Possible Destinations For Sports Television Free Agents

There's a couple of free agents in sports television which are sure to get the industry talking. Here are the names and where they could possibly be going.

• Brent Musburger 
• Currently: ESPN's top college football play-by-play announcer, Big 12 college baskeball announcer

• Potential Possibilities: ESPN may keep him in the top position for one last year before forcing him to retire to make room for Chris Fowler or ESPN might get rid of him immediately once his contract expires. If ESPN gets rid of him, then maybe there's a possibility for a CBS reunion with Musburger calling March Madness games although the likelihood is slim to none. Best case scenario would be that ESPN keeps him as long as he wants to stay.

• Most likely occurrence: He re-signs with ESPN for at least one more year.

• Rich Eisen
• Currently: NFL Network's top host for Thursday night games/Sunday morning pregame show

• Potential Possibilities: Eisen makes weekly appearances on NBC Sports Network's DP Show and has also co-hosted NFL Kickoff specials on the network so NBC Sports could possibly offer him a deal to move his interview show to the network with some contributions to their football programming sprinkled in. It'll be interesting to see if NBC wins the rights to Thursday night NFL games and makes them a co-production alongside NFLN (i.e. CBS/Turner's March Madness) or if they take on the games by themselves. Whatever the outcome may be, I would expect Eisen to be near the top of the list as the studio host. FS1 is also a possibility since it is located in the west coast alongside the NFL Network. 

• Most likely occurrence: He'll re-sign with NFL Network.

• Chris Fowler
• Currently: ESPN's host of "College Gameday"

• Potential Possibilities: CBS could transform it's college football studio show and make Fowler the centerpiece or they could move Verne Lundquist off of SEC games and place Fowler into that spot as the head play-by-play announcer. If Rich Eisen leaves the NFL Network for some reason, Fowler wouldn't be a bad choice to replace him except it's not known whether Fowler has much interest in professional football or moving to the West Coast.

• Most likely occurrence: He'll stay with ESPN and become heir apparent to Brent Musburger.

• Josh Elliott
• Currently: Newsreader, "Good Morning America" on ABC

• Potential Possibilities: CBS could offer him a combo news/sports deal which include a top correspondent position, a hosting gig on CBSSN, a possible foray into sports radio via CBS Sports Radio or even a possible cornerstore to the rejuvination of "The NFL Today" which constantly rates below "FOX NFL Sunday". Turner and NBC could possibly offer him the same types of deals as well.

• Most likely occurrence: He'll stay at ABC News but will get additional responsibilities at ESPN which could possibly include round table discussions which intersect sports and politics/social issues etc. ABC News and ESPN seem to be getting more cozy than ever before and because of this, I would expect an expansion of ABC News produced shows on ESPN in 2014.

• Lindsay Czarniak
• Currently: Host, "SportsCenter" on ESPN

• Potential Possibilities: NBC is always a possibility since those were her original stomping grounds and because she has a hubby who works at the same place. With NBC getting rights to NASCAR, Czarniak would make the perfect consummate host due to her experience with Turner's NASCAR coverage. Another possibility is one of the regional sports networks in the New York/Connecticut area like YES, MSG or SNY which could give the new mom more flexible hours to spend at home.

• Most likely occurrence: ESPN. "SportsCenter" is launching a brand new studio and Czarniak is one of the future faces of the program who ESPN believes will bring "SportsCenter" back to the golden ratings which it had in the 90s. 

• Tony Reali
• Currently: Host, "Around The Horn" and Researcher, "PTI" on ESPN

• Potential Possibilities: "SportsNation" could be changing hosts soon and may rely on a veteran host who doesn't get as much shine on the network like Reali. "Crowd Goes Wild" is another possible home on FS1. Whether the show gets cancelled or not, Regis will most likely depart the show in 2014 which leaves an opening for a new host to take over. I wouldn't even be surprised if he left sports television altogether and became a reality show host/talk show host.

• Most likely occurrence: Tossup

SOURCE: @ESPNBOOK

Random Observations:

• What happens to the CNN Center in 2014 and beyond? More CNN and HLN news shows are being moved to New York at Jeff Zucker's request while the remaining shows which are in Atlanta over the weekend are also slowly getting their time periods replaced by unscripted programming. Turner Sports operates their grand NBA productions in Atlanta as well but if Turner loses NBA rights in 2014, then what will be the purpose of Turner maintaining an Atlanta operation? 

• If CNN and HLN are going to move all of their shows to New York, might I suggest launching a low-budget live online news operation using the studios in Atlanta? Bring back CNN.com/Live.

• Possible leasers to the CNN studios in Atlanta? SEC Network, Tyler Perry, Bounce TV, UP TV, The Weather Channel, Revolt TV, Cumulus (if they decide to delve into TV production)

• Ben Sherwood: Media Person of the Year. Sherwood led ABC News to the #1 spot in morning television ratings throughout 2013, the #1 spot in digital news website rankings in conjunction with Yahoo!, launched a cable news network, brought diversity to the network with the hires of Byron Scott and Ryan Smith, became better partners with ESPN by co-hiring Nate Silver and giving up the sports portion of their website to ESPN. No other news organization had as many highlights in 2013 as ABC News.

• New Year's Eve = Battle of the Hosts. New Year's Eve is going to include a unique battle of the ultimate multi-faceted, multiple job hosts. Ryan Seacrest, Carson Daly and Anderson Cooper will continue to host NYE celebrations live for ABC, NBC and CNN respectively. But this year, Nick Cannon and Mario Lopez are throwing their hats in the ring on Nickelodeon and Fox. The only thing which makes the battle less fierce is that Cannon's show will most likely be recorded while Lopez will be live from the West Coast. 

• NBC/ESPN Trade ESPN recently made a trade with NBC giving "SportsCenter" more access to EPL highlights in exchange for cable rights to the Ryder Cup. In my opinion, this benefits NBC the most because not only do you get full rights to the Ryder Cup but now NBCSN's biggest property gets more promotion indirectly on the sports show of record. NBC should've thrown in expanded NHL highlights as well. It'll be interesting to see if other networks negotiate with ESPN for more airtime of their sports properties on SportsCenter.

• BET and the NBA are a perfect fit. In 2014, the NBA's TV rights will be up for contention with ESPN and Turner Sports as the leading candidates. If I were Viacom though, I don't see what the problem would be with throwing your hat in the ring. BET and the NBA both serve the same demographics and sports rights would definitely increase the value of the network which would help it grow it's original production budget exponentially. 

• BET also has a rich history in sports having formerly broadcasted HBCU Football on Saturday nights as well as a hit sports show, "Mad Sports". 

• If BET wants to transform from being "a black network" to being a "top tier network", it'll help if it invested into some type of sports product in my opinion. TNT and TBS have helped their prospects in carriage fees because of the amount of live sports programming it has, even if their entertainment programming ends up failing in the ratings. It's the main reason shows like "Conan" have been able to survive despite it's lackluster ratings. 

• Viacom has already shown interest in sports through the deal it negotiated with the MLB for entertainment shows on MTV2 as well as the numerous combat sports which air on Spike. Broadcasting an actual major sporting event would be icing on the cake though.

• Realistically, the most likely situation between any relationship with BET and the NBA would be to create entertainment programming which promoted the game similar to what MTV2 and the MLB will do in the future. This could include moving NBA TV's "NBA Inside Stuff" to a timeslot on BET or giving NBA stars prominent guest roles in "The Game" or "Real Husbands" etc. Reality shows following the lives of various NBA players or a scripted series starring an NBA star are other possibilities. The WWE has begun producing movies starring wrestling stars which are unrelated to the sport and the NBA could do that sort of thing with BET as well.

• In my humble opinion though, it helps both sides if the NBA carves out a small package of games for BET featuring some of the NBA's biggest stars on a night which doesn't interfere with the other packages already in existence. The NBA gets exposed to a network with a younger audience, expands it's reach and creates a direct connection with the hip-hop community while BET would complete it's quest to grow into a general entertainment network which serves any audience who is willing to watch without being stereotyped as "the black channel".

• This would finally put BET on par with the big wigs in cable including MTV and it would be a perfect marketing opportunity to promote other BET shows as well as other shows aired on the Viacom family of networks (MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon etc.)

• BET could even lean on Turner Sports/NBA TV or corporate cousin CBS Sports if they need help producing the games since Viacom has no experience producing major sports telecasts. The only things working against this ever happening is 1. Most of BET's shows are female-orientated and 2. The most obvious reason which is that Viacom has never shown interest in bidding for live sports. And if they did, it's more likely they would bid on behalf of Spike than BET. BUT......anything is possible in the TV world. 

2014 Media Predictions

2014 is just around the corner and as 2013 comes to a close, it's time to make some predictions on what the state of media may be like by this time next year. Before we do that though......here's a reveal of some past predictions I made.

2012, I made these predictions on the506.com forums but they were a year ahead of schedule:

1. ESPN NBA studio adds a host (Sage Steele was named host of NBA Countdown)

2. Major ESPN talent heads to NBC Sports Network or start their own venture similar to Dan Patrick (Michelle Beadle hosted her own show which eventually was cancelled)

3. NASCAR moves to NBC Sports Network from TNT (Yes. NBC took NASCAR away from ESPN and TNT)

4. Showtime gets Pacquiao-Mayweather (Nope, but Showtime did sign Mayweather and as late as November of this year, Showtime execs have said they're going to try and make Pac vs. May happen.)

5. Fuel TV converts into UFC Network (Nope, but it is now known as FS2 and it is prominently dominated by UFC programming)

6. Oprah's network acquires another major talent to host a show, actually has successful ratings (Yes, Tyler Perry)

Here is how my 2013 predictions went:

1. Big East rights go to ESPN and NBC (KINDA. The American Athletic Conference rights went to ESPN, CBS through sublicensing and LiveU)

2. Catholic 7 rights go to FOX, Google/YouTube and NBC (KINDA. The New Big East rights went to Fox and CBS through sublicensing)

3. The BS Report begins a taped simulcast late night on one of the ESPN networks (KINDA. A lot more BS Report episodes are being recorded in video nowadays, but it's mostly for Grantland's YouTube channel although some of those episodes have also been seen on ESPN2, including an interview with Magic Johnson)

4. CBS Sports Network gets no boost from Super Bowl and eventually becomes a non-factor. Depending on economy it might even shut down. (NOPE. CBSSN has made improvements, recently acquiring "Boomer and Carton" as well as Big East, AAC and A-10 sports TV rights through sublicensing. They may not be as major as ESPN and Fox but they're here to stay)

5. CBS Sports Radio gives ESPN Radio a run for their money while NBC Sports Radio shuts down. (NOPE. CBS still doesn't have ESPN's reach and NBC has expanded it's talent roster which includes Brian Kenny)

6. Comcast gives up on NBC Sports Network. It doesn't shut down but no new major spending is done on it such as bringing major personalities to the channel or trying to acquire big league rights. (NOPE.)

7. NBA will renew rights with ESPN and TNT, giving TNT the Finals every other year. Google/YouTube also get some rights to help Turner operate the website and stream games on the Bleacher Report YouTube Channel. (NOPE. Never decided who won the rights)

8. Bleacher Report is renamed to something that makes it's identity more intact with Turner Sports or Turner Sports renames it's sports programming "Bleacher Report TV" (Yes. Bleacher Report segments are seen often on Turner Sports and CNN)

9. Dick Vitale and Charles Barkley will call a game together (Yes.)

10. Charles Barkley bluffs on leaving TNT but gets a bigger slate of TV specials and calling more games on-site, he also will get a spot on their baseball coverage (Yes/No. He has been calling more games on-site but it looks like he will leave after 2 years)

11. CNN moves Anderson Cooper and Erin Burnett to daytime, keeps Piers Morgan at his timeslot, re-assigns Soledad O'Brien back to being a reporter and adds a debate show, a panel show and a comedian show. (Yes/No. Anderson has two timeslots now at 8 and 10pm, Erin Burnett is still where she is, Soledad left CNN and there's no comedians on the roster. BUT.......Piers is still at 9pm, CNN has a debate show "Crossfire", a panel show "AC360 Later")

12. Fox News moves to second place in the demo except for O'Reilly who stays #1 at everything. MSNBC is #1 network in the demo and CNN continues ratings struggles but improves from before. (NOPE. Fox moved around some talent to stay at #1 in the demo)

13. Current TV is acquired by ABC, uses channel space for new network with Univision (NOPE. Al Jazeera acquired Current TV)

14. ABC/Univision network does terrible in the ratings (UNKNOWN. Not much carriage)

15. Rihanna, Bon Jovi becomes a judge on "The X-Factor", Britney and Khloe leave while Demi, Simon and Mario stay (Yes/No. Rihanna and Bon Jovi did not become judges but Britney and Khloe did leave while Demi, Simon and Mario did stay)

16. "American Idol" will have good ratings...just not as good as "The Voice" (Yes/No. Idol did even worse in the ratings. "The Voice" did top "AI" in the ratings)

17. Oprah makes a play to come back to broadcast television while still participating in OWN (Nope.)

18. GMA and Today continue their battle, GMA is still #1 (YUP.)

19. George Stephanapolous becomes new ABC News anchor, Diane Sawyer retires but continues with interview specials, Josh Elliott takes George's place on GMA while Paula Faris, Dan Harris or Amy Robach take the news anchor chair on GMA (NOPE)

20. Ann Curry leaves NBC for CNN (NOPE)

21. Barbara Walters, Howard Stern and Al Michaels retire (Yes/No. Barbara Walters did retire. Howard and Al are here to stay)

22. Bob Costas becomes new temporary play-by-play for 1 season, next season who knows? (Nope.)

23. FOX relaunches Prime Ticket LA as Dodgers RSN which is operated by Dick Clark Productions, New Year's Eve show with Ryan Seacrest eventually moves to FOX as part of the deal (Nope.)

24. Apple makes a huge content provider acquisition. Maybe Apple buys Disney or Hulu? They need content for their new products. (Nope.)

25. ESPN turns ESPN Classic into SEC Network (Nope.)

26. New York Times is bought by somebody, most likely a foreign company or wealthy person like Carlos Slim.....becomes private (Nope.)

27. Bloomberg buys Financial Times although I wouldn't be shocked if Bloomberg bought NYT as well as branded their TV network with NYT (Nope.)

NOW.........here are my 2014 Media Predictions, which may be a repeat of previous predictions. This will be known as the YEAR OF CONSOLIDATION. 

1. BuzzFeed will be acquired. It'll be a competition between Time Warner and Yahoo. Time Warner wants to boost it's digital news content while Yahoo wants it's own Huffington Post.

2. New media will invest into the New York Times. I don't think NYT will get sold like WaPo did but I do think that they'll develop a major strategic agreement with either Facebook, LinkedIn or Google which will improve their digital product and legitimize a new media company's news product.

3. Bloomberg will consider selling it's TV network to go exclusively digital.

4. CBS News will partner with Microsoft to launch digital network. Microsoft just got rid of it's news deal with NBC and they're looking for content to broadcast on it's XBox platforms. A hip, modern news net which is powered by CBS but isn't modeled after CBS' programming will be launched and CBS News will host it's website on MSN.com similar to what FoxSports.com used to do.

5. CBS will consolidate with another media company. The most likely possibility will be CBS acquiring Sony's entertainment library and movie studio but CBS and Time Warner could also merge.

6. Time Warner Cable will be sold to Comcast. As part of the FCC agreeing to let Comcast buy TWC, Comcast will be forced to sell TWC's RSNs and cable networks to another company, which will most likely be Fox. Charter will also have to take control of some of TWC's subs.

7. Deadspin will be sold. A new media company targeting men such as MadeMan or Anthem Media Group may be willing to overpay Gawker for Deadspin even if it's not for sale. They can use it to promote a platform of theirs which isn't getting much traction.

8. Ann Curry will leave NBC. As has been reported already, she will either go to Al Jazeera America OR start her own production company. I wouldn't rule out a foundation helping her start a news venture aired on PBS or a random philanthropist who is fed up with the news cycle who decides to start an international news net with Ann Curry as the lead personality. 

9. Democrats aim to start their own Fox News-type outlet with Bill Clinton as the star. As weird as it may sound, I also wouldn't be shocked if Democrat supporters tried to start their own version of Fox News online or on TV with Bill Clinton hosting his own interview/talk show. Dems have always been jealous of Fox News and many don't see MSNBC as the answer. This could be the place where Hilary announces her run at the presidency.......that is, if it even exists this time, next year.

10. ESPN uses Olbermann more. I wouldn't be surprised to see Keith Olbermann calling some MLB games, doing some studio work for ESPN's MLB coverage and contributing more essays to SportsCenter. I'm just not sure if we'll see his TV show in the same place this time next year or if it'll exist at all.

11. Turner Sports will launch an 11pm sportscast on CNN. It'll be a panel show from the Bleacher Report and all of it's personalities discussing sports for an hour, live from New York with highlights placed in between the discussions. 

12. Piers Morgan changes timeslots, Bill Weir moves into primetime. I wouldn't be surprised if Piers moved to either the 12am timeslot or became a once-a-week personality on Thursday nights who went back to his craft of big interviews. I also expect for Bill Weir to get a top notch slot in primetime. 

13. George Stephanopoulos talks to CNN about replacing Wolf Blitzer as it's new face. Stephanopoulos is signed through 2014 with ABC News and he's the heir apparent to Diane Sawyer but he faces a "John Roberts of CBS" problem. The incumbent doesn't look like they're leaving anytime soon. 

Unlike Matt Lauer who was destined for "Today", it always appeared like "GMA" was only a pit stop to keep George busy before he took over "World News" although it looks like that pit stop has taken too long. CNN may look to George as an eventual replacement to Wolf Blitzer and could hand George the keys to "The Situation Room" and lead hosting gigs to the biggest political events covered on CNN while Wolf stays at 1pm. Don't be surprised if Fox News looks at George as well to beef up their political unit. (Just to clarify, I don't think George will LEAVE ABC but I wouldn't be surprised if he spoke to CNN about potential possibilities before re-signing)

14. Josh Elliott, Lara Spencer, Robin Roberts will all re-sign with GMA. Josh and Lara will also get their own show again.

15. "Today" will take over again as the top morning show. But the race will continue to be tight and the two shows will continue to volley the lead back and forth. "Today" won't dominate for too long but it will take it's lead back some time soon.

16. Natalie Morales will leave "Today". Tamron Hall will replace her while Robin Meade will also join NBC News. Morales doesn't seem to be a candidate for the top job at "Today" anytime soon for obvious reasons, so in the spirit of finding something new, she will head to ABC News to report for "GMA" and "Nightline". Meade will become a correspondent and recurring sub on the show who could potentially host the 9am hour after Matt Lauer leaves and is replaced by Willie Geist.

17. Fox will look at changing strategy of MyNetTV. Fox has renewed MyNetTV all the way up to 2015 but after that deal is finished, they are unsure of how they'll program their affiliates. One of two things will happen. Either, Univision will buy MyNetworkTV and program the network with English-language shows aimed at Latinos (something which Univision has hinted at wanting to do and which the original incarnation of MNT tried to do) or it will become a catchup network where you can catch up on some of the best shows from the family of Fox networks. It'll be centered around Thursday night NFL football (if Fox can acquire it) which will be simulcasted on both MyNetTV and Fox Sports 1.

18. Another sports TV network will launch. We're already aware of the SEC Network but we could also see another sports net get picked up by major carriers for the sports pack. Contenders include: Back9 Network, Fantasy Sports Network, truTV becoming Bleacher Report TV, an extreme sports network like "Emerging Sports Network", a sports documentary network, a sports agency (Relativity Sports etc.) or sports brand launching a network (Red Bull, Gatorade etc.)

19. Chris Fowler named as replacement to Brent Musburger, renews as host of College Gameday. Brent will still call primetime games but he'll move to ESPN2 OR he may just retire. Fowler and Herbstreit will be the new #1 PxP crew for CFB on ESPN/ABC.

20. Dan Patrick moves to NBC Sports Radio, Yahoo Sports ends partnership with Gow Broadcasting. NBC Sports Radio becomes a major audio component to Yahoo Sports' website while Gow Broadcasting will partner with SB Nation or Bleacher Report for a rebranding of their sports radio network. Dan Patrick will also have a managerial role as part of his move to NBC Sports Radio and Artie Lange (who is DP's fellow radio partner through DirecTV) will also move to NBCSR. Wouldn't be surprised to have Rich Eisen's podcast also featured on NBCSR on the weekends.

21. NBA rights - ESPN and TNT split NBA Finals, keep their respective nights. FS1 acquires 20-30 game slate from RSNs. ABC keeps XMas games, occasional Sunday game/playoff game. Some online broadcasts on Bleacher Report/YouTube. The NBA will aim to broaden it's product by bringing Fox into the picture as well as expanding the digital broadcast of it's games while also keeping it's incumbents. Would not be surprised if ESPN and TNT submitted a joint bid. If Turner were to somehow lose NBA rights though, I would expect them to go extra hard for the NFL Thursday night games.

22. NFL Thursday night games - NBCSN or Turner. My gut is telling me NBCSN. I think this deal will be a precursor to solidifying NFLN in more homes via Comcast. I also think NBCSN and NFLN will work on occasional joint broadcasts with talent crossing over on each network's programming. I wouldn't be surprised if Turner won (and if they do win, expect them to launch their own network) but my gut is telling me it's NBC's to lose unless Turner loses NBA rights and needs a replacement for it's sports programming. I wouldn't even be surprised if NBC used the package on it's broadcast network. As mentioned before, Fox could also win the rights and place them on FS1/MyNetTV to assure maximum potential reach but my gut tells me that this is NBC's to lose.

23. Big Ten rights - ESPN and Fox. The two rivals will bid together to keep NBC out. The only way Turner has a shot is if they somehow lose NBA rights. They will be seeking a replacement to keep their carriage fees high and this package could fit that category.

24. MLS rights - NBC and ESPN. ESPN needs more soccer inventory after losing out on Champions League, English Premier League and the World Cup while NBC fits perfectly because it has English soccer which can serve as a lead-in to the MLS on Saturdays.

25. Howard Stern will consider launching his own TV network

26. IHeartRadio will partner with AXS.TV to broadcast concerts live.

27. Viacom will try to convince Nick Cannon to launch a modern day UPN to replace "VH1 Soul", known possibly as "NCredible Network". It'll serve as BET for a younger demographic.

28. Fox will not renew "The X-Factor". It will become an online-focused competition on YouTube with a televised finale. I also wouldn't be surprised if Simon took a year off and then joined the cast of "AGT".

29. This year will mark the last season of "Keeping Up With The Kardashians"

30. CBS will buy AMC Networks.

31. Discovery and Scripps will merge.

32. Netflix and Hulu will be available on set-top cable boxes.

33. Starz will be sold. Netflix, The Weinstien Company and EPIX will be the chief bidders. Netflix can use this to acquire rights to Starz's library and preview it's content on TV while Weinstein can use the net as a base to expand into television production and EPIX can expand it's distribution.

34. DirecTV and Dish Network will merge.

35. Aereo will win in the Supreme Court, broadcast networks will bluff on moving to cable-exclusivity.

36. Katie Couric will replace Barbara Walters on "The View", while her daytime show will finally get cancelled.

37. Tim Tebow will become the face of the SEC Network and the SEC Network will have one of the best rated launches in cable history. Also wouldn't be shocked if his deal also came with a feel-good inspirational reality show on ABC or ABC Family.

38. Jay Leno will take a break and then choose between a CNN weekly talk show or a daily show on Fox in the Fall of 2014. A network like TVGN, AMC or A&E could also overbid for him in order to gain more relevancy in pop culture. Discovery or History could also give him a reality car-themed series featuring various celebs.

39. Changes will happen at "New Day". Either Kate Bouldan will be replaced by Michaela Pereria or Pereria will leave to go back to KTLA, being replaced by John Berman. Also wouldn't be shocked if Al Roker was offered a lot of money and a production deal to leave "Today" and move on to "New Day" to help increase it's ratings.

40. Michelle Beadle will move on from NBC Sports while continuing at Access Hollywood. Early contenders to take her services in the sports department include ESPN and Turner Sports which are both based on the east coast. I wouldn't be surprised if NFL Network was also a possible destination, but it's located in the west coast so that could stop that from happening. Another possibility would be to become the face of the WWE Network and host WWE-themed series which correlate with pop culture and other sports leagues.

UPDATE (As I come up with more predictions or become inspired by other's predictions, I'll post them here): 

41. Ryan Seacrest will accept another full-time job, will depart "American Idol"

42. NBC Sports will consider buying Sports Illustrated OR will further develop their partnership while also keeping their deal with Yahoo Sports.

43. Sinclair will be approved as the new owner of WJLA-TV and NC8 but will be forced to sell other stations. I also think they'll eventually start their own TV news network powered by hyperlocal news from their affiliates.

44. More scripted shows are coming. After the success of AMC, Netflix and the History Channel with scripted shows, there's no doubt that there will be more and more buyers clamoring for content. Expect smaller cable nets to try and acquire big budget scripted shows with big name stars even if it means overpaying. WGN America is definitely a network that comes to mind.

45. ESPN is slowly going to take over ABC. I think we'll start to see some signs of ESPN slowly but surely taking over all of ABC's programming. More ESPN stars will host ABC events or contribute to ABC News shows, more crossover between ESPN and ABC stars, more editorial control from ESPN, joint hires between ESPN and ABC, sitcoms written by and about ESPNers airing on ABC etc. We're going to start to see more influence of ESPN in ABC's programming. It's already started with the recent joint pickups of Nate Silver and Ryan Smith.

46. Changed my mind on Robin Meade. I don't think she's leaving CNN. In fact, I think she might be part of the solution on "New Day" or she may be added to CNN's daytime schedule.

Boomer Esiason May Be The Ryan Seacrest Of Sports Television

Boomer Esiason may be the busiest man in sports broadcasting. Here's a list of everything he does:

• Morning show host, WFAN's "Boomer and Carton" (which will be simulcasted on CBSSN beginning in 2014)
• Analyst, CBS' "The NFL Today"
• Game analyst, Westwood One's "Monday Night Football"
• Commentator, "CBS Sports Minute"
• Partner, TXN Sports (group of analysts who develop online video)
• Analyst, "The Sports Hub" Boston radio station
• Commentator, Sports Illustrated's online video shorts
• Commentator, Bleacher Report's "Behind The Mic"
• Analyst, CBS Sports Network's "NFL Monday Quarterback"

Conclusion of this summary of jobs: Boomer, SLOW DOWN.

Handicapping the UEFA Champions League Rights

World Soccer Talk was able to garner some exclusive information on the Champions League's rights. Here are the details:

1. UEFA Champions League/UEFA Super Cup package — in English,
2. UEFA Champions League/UEFA Super Cup package — in Spanish,
3. UEFA Europa League package — in English, and
4. UEFA Europa League package — in Spanish.

World Soccer Talk also divulged that UEFA is more worried about the way their product is distributed and the quality of the telecast rather than who makes the highest bid.

Here are my picks for each package:

English-language UEFA rights will probably go to NBCSN, in my opinion. NBCSN has shown it's commitment to soccer through the quality of telecasts which it has produced for the Premier League and the MLS. It also looks as though NBCSN will not be getting into the late night highlights game which means that most of their stock in original programming lies in what they broadcast in the afternoons. 

If NBCSN can acquire soccer, it'll be easier to garner talent for their afternoon lineup which is currently fluid and they'll be able to build an audience which can slowly but surely take on ESPN's afternoon lineup. Not to mention, they'll also become the unofficial soccer network in the United States.

What's working against them is distribution. How would they distribute games every Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon? NBCSN has sister networks such as USA, mun2, SyFy, G4, Esquire Network etc. But would those networks be willing to give up their afternoon programming? We'll see what happens.

Univision is reeling from it's loss of World Cup rights and with a new sports network in need of content, UEFA Champions League would be the perfect solution. Univision Deportes may not be willing to pay the amount of money Al-Jazeera can pay but Univision has the trust of the Latino community to provide the best high-quality programming available and at the end of the day, that may be the key to pushing them over the edge.

ESPN has the money to pay for these rights but they aren't usually aggressive when it comes to Spanish language rights to world-class sports unless they also come with English-language rights as well. These rights will help Univision grow the distribution of it's sports network and it will help UEFA develop a deeper connection with the Latino community.

BeIN Sport needs to develop some type of relationship with UEFA to eventually become a major rights holder in soccer. UEFA probably won't mind giving them the Europa League to see whether BeIN is a legitimate contender for future soccer rights in 5 years after this current cycle of bids expires. BeIN isn't in enough homes to take on the Champions League and it probably won't improve it's chances by gaining the rights to Champions League action which is why taking on the Europa League in English and Spanish is the best option for both sides of the table. UEFA gains added on money for a league which isn't as popular (money which none of the other big players probably would've paid) and BeIN gains credibility in the United States.

Other Surprises Which Could Happen?

- Fox and ESPN could team up together on a bid for the whole pie just like they did with Premier League rights. The reason I don't see this happening though is because I don't think ESPN and Fox are as close as they used to be now that Fox Sports 1 is officially up and running. There's been a lot of trash talk publicly among the faces of both networks and I'm sure that trash talk goes all the way up to the front office. NBC was the primary enemy before but now it seems like it could be every man for themselves.

- Discovery Communications could be a surprise bidder. Click HERE for my explanation.

- Univision may want to take away English and Spanish rights of UEFA Champions League and/or Europa League. Univision has started making investments in English language programming (Fusion, El Rey Network, Flava YouTube channel, multiple English language diginets on owned and operated stations) and it could be a possibility that those investments continue to get more and more aggressive. 

In all of the investments it currently has, none of them are wholly owned by Univision but if the company ever decides to start an all-out English-language network to diversify it's properties, having UEFA rights would definitely be a big plus. They could also sublicense the rights for money and leverage.

- BeIN could bid with a partner and take on most of the financial burden in exchange for major promotion on that network and it's sister networks.

Sam Champion Leaves Good Morning America

The morning show wars continue to get more and more intriguing. Sam Champion has announced that he is leaving "GMA" to start his own morning show on the Weather Channel as well as take on a managerial role at the network. The news, first reported by FTVLive and TVNewser, has been met with a lot of shock and surprise.

Why would Sam leave stability at the #1 show in the morning? 1. Lifestyle change. According to FTVLive, Champion and his husband are trying to adopt a child. It's also no secret how much Champion loves the hot weather and being closer to Miami probably helped make the job transition a little easier. 2. Bigger role, more airtime. Because of the emergence of Josh and Lara, Sam's time was cut short more and more over the years. With this new move, Champion gets the chance to go in depth with his forecasts. It seems as though his show is going to be a weather version of HLN's Morning Express. He'll be traveling to remote locations many times which will give his show a new edge compared to the other shows on TV.

Who replaces Sam? Ginger Zee, Sam's protege, will have smooth transition to the top position. Luckily, viewers have become accustomed to her because of the amount of times she has subbed in for Sam. She's also developing chemistry with the rest of the crew pretty quickly, which is something that is essential to the show's success.

Is Al Roker's show gone from the Weather Channel? This has yet to be divulged but it's very unlikely. Al's early morning show will probably serve as a lead-in to Sam's show.

Possible format of Sam's show? I expect it to mostly involve weather (obviously), but I wouldn't be surprised if there were other news and talk elements included in the show since the show will air in the morning, which is typically the time of day when TV audiences get informed the most. The Weather Channel's press release took a key note on the amount of interviews and extracurricular activities which Champion has been involved with other than just forecasting so I'm sure TWC will play to those traits. As mentioned before, Champion will also take his show on the road a lot which adds a new dimension to the show.

How often will Sam appear on "The Today Show"? This is just an educated guess but I would have to say that it probably won't be that much. On Thursday or Friday, he might make a special appearance just so the audience sees that NBC welcomes a former rival with open arms. But other than that, we'll probably only see him occasionally filing reports for "Today" and "NN" during big weather stories. I wouldn't be surprised if he also did some weather bits during NBC's biggest events such as New Year's Eve, the Super Bowl, the Olympics etc. Champion will be based in Atlanta so his main focus will be, without a doubt, solely the Weather Channel.

What does this move mean for "GMA"? Well, for "GMA" fans, it definitely sucks. But this won't hurt "GMA" much because as mentioned before, there's a sense of familiarity among fans with Ginger Zee. The only way this affects "GMA" is if another member of the family leaves. It looks like Robin Roberts will be signing an extension with ABC News, but Lara Spencer and Josh Elliott are both going to be free agents soon. ABC needs to find a way to not only pay up but also find ways expand on Elliott and Spencer's job duties (something which they both desire).

How do you keep Josh and Lara happy at "GMA"? Extend the hours of "Good Morning America". They're already doing that right now on Yahoo!, but the internet has not progressed far enough to have the same reach as television. Another option is to bring back "Good Afternoon America," although it's unlikely affiliates will ever trust the network to help with daytime decisions ever again after the failure of the "Katie" show. Another possibility would be to start 9am and 10am telecasts of "GMA" on cable TV (Lifetime is a perfect option since it's a women's oriented network and is owned by Disney's good friends at Hearst Inc.)

Where could Josh and Lara possibly go if they leave "GMA"? There's no doubt in my mind that NBC would love to take hold of Elliott and place him on "The Today Show" to serve as another possible protege to Matt Lauer. The problem is that there's no space for him. Lara, on the other hand, could leave to go to a cable network who wants to start their own morning show or head to HLN and fill out their afternoon hours with some "pop news".

What should we look for? It's going to be interesting to see if "GMA" survives this change in stability as the ratings fight gets even tougher vs. "The Today Show". It's also ironic how much this move hurts CNN especially since Chris Cuomo and Sam Champion had a "bromance" before Josh Elliott came into the picture. The political season is beginning to jump into high gear with the 2014 midterms approaching which helps "Morning Joe" and a trusted face, who can provide news and weather quicker than CNN, will be on the Weather Channel. This move hurts "New Day"'s chances of surviving in the long-term.

Could Rogers/NHL-Type Deal Happen In America Next?

For the next 12 years, there will be one sole rightsholder to hockey up north. All it took was $5 billion for Rogers Communications to secure the English and French language rights to the NHL in Canada. Could the same type of deal possibly happen in the U.S.? Let's look at the prospects.

The NFL and MLB recently solidified long term deals with a vast array of partners for many years to come, so for at least the next decade we'll never see this type of precedent hold steady for those two leagues. It could play out differently though for the NBA, Big Ten and MLS which all have expiring contracts.

NBA (unlikely, but I wouldn't be surprised)

• I doubt the NBA would do this kind of deal unless someone overpays them beyond their market value. They see how much the NFL benefits from multiple partners and probably want to do the same thing. But if there's anyone who would be willing to splurge, I'd say it's ESPN.

• In order to further align itself with the NBA and control the sport like it controls college football, it wouldn't shock me if ESPN:

• took over operational control of NBA TV

• set up a joint movie division dedicated to promoting basketball in the vein of 30 for 30

• encouraged potential NBA phenoms to join the NBDL rather than go to college and made the NBDL a main attraction on ESPNU

• formed a separate entertainment division which gave NBA stars the opportunity to star in their own TV shows and/or Disney movies (like Kevin Durant's "Thunderstruck" film)

• broadcast the NBA every night on ESPN2 while also increasing the amount of NBA talk which is seen on all of ESPN's properties

• subliscened Thursday night games and some playoff games to Turner while controlling all editorial content and on-air talent

• made Sunday night, the NBA's night since 1. the night is basically free between February and June, 2. ESPN has always had a struggle filling in Sunday nights when it's not baseball season 3. it's one of the most watched nights on television so broadcasting afternoon and primetime marquee games across multiple ESPN networks simultaneously could help the game a lot. 4. The NBA doesn't really have it's own night, unless you count Thursday (even though they share it with the NFL and college football).

• Fox would be able to make it work as well since they have so many networks dedicated to the male audience (FS1, FS2, FX, FXX, FSN) but I doubt they're willing to put in billions of dollars to be the sole proprietor responsible for popularizing basketball when they have no prior relationship with the NBA, they have other commitments they have to make with their other deals and most importantly, the NFL is a bigger ratings draw. You don't want to be stuck with not having enough money to bid for the NFL Thursday night package because of splurging too much money into the NBA.

• Turner would LOVE to do this kind of deal but they don't have the money to do it. The only potential partner who could help them, CBS, probably isn't ready to commit a lot of money to professional basketball unless it is profitable. 

MLS (very unlikely)

• Rumor has it that this is the type of deal NBC wants to do with the MLS and US Soccer, but that the MLS isn't willing to do it unless NBC pays them with a substantial premium. Due to MLS' low ratings though, NBC isn't willing to pay that premium. So it looks like without a doubt, MLS will be selling to multiple buyers which could include NBC non-exclusively.

Big Ten (very likely)

• ESPN and the Big Ten used to be close buddies. At one point in time, ESPN covered the Big Ten more than the SEC but as the quality of football product got better in the SEC, the Big Ten got put on the backburner. ESPN2 still broadcasts a lot of Big Ten football on Saturday afternoons but you can tell through the way ESPN presents it's college football coverage nowadays that the SEC is their #1 preference. It also helps that ESPN is starting a brand new sports network together with the SEC schools. 

• Fox has the rights to the Big 12, Pac 12 and C-USA but none of those properties are marquee enterprises at Fox. C-USA is only used as filler programming and isn't really a major conference. The Big 12 is shared with ESPN, it's affiliates and coming soon Campus Insiders while the Pac-12 is also shared with ESPN and the Pac-12's own TV network. The only conference Fox seems to be aligned with though is on the basketball side with the Big East.

• Taking the Big Ten away from ESPN and it's other rivals would make a big statement about Fox's commitment to live sports. Fox would finally have a conference it can fully indulge itself in and they would be working with a conference that is a good friend since Fox already owns half of the Big Ten Network and owns the rights to the Big Ten Championship game.