By John Consoli
Ed Goren has been promoted to vice chairman of Fox Sports Media Group as part of a major reorganization that includes Eric Shanks, a senior executive at DirecTV, succeeding him as Fox Sports president.
The new appointments are effective June 1, with both executives reporting to Fox Sports Media Group chairman and CEO David Hill.
Goren (left), 65, worked under Hill for more than 16 years, when Hill was overseeing Fox Sports. Last January, all of N...
Ed Goren has been promoted to vice chairman of Fox Sports Media Group as part of a major reorganization that includes Eric Shanks, a senior executive at DirecTV, succeeding him as Fox Sports president.
The new appointments are effective June 1, with both executives reporting to Fox Sports Media Group chairman and CEO David Hill.
Goren (left), 65, worked under Hill for more than 16 years, when Hill was overseeing Fox Sports. Last January, all of N...
- 5/26/2010
- by Josh Dickey
- The Wrap
New York -- Always known for its production values, Fox Sports is trying to balance technical expertise with making sure its telecasts are cost-effective.
Fox Sports chairman David Hill confirmed during a conference call ahead of this weekend's Daytona 500 festivities that the network has done some trimming behind the scenes. And it's not just in the Nascar telecasts; Hill said that the past year and a half has been one where Fox Sports has been looking "minutely at every one of our productions," and that includes the NFL and Mlb on Fox.
Travel costs have been cut back and deals with vendors -- when it comes to power, catering and mobile production units -- have been renegotiated. Fox Sports has cut by a day the time that it takes to build its compound. And it has partnered with Espn to save costs, with the networks hiring the same technicians who...
Fox Sports chairman David Hill confirmed during a conference call ahead of this weekend's Daytona 500 festivities that the network has done some trimming behind the scenes. And it's not just in the Nascar telecasts; Hill said that the past year and a half has been one where Fox Sports has been looking "minutely at every one of our productions," and that includes the NFL and Mlb on Fox.
Travel costs have been cut back and deals with vendors -- when it comes to power, catering and mobile production units -- have been renegotiated. Fox Sports has cut by a day the time that it takes to build its compound. And it has partnered with Espn to save costs, with the networks hiring the same technicians who...
- 2/12/2009
- by By Paul J. Gough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
New York -- HBO Sports is drawing on Emmy-winning Fox Sports announcer Joe Buck to replace Bob Costas at the network.
Buck will host a quarterly talk show for HBO Sports beginning in May. It will replace "Costas Now," which the NBC sportscaster did at HBO for much of the past seven years. Costas left HBO Sports this week to take a new gig at the Mlb Network.
Buck is play-by-play announcer for Fox Sports' NFL and Major League Baseball telecasts. That won't change, but he'll add the talk show, which HBO said might include a live town-hall-style format.
HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg said he and Buck had been talking for about a year, though they've known each other much longer. The talks grew serious when HBO realized that Costas would leave for Mlb Network, and Greenburg said he moved quickly to sign him.
While plans for the...
Buck will host a quarterly talk show for HBO Sports beginning in May. It will replace "Costas Now," which the NBC sportscaster did at HBO for much of the past seven years. Costas left HBO Sports this week to take a new gig at the Mlb Network.
Buck is play-by-play announcer for Fox Sports' NFL and Major League Baseball telecasts. That won't change, but he'll add the talk show, which HBO said might include a live town-hall-style format.
HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg said he and Buck had been talking for about a year, though they've known each other much longer. The talks grew serious when HBO realized that Costas would leave for Mlb Network, and Greenburg said he moved quickly to sign him.
While plans for the...
- 2/5/2009
- by By Paul J. Gough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
With Sunday night's seventh game of the American League Championship Series drawing record ratings for TBS, Fox Sports is hoping that some of that magic rubs off on the World Series.
Good luck.
The matchup between the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays, however exciting in terms of baseball purism, isn't likely to set the TV ratings world afire. In fact, some fear it could be the lowest-rated World Series ever.
"You could hear the groans coming up because it isn't the Red Sox-Dodgers," said Aaron Cohen, chief media negotiator at New York-based ad buyer Horizon Media.
Fox's World Series hopes started off promising, with the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox -- all representing major TV markets -- in the playoffs.
But the Cubs, Angels and White Sox fell in the first round and the Dodgers were eliminated...
Good luck.
The matchup between the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays, however exciting in terms of baseball purism, isn't likely to set the TV ratings world afire. In fact, some fear it could be the lowest-rated World Series ever.
"You could hear the groans coming up because it isn't the Red Sox-Dodgers," said Aaron Cohen, chief media negotiator at New York-based ad buyer Horizon Media.
Fox's World Series hopes started off promising, with the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox -- all representing major TV markets -- in the playoffs.
But the Cubs, Angels and White Sox fell in the first round and the Dodgers were eliminated...
- 10/20/2008
- by By Paul J. Gough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When the American and National League face off in Tuesday's Major League Baseball All-Star Game in New York, there will be fewer people watching than there were the last time Yankee Stadium was the host in 1977.
Gone are the days when the All-Star Game commanded double-digit household ratings. Last year's 8.4 household rating was about a third of its 24.5 rating 31 years ago. With the exception of the 2006 All-Star Game in Pittsburgh, which bucked the trend, the ratings have fallen since 2001.
That's the way it is for most of TV these days. But for the All-Star Game, the signature TV event of the summer, the ratings losses are particularly stark. Blame the TV landscape, interleague play, the fact there's plenty more baseball on TV and cable these days or even the fact that many of the recent games have been blowouts by the Al. There's also a lot more competition, albeit reality programming mostly, from broadcast and cable rivals. Whatever the reason, it adds up to diminished ratings.
"The All-Star Game used to be one of the highlights of television in the summer," baseball fan and Horizon Media researcher Brad Adgate said. "I don't think you can necessarily make that claim anymore. It's still relevant and it's a lot of fun." But there's no doubt, Adgate said, that it has lost much of the cachet it has enjoyed since the first one was dreamed up by a Chicago sportswriter in 1933.
But Major League Baseball has high hopes for this year's game, which will be played in the last year of one of baseball's most storied homes, Yankee Stadium. Several days of celebration kicked off this past weekend, with a free concert in Central Park by Jon Bon Jovi and continuing today with Espn's telecast of the Home Run Derby and Tuesday's parade in Manhattan and the game itself. It's a big investment for Mlb and Fox.
Fox Sports president Ed Goren said that the historic nature of this year's game -- the last year in a fabled ballpark and the participation of almost every living Hall of Famer -- makes it something special.
"The viewership for this All-Star Game is going to be sensational," Goren said.
What's also sensational is the ad sales, which recorded a double-digit increase in CPMs this year. The average 30-second spot goes for between $425,000 and $450,000 a throw. Some spots are going for $550,000 each and only one spot was left heading into the weekend. There is strong support from Mlb's corporate sponsors, among other advertisers -- something that other sports can't always claim.
It's true that baseball's All-Star Game still holds a special place in the summer. It's often still the most-watched program of the summer. It always finishes well above the ratings for similar all-star games in hockey, basketball and even football. And the declines the All-Star Game has seen in ratings isn't as stark when looking at what's happened in broadcast TV's big picture. Fox Sports vp research and programming Mike Mulvihill said that the ratings have been about 25% higher in any given season than the network season average going as far back as 1970 when it was a three-network universe.
"Compared to the three-network primetime average, the All-Star Game holds up as well today in relative terms as it did 20, 30, 40 years ago," Mulvihill said. "Relative to the environment, it's just as strong today as it has ever been."
Horizon Media's Adgate thinks that the Home Run Derby, which airs tonight on Espn, also is siphoning off viewers that usually would have been watching the game. Espn began televising the derby in 1992, going live with it starting in 1997.
Len DeLuca, Espn's senior vp programming and acquisitions, thinks the derby's much more than an excuse to get host Chris Berman on the field. Espn dropped its part of the Mlb postseason package but made sure it kept the derby.
"It's regularly part of our summer mantra, one of the highest, if not the highest-rated shows in cable in July," DeLuca said.
Mlb and Fox have worked together to try to stem the ratings loss, to mixed results. Those efforts intensified after 2002, when the game ended in a tie after one of the teams ran out of players. Mlb came up with a new plan to reinvigorate the game, and have it mean something. That led to the winning league gaining home-field advantage at the World Series, as well as adding other flourishes like an all-star parade and red carpet.
While the game isn't just an exhibition anymore, the ratings haven't really followed suit. It hit an all-time low of 8.1 in 2005 before recovering a bit in 2006 and then falling again in 2007. That doesn't mean, however, that Fox is ruing its investment in the All-Star Game. Quite the contrary.
"We're not disappointed in the viewership and the ratings for the All-Star Game," Fox's Goren said. "If you ask sports fans, one of their most memorable all-star events of any sport, has to be the All-Star Game in Boston in 1999." The pregame ceremony at Fenway Park honored Ted Williams. Goren thinks that that's just a warm-up for Tuesday.
"This one will outdo the Ted Williams game," Goren said. "Baseball has organized this phenomenal weekend."...
Gone are the days when the All-Star Game commanded double-digit household ratings. Last year's 8.4 household rating was about a third of its 24.5 rating 31 years ago. With the exception of the 2006 All-Star Game in Pittsburgh, which bucked the trend, the ratings have fallen since 2001.
That's the way it is for most of TV these days. But for the All-Star Game, the signature TV event of the summer, the ratings losses are particularly stark. Blame the TV landscape, interleague play, the fact there's plenty more baseball on TV and cable these days or even the fact that many of the recent games have been blowouts by the Al. There's also a lot more competition, albeit reality programming mostly, from broadcast and cable rivals. Whatever the reason, it adds up to diminished ratings.
"The All-Star Game used to be one of the highlights of television in the summer," baseball fan and Horizon Media researcher Brad Adgate said. "I don't think you can necessarily make that claim anymore. It's still relevant and it's a lot of fun." But there's no doubt, Adgate said, that it has lost much of the cachet it has enjoyed since the first one was dreamed up by a Chicago sportswriter in 1933.
But Major League Baseball has high hopes for this year's game, which will be played in the last year of one of baseball's most storied homes, Yankee Stadium. Several days of celebration kicked off this past weekend, with a free concert in Central Park by Jon Bon Jovi and continuing today with Espn's telecast of the Home Run Derby and Tuesday's parade in Manhattan and the game itself. It's a big investment for Mlb and Fox.
Fox Sports president Ed Goren said that the historic nature of this year's game -- the last year in a fabled ballpark and the participation of almost every living Hall of Famer -- makes it something special.
"The viewership for this All-Star Game is going to be sensational," Goren said.
What's also sensational is the ad sales, which recorded a double-digit increase in CPMs this year. The average 30-second spot goes for between $425,000 and $450,000 a throw. Some spots are going for $550,000 each and only one spot was left heading into the weekend. There is strong support from Mlb's corporate sponsors, among other advertisers -- something that other sports can't always claim.
It's true that baseball's All-Star Game still holds a special place in the summer. It's often still the most-watched program of the summer. It always finishes well above the ratings for similar all-star games in hockey, basketball and even football. And the declines the All-Star Game has seen in ratings isn't as stark when looking at what's happened in broadcast TV's big picture. Fox Sports vp research and programming Mike Mulvihill said that the ratings have been about 25% higher in any given season than the network season average going as far back as 1970 when it was a three-network universe.
"Compared to the three-network primetime average, the All-Star Game holds up as well today in relative terms as it did 20, 30, 40 years ago," Mulvihill said. "Relative to the environment, it's just as strong today as it has ever been."
Horizon Media's Adgate thinks that the Home Run Derby, which airs tonight on Espn, also is siphoning off viewers that usually would have been watching the game. Espn began televising the derby in 1992, going live with it starting in 1997.
Len DeLuca, Espn's senior vp programming and acquisitions, thinks the derby's much more than an excuse to get host Chris Berman on the field. Espn dropped its part of the Mlb postseason package but made sure it kept the derby.
"It's regularly part of our summer mantra, one of the highest, if not the highest-rated shows in cable in July," DeLuca said.
Mlb and Fox have worked together to try to stem the ratings loss, to mixed results. Those efforts intensified after 2002, when the game ended in a tie after one of the teams ran out of players. Mlb came up with a new plan to reinvigorate the game, and have it mean something. That led to the winning league gaining home-field advantage at the World Series, as well as adding other flourishes like an all-star parade and red carpet.
While the game isn't just an exhibition anymore, the ratings haven't really followed suit. It hit an all-time low of 8.1 in 2005 before recovering a bit in 2006 and then falling again in 2007. That doesn't mean, however, that Fox is ruing its investment in the All-Star Game. Quite the contrary.
"We're not disappointed in the viewership and the ratings for the All-Star Game," Fox's Goren said. "If you ask sports fans, one of their most memorable all-star events of any sport, has to be the All-Star Game in Boston in 1999." The pregame ceremony at Fenway Park honored Ted Williams. Goren thinks that that's just a warm-up for Tuesday.
"This one will outdo the Ted Williams game," Goren said. "Baseball has organized this phenomenal weekend."...
- 7/13/2008
- by By Paul J. Gough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
New York's throwing a heck of a party next week to honor Yankee Stadium's last year as well as the Major League Baseball All-Star Game -- and Fox is planning lots of coverage.
The network will provide exclusive coverage of Tuesday's parade up Sixth Avenue of current All-Stars and what is being billed as the largest collection of living Hall of Famers ever. It won't be live, but this year, it won't be on Fsn, either. Fox Sports plans to begin its telecast on the broadcast network at 7 p.m. Edt, an hour earlier than previous years.
Chris Rose and Mark Grace will anchor the parade coverage, which Fox Sports president Ed Goren said will be something to see. It will include Hank Aaron, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford and Cal Ripken Jr. Following the coverage of the parade will be a ceremony, beginning at 8 p.m. Edt, from the field at Yankee Stadium. It will feature the All-Stars and Hall of Famers taking the field at their positions. The ceremony is even grander than what Mlb did in 1999 for a ceremony that honored Red Sox slugger Ted Williams when the All-Star Game was at Fenway Park.
"The program that Major League Baseball has put together will even outdo that magnificent evening," Goren said.
The game itself will be called as usual by Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. Yankees great Yogi Berra will be joining McCarver and Buck in the booth for at least part of the game, McCarver said Wednesday. The ceremony will last until the first pitch, scheduled around 8:40 p.m. There won't be any pregame show other than the ceremony.
"This is just a great, great celebration of baseball for all baseball fans," Goren said.
There are plenty of innovations on the field, too. Yankee Stadium will be outfitted with 21 HD cameras, including HD "diamond cams" in front of home plate and around the foul lines. And there are 80 microphones around the stadium and more on players, managers and umpires.
There's even a blimp for the aerial shots, provided by DirecTV.
The network will provide exclusive coverage of Tuesday's parade up Sixth Avenue of current All-Stars and what is being billed as the largest collection of living Hall of Famers ever. It won't be live, but this year, it won't be on Fsn, either. Fox Sports plans to begin its telecast on the broadcast network at 7 p.m. Edt, an hour earlier than previous years.
Chris Rose and Mark Grace will anchor the parade coverage, which Fox Sports president Ed Goren said will be something to see. It will include Hank Aaron, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford and Cal Ripken Jr. Following the coverage of the parade will be a ceremony, beginning at 8 p.m. Edt, from the field at Yankee Stadium. It will feature the All-Stars and Hall of Famers taking the field at their positions. The ceremony is even grander than what Mlb did in 1999 for a ceremony that honored Red Sox slugger Ted Williams when the All-Star Game was at Fenway Park.
"The program that Major League Baseball has put together will even outdo that magnificent evening," Goren said.
The game itself will be called as usual by Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. Yankees great Yogi Berra will be joining McCarver and Buck in the booth for at least part of the game, McCarver said Wednesday. The ceremony will last until the first pitch, scheduled around 8:40 p.m. There won't be any pregame show other than the ceremony.
"This is just a great, great celebration of baseball for all baseball fans," Goren said.
There are plenty of innovations on the field, too. Yankee Stadium will be outfitted with 21 HD cameras, including HD "diamond cams" in front of home plate and around the foul lines. And there are 80 microphones around the stadium and more on players, managers and umpires.
There's even a blimp for the aerial shots, provided by DirecTV.
- 7/9/2008
- by By Paul J. Gough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Showtime boss Matt Blank said this week that he expects "as many first-run premium films on our air three years from now as we do today." Just how they'll do that in the wake of last week's decision by Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM to end their output deal with the net and create their own channel is open to question. With all the major studios accounted for via deals with HBO and Starz, observers see the Weinstein Co. and Summit Entertainment as prime candidates for output pacts. Another option is stepping up original production -- and not just series like "The Tudors" and "Weeds". Showtime could theoretically plunge some of the $300 million saved on output deals into telefilms -- territory it hasn't ventured into in three years. Chiming in during an earnings conference call Tuesday, Les Moonves, CEO of Showtime parent CBS Corp., predicted that the channel "won't miss a single beat." Meanwhile, the new Viacom channel effort might have solved the mysterious VOD component it's been touting. The Wall Street Journal reported that Blockbuster is in talks to take a stake in the venture in return for digital rights to the channel's programming.
On this, we part ways: "I'm a lover, not a fighter. I don't like the sport," Sumner Redstone said Wednesday of Les Moonves' decision to strike a CBS deal for Elite Xtreme Combat. Redstone told guests at a Milken Institute panel that carrying mixed martial arts was "not socially responsible." Quick to pile on was Fox Sports chief Ed Goren. "We don't need the money that badly," said Goren, who is apparently unaware that his channel has carried the MMA mayhem of the Pride Fighting Championships since 2006.
On this, we part ways: "I'm a lover, not a fighter. I don't like the sport," Sumner Redstone said Wednesday of Les Moonves' decision to strike a CBS deal for Elite Xtreme Combat. Redstone told guests at a Milken Institute panel that carrying mixed martial arts was "not socially responsible." Quick to pile on was Fox Sports chief Ed Goren. "We don't need the money that badly," said Goren, who is apparently unaware that his channel has carried the MMA mayhem of the Pride Fighting Championships since 2006.
BEVERLY HILLS -- That ringing in your ears, Les Moonves, was your chairman and a competitor taking you to task for your plan to bring extreme fighting to CBS.
"Les usually asks my opinion", Sumner Redstone said Wednesday when asked about the four mixed-martial arts fights that will begin airing soon on CBS. This time, the Viacom and CBS chairman said, Moonves did not.
Redstone said the deal, struck with Elite Xtreme Combat, probably was a mistake, not because CBS won't turn a profit from it but because it is not "socially responsible" to air the typically bloody bouts on free, broadcast TV.
"I'm a lover not a fighter", Redstone said. "I don't like the sport".
Redstone said he doesn't like to "intrude" on Moonves and added that, "Most of the time, he does the right thing."
But Ed Goren, president of Fox Sports, was more direct, telling an audience of 200 that he didn't pursue a relationship with ultimate fighting because, "We don't need money that badly".
The remarks were made during a panel discussion about the sports industry at the Milken Institute Global Conference.
"Les usually asks my opinion", Sumner Redstone said Wednesday when asked about the four mixed-martial arts fights that will begin airing soon on CBS. This time, the Viacom and CBS chairman said, Moonves did not.
Redstone said the deal, struck with Elite Xtreme Combat, probably was a mistake, not because CBS won't turn a profit from it but because it is not "socially responsible" to air the typically bloody bouts on free, broadcast TV.
"I'm a lover not a fighter", Redstone said. "I don't like the sport".
Redstone said he doesn't like to "intrude" on Moonves and added that, "Most of the time, he does the right thing."
But Ed Goren, president of Fox Sports, was more direct, telling an audience of 200 that he didn't pursue a relationship with ultimate fighting because, "We don't need money that badly".
The remarks were made during a panel discussion about the sports industry at the Milken Institute Global Conference.
- 4/30/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- When San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds breaks Hank Aaron's career home-run record, ESPN and Fox Sports are looking to bring the occasion to viewers live nationwide.
ESPN and Fox Sports said Thursday that they are negotiating with Major League Baseball for the rights to bring Bonds' at-bats -- and perhaps a game -- to a nationwide audience.
For Fox Sports, that could mean carrying an extra game beyond its Saturday afternoon exclusive package as it did in September 1998, when it broadcast Mark McGwire's 62nd home run of the season to pass Roger Maris' long-standing record. For ESPN, it would mean carrying live Bonds' at-bats each game as he nears the record.
"Do we have an interest? Absolutely," Fox Sports president Ed Goren said Thursday.
Fox Sports has exclusive rights to the Giants' July 14 game against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. "It would be an appropriate game to set a record," Goren said.
ESPN and Fox Sports said Thursday that they are negotiating with Major League Baseball for the rights to bring Bonds' at-bats -- and perhaps a game -- to a nationwide audience.
For Fox Sports, that could mean carrying an extra game beyond its Saturday afternoon exclusive package as it did in September 1998, when it broadcast Mark McGwire's 62nd home run of the season to pass Roger Maris' long-standing record. For ESPN, it would mean carrying live Bonds' at-bats each game as he nears the record.
"Do we have an interest? Absolutely," Fox Sports president Ed Goren said Thursday.
Fox Sports has exclusive rights to the Giants' July 14 game against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. "It would be an appropriate game to set a record," Goren said.
NEW YORK -- The NBA and NHL playoffs are in full swing, but it's the early season of Major League Baseball that is hitting its ratings stride right out of the gate.
MLB telecasts on Fox and ESPN have been getting strong ratings in the first month of the season. Fox's "Saturday Afternoon Game of the Week" has been averaging 4 million viewers so far, its best start to a season ever. ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" has been on a tear as well, up 56% to an average 3.5 million viewers compared with this part of the season last year. (All MLB telecasts are up 23% to 1.2 million viewers.) There have been records on the regional sports channels as well.
"Baseball is hot", said Len DeLuca, senior vp programming and acquisitions at ESPN.
For Fox, it's the first time the network has carried Saturday games starting the first week of the season instead of in mid-May. It's so far, so good for Fox.
"I've always believed that at the start of the season, there's excitement across all markets," Fox Sports president Ed Goren said. "To come on as we have in the middle of May was walking away from really good potential ratings that comes from that excitement."
Everybody expects the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets and Atlanta Braves to compete.
MLB telecasts on Fox and ESPN have been getting strong ratings in the first month of the season. Fox's "Saturday Afternoon Game of the Week" has been averaging 4 million viewers so far, its best start to a season ever. ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" has been on a tear as well, up 56% to an average 3.5 million viewers compared with this part of the season last year. (All MLB telecasts are up 23% to 1.2 million viewers.) There have been records on the regional sports channels as well.
"Baseball is hot", said Len DeLuca, senior vp programming and acquisitions at ESPN.
For Fox, it's the first time the network has carried Saturday games starting the first week of the season instead of in mid-May. It's so far, so good for Fox.
"I've always believed that at the start of the season, there's excitement across all markets," Fox Sports president Ed Goren said. "To come on as we have in the middle of May was walking away from really good potential ratings that comes from that excitement."
Everybody expects the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets and Atlanta Braves to compete.
NEW YORK -- When Fox Sports airs a Major League Baseball game on Saturday afternoon, it will embark on showing a "Game of the Week" for the entire regular season. That hasn't happened on a broadcast network since 1989.
Fox has carried a Saturday game -- previously a split between an East Coast game and a West Coast game that starts three hours later -- since it inked a rights deal in the mid-1990s. But the new contract, announced at last year's All-Star Game, let Fox walk away from the Divisional Series and one League Championship Series and gave them a Game of the Week beginning with the first week of the season.
Saturday's games will feature the New York Mets vs. the Atlanta Braves, the Minnesota Twins vs. the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. the San Francisco Giants. This week, and in all subsequent weeks this season, the games will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT.
"We're finally getting it right and starting it at the beginning of the season," Fox Sports president Ed Goren said Wednesday. In years past, Fox was willing to start the telecasts in April, but for several reasons, including affiliate concerns, it wasn't possible.
Fox has carried a Saturday game -- previously a split between an East Coast game and a West Coast game that starts three hours later -- since it inked a rights deal in the mid-1990s. But the new contract, announced at last year's All-Star Game, let Fox walk away from the Divisional Series and one League Championship Series and gave them a Game of the Week beginning with the first week of the season.
Saturday's games will feature the New York Mets vs. the Atlanta Braves, the Minnesota Twins vs. the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. the San Francisco Giants. This week, and in all subsequent weeks this season, the games will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT.
"We're finally getting it right and starting it at the beginning of the season," Fox Sports president Ed Goren said Wednesday. In years past, Fox was willing to start the telecasts in April, but for several reasons, including affiliate concerns, it wasn't possible.
NEW YORK -- David Hill is returning to his former job running Fox Sports after a two-year sojourn at DirecTV.
The stock swap removing News Corp.'s stake in DirecTV has led Hill back to Fox Sports as chairman and CEO, where he has been off and on since December 1993, when he founded the division.
Hill left in March 2005 to become DirecTV's entertainment president but kept his hand in the network as chairman in an nonexecutive role while day-to-day operations were being run by Fox Sports president Ed Goren. Hill left DirecTV this month and returned full time to Fox.
In an interview Tuesday from Phoenix, where he was attending the NFL owners meeting, Hill said he had a great time at DirecTV, learned a lot and worked with "some really wonderful people."
He said it was an eye-opening experience because at DirecTV, unlike Fox Sports, it's not just a network but a platform that uses VOD and other technologies.
The stock swap removing News Corp.'s stake in DirecTV has led Hill back to Fox Sports as chairman and CEO, where he has been off and on since December 1993, when he founded the division.
Hill left in March 2005 to become DirecTV's entertainment president but kept his hand in the network as chairman in an nonexecutive role while day-to-day operations were being run by Fox Sports president Ed Goren. Hill left DirecTV this month and returned full time to Fox.
In an interview Tuesday from Phoenix, where he was attending the NFL owners meeting, Hill said he had a great time at DirecTV, learned a lot and worked with "some really wonderful people."
He said it was an eye-opening experience because at DirecTV, unlike Fox Sports, it's not just a network but a platform that uses VOD and other technologies.
- 3/28/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- Fox Sports said Tuesday that it has promoted FSN veteran George Greenberg to executive vp programming and production.
Greenberg's role will be similar to what he has done at FSN, but now he will oversee the Fox Sports brand by working with talent, reviewing broadcasts and controlling quality. He will report to Fox Sports Television Group chairman and CEO David Hill and Fox Sports president Ed Goren.
Greenberg will remain at FSN as well in the job he's held since May 2003, continuing to report to Fox National Cable Sports Networks president Bob Thompson.
At FSN, he oversees "The Best Damn Sports Show Period," "FSN Pro Football Review", "Totally Football", "CMI: Chris Myers Interviews", "Final Score" and such other network properties as boxing, mixed martial arts and the International Fight League.
Before becoming executive vp at FSN, Greenberg served as executive producer of "Best Damn" since its July 2001 premiere. He was executive vp marketing at Fox Broadcasting Co. from February 1997 to December 2000 and senior vp/creative director at Fox Sports beginning in May 1994, leading the team that built the network's graphic look.
Greenberg's role will be similar to what he has done at FSN, but now he will oversee the Fox Sports brand by working with talent, reviewing broadcasts and controlling quality. He will report to Fox Sports Television Group chairman and CEO David Hill and Fox Sports president Ed Goren.
Greenberg will remain at FSN as well in the job he's held since May 2003, continuing to report to Fox National Cable Sports Networks president Bob Thompson.
At FSN, he oversees "The Best Damn Sports Show Period," "FSN Pro Football Review", "Totally Football", "CMI: Chris Myers Interviews", "Final Score" and such other network properties as boxing, mixed martial arts and the International Fight League.
Before becoming executive vp at FSN, Greenberg served as executive producer of "Best Damn" since its July 2001 premiere. He was executive vp marketing at Fox Broadcasting Co. from February 1997 to December 2000 and senior vp/creative director at Fox Sports beginning in May 1994, leading the team that built the network's graphic look.
- 2/28/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- Fox Sports hailed Monday's ratings for the Bowl Championship Series title game, with 28.8 million people tuning in despite No. 2 Florida's 41-14 trouncing of top-ranked Ohio State.
This is the first year of big changes to the BCS, which Fox took over in a four-year deal from ABC, which still has the Rose Bowl. Monday night's game was the third-most-watched BCS game in its history, according to Nielsen Media Research data. While the game couldn't compare to last year's championship tilt -- Texas' triple-overtime defeat in the Rose Bowl -- color Fox Sports happy with the performance.
"The ratings were sensational and, for most of us, somewhat of a surprise in a game that was basically resolved at halftime," Fox Sports president Ed Goren said. "But I think that speaks to the kind of season college football has had. Week after week they've had significant ratings."
Of Fox's four BCS games during the past week, three led the network to nightly primetime wins.
This is the first year of big changes to the BCS, which Fox took over in a four-year deal from ABC, which still has the Rose Bowl. Monday night's game was the third-most-watched BCS game in its history, according to Nielsen Media Research data. While the game couldn't compare to last year's championship tilt -- Texas' triple-overtime defeat in the Rose Bowl -- color Fox Sports happy with the performance.
"The ratings were sensational and, for most of us, somewhat of a surprise in a game that was basically resolved at halftime," Fox Sports president Ed Goren said. "But I think that speaks to the kind of season college football has had. Week after week they've had significant ratings."
Of Fox's four BCS games during the past week, three led the network to nightly primetime wins.
NEW YORK -- Famed Yankees outfielder and World Series-winning manager Lou Piniella will join the Fox Sports baseball broadcast booth this month. Meanwhile, his boss, Fox Sports president Ed Goren, said Fox and Major League Baseball were still talking about renewing its deal that includes regular-season baseball, the All-Star Game, the league championship series and the World Series. Fox and MLB were believed to be far apart on price, but Goren said Monday that "absolutely" Fox wanted to make a deal. The Fox-MLB deal runs out at the end of the season. Piniella, who has spent more than 40 years in baseball as a player and a manager, made his broadcast TV debut last October with Fox Sports' Joe Buck and Tim McCarver as an analyst. He's signed a deal with Fox that will put him in the broadcast booth alongside Thom Brennaman beginning May 20 with the Chicago White Sox-Chicago Cubs game.
NEW YORK -- Don't hand Fox a crying towel over the playoff elimination of two proven postseason ratings winners, the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Despite tough competition from Monday Night Football and a primetime lineup including ABC's Desperate Housewives, postseason baseball did more than hold its own this time around. Fox and ESPN are coming off double-digit increases in ratings and viewership in key demos, including adults 18-49 and adults 18-34, for the week of divisional series. "We're off to a great start," Fox Sports president Ed Goren said. "If you asked me a week ago about the divisionals, there is no way that I would have suggested that we would be up 25% over last year's divisional series, and in particular I would have been shocked that men 18-34 would be up 56%."...
- 10/11/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- It's a postseason with all the elements: big-market teams, some of the game's greatest stars, a Chicago White Sox team trying to end its own curse and a possibility for a rematch between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. Eight teams -- also the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves -- will vie in the Major League Baseball Divisional Series that begin Tuesday on Fox and ESPN. "We've been saying for years, you can't script October," Fox Sports president Ed Goren said. "For two years going into three, baseball has provided sports fans, I think, with memories for a lifetime." Fox and ESPN, which have TV rights to the postseason, see plenty of possibilities that could boost ratings. There's the curse of history that has denied the White Sox a World Series win as the South Siders are hoping for some Red Sox magic this year. There's the redemption sought by the Cardinals, who were swept by the Red Sox in last year's Series. And there's the always potent ratings combination of the Red Sox and Yankees, the two teams with arguably the most national appeal.
- 10/4/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- It's a postseason with all the elements: big-market teams, some of the game's greatest stars, a Chicago White Sox team trying to end its own curse and a possibility for a rematch between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. Eight teams -- also the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves -- will vie in the Major League Baseball Divisional Series that begin Tuesday on Fox and ESPN. "We've been saying for years, you can't script October," Fox Sports president Ed Goren said. "For two years going into three, baseball has provided sports fans, I think, with memories for a lifetime." Fox and ESPN, which have TV rights to the postseason, see plenty of possibilities that could boost ratings. There's the curse of history that has denied the White Sox a World Series win as the South Siders are hoping for some Red Sox magic this year. There's the redemption sought by the Cardinals, who were swept by the Red Sox in last year's Series. And there's the always potent ratings combination of the Red Sox and Yankees, the two teams with arguably the most national appeal.
- 10/3/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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