg is reportedly \u201cpoised\u201d to anchor NFL Draft coverage on ESPN for a sixth straight year. The rest of the cast on ESPN and ABC looks to remain the same this year, which has included Mel Kiper Jr., Louis Riddick, Laura Rutledge and Kirk Herbstreit among others in previous years. Pat McAfee is also reportedly expected to hold his \u201cDraft Spectacular\u201d for a third year broadcasting from his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pa.<\/p>\n NFL Network first televised the NFL Draft starting in 2006 from Radio City Music Hall as part of coverage that included both Eisen and Adam Schefter, Mike Mayock and Kara Henderson. The coverage rivaled an ESPN presentation that included Chris Berman and Suzy Kolber as hosts with Kiper Jr., Tom Jackson and Steve Young in analyst roles.<\/p>\n Scripps to launch FAST channel with game broadcasts, other programming<\/p>\n ION parent company Scripps is launching a new FAST channel Tuesday that will air live games, documentaries and other programming. Scripps Sports Network will feature over 100 live game broadcasts from entities such as the Professional Women\u2019s Hockey League, the National Women\u2019s Soccer League and Major League Volleyball. The first of 10 regular-season PWHL games to air on Scripps Sports Network takes place this Wednesday at 7 PM ET. This is part of the partnership between Scripps Sports and the PWHL that places the Walter Cup Finals on ION this May.<\/p>\n Scripps Sports Network will also carry encore presentations of WNBA games on ION, plus content originating from other Scripps partnerships, including its local telecast deals with the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights.<\/p>\n In addition to game programming, the channel will also feature a series hosted by former ESPN anchor Suzy Kolber chronicling \u201ctrailblazers across the sports world.\u201d Kolber was part of the layoffs at ESPN in June 2023 that also affected<\/a> Jeff Van Gundy, Max Kellerman and others. Scripps is also launching a conversation series featuring former Olympic track and field athlete Sanya Richards-Ross that will include \u201cathletes, entertainers and everyday heroes navigating their next chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n Scripps said Monday that it has ten series in development and that its new channel will import content as well, including the \u201cCold as Balls\u201d series hosted by Kevin Hart. Scripps Sports Network also plans to host sports podcasts, although details of such have yet to be revealed. The company is hosting its \u201cUpfront\u201d event for advertisers from Barclays Center on Wednesday, March 25, one day after the FAST channel launches.<\/p>\n Plus: Madelyn Burke, Netflix, David Yadgaroff, Rodger Brulotte<\/p>\n Madelyn Burke is joining ESPN as an anchor on \u201cSportsCenter\u201d beginning in April, the network announced Monday. Burke formerly worked in on-air roles for MSG Networks and the New York Giants website and also hosted for CBS Sports HQ.
\nNetflix has announced that New York Giants QB Jameis Winston and WWE performers Jey and Jimmy Uso will be special guests on its coverage of MLB Opening Night on Wednesday. The company has taken an \u201ceventized\u201d approach towards live sports and has televised an NFL Christmas Day doubleheader for the last two seasons in addition to WWE \u201cRaw,\u201d which aligns with the special-guest appearances. Netflix also added<\/a> former Giants OF Barry Bonds as a desk analyst for Opening Night, and he will be part of coverage for the Home Run Derby and Field of Dreams game later this season as well.
\nAudacy Philadelphia SVP\/market manager David Yadgaroff is retiring in May after 36 years with the company, it was announced Monday by Audacy regional president Mark Hannon. Yadgaroff has oversight of a cluster of stations in Philadelphia, including SportsRadio 94WIP, which has undergone significant change in recent years amid the departures of longtime voices Angelo Cataldi and Howard Eskin.
\nLongtime Montr\u00e9al Expos and Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Rodger Brulotte passed away Friday at the age of 79. Brulotte, who was known as \u201cMonsieur Baseball\u201d by fans throughout his career, called games on various Canadian networks, such as CKAC, RDS and TVA Sports. Brulotte stepped away from the broadcast booth last September to undergo surgeries to remove a cancerous tumor in his spine and did not call the Blue Jays\u2019 recent trip to the World Series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NBC \u201clike[s] the idea of\u201d having reporters in the dugout as part of MLB coverage; ESPN-owned NFL Network…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":830763,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[114703,7,93614,114704,114246,6,15,7014],"class_list":{"0":"post-830762","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-e-w-scripps-company","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-mlb-on-nbc","11":"tag-mlb-on-nbc-peacock","12":"tag-mlb-on-netflix","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-nfl-draft","15":"tag-nfl-on-nfl-network"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116283181217253477","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=830762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/830763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=830762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=830762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=830762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}