by It’s no secret that the NFL and ESPN have been discussing a deal that would allow the league to own a portion of the network while ESPN would run NFL Red Zone and NFL Network. For years, the discussions have been going on in different phases.
That the transaction is finally about to be punched into the end zone, as reported by The Athletic, CNBC, and Puck last week, is shocking news.
It will immediately affect how viewers watch the most popular sport and television shows in the US both now and in the future if it is completed before the NFL season begins in September.
ESPN will hold NFL Network, including its seven live games a season and Red Zone, while the league is anticipated to acquire a 10 percent investment in Disney-owned ESPN, according to CNBC. NFL Films is not anticipated to be included in the bundle, although some other NFL Media properties might be.
There are clear and significant advantages for ESPN. In an attempt to regain its position as The Worldwide Leader in Sports, ESPN is releasing a highly anticipated standalone app in the fall. The direct-to-consumer app, which will cost $29.99 a month, will truly benefit from having more NFL content. Additionally, ESPN’s ownership by the NFL effectively makes it a long-term partner of the league and provides true protection when broadcast and streaming rights are put up for bid.
What are the NFL’s advantages? For years, the league has been trying to figure out how to sell or distribute its own media products, and ESPN and its parent corporation, Disney, are the ideal partners. It’s reasonable to question whether the NFL sees a potential benefit to the agreement, such as the potential to restrict some critical reporting on the league, which ESPN has done remarkably successfully.
It won’t be entirely evident how this partnership will impact you and me until the agreement is finalized and the terms are disclosed. However, this is the baseline:
ESPN will be in charge of a large portion of what you already enjoy watching on the NFL Network, which will continue to operate around the clock.
And if you want to continue viewing it all, you’ll undoubtedly need to pay for one more expensive streaming service.
This really is fake news
AI-generated content is one of the many, many, many evils of social media, especially Facebook’s swamplands. Nowadays, the great majority of posts on pop culture, sports, or celebrities are produced by artificial intelligence. It appears to be real in part. It’s all garbage.
False yet plausible tales of an athlete performing a very admirable act are a more recent trend. Scott Zolak of the Sports Hub was recently tricked by one when he revealed on his afternoon broadcast that Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and his wife sent all of their wedding presents to children’s charities and homeless shelters in the area. It was believable to a certain extent and the sort of thing you want to believe. It wasn’t true either. A social media content farm created and disseminated the falsehood.
Zolak is not by himself. The Lions quarterback, Jared Goff, donated all of his $15.9 million bonus and sponsorship earnings to a homeless shelter in Detroit on Thursday, according to a post shared on the social media platform Threads by a longtime prominent NBA media member. This donation will help fund 150 units [of] housing with 300 shelter beds. A phony Goff comment about having witnessed homelessness directly as a child came next.
Listen, it’s understandable—if disappointing beyond belief—why so many people take this crap as fact if real media professionals are unable to recognize a fake tale. One piece of advise is that if a story looks too nice to be true (or, conversely, too scandalous), it most likely is. Make sure that the first report was written by a reliable journalist at all times. Ideally with a connection to a real story. Don’t tell me that’s too much to ask, please.
Boring or a booming British?
This week, reader Pete G. inquired as to whether the lack of excitement in the final rounds has been caused by Scottie Scheffler’s methodical dominance on the PGA Tour and his considerably less captivating personality than Tiger Woods in his prime.
He commented that it was quite dull and uninteresting to watch the fourth round [of the British Open]. When he is in control, he never—well, very seldom—gives up a lead and is obnoxiously stable.
It’s all true. However, judging on the thousands of people watching Sunday’s final round on NBC, golf fans appear to be enjoying it. The fourth round drew 4.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen, a 21 percent increase over the last round of Xander Schauffele’s victory the previous year. Golf fans stayed to watch Scheffler win his fourth major and second this year, despite the lack of much excitement. He ended at 17 under par to win by four shots.
McAfee apologizes five months later
Intelligent monster truckJust five months after recklessly spreading a false story that threw a female Ole Miss student’s life into disarray, Pat McAfee apologized to her on his own ESPN broadcast on Wednesday. As McAfee, he did it in the most self-aggrandizing manner imaginable, including by using the shield, “As a girl dad,” which is nearly usually followed by an apology for some action that degraded a woman. I imagine that girl dads are also afraid about lawsuits.
Boston.com’s sports columnist is Chad Finn. For the last four years, he has been chosen as Boston’s Favorite Sports Writer by the Channel Media Market and Research Poll. In addition, he contributes to Globe Magazine and writes a weekly sports media column for the Globe.
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