Let’s do your links. I want to finish these as I’m heading into Boston later tonight for an HBO screening of the Ted Williams documentary that will air on July 14. I’ll give you a report after I get home. Thanks to the fine people at HBO’s public relations department for sending me the invitation. I also have a preview DVD so expect a full review within a week.
Linkage now.
Earlier today, I wrote about NBC’s decision to tape delay the Roger Federer-Ivo Karlovic match across the country while other matches were underway, forcing ESPN2 to pick up doubles matches and stop Wimbledon programming at 10 a.m. in all time zones. Well, this apparently has struck a chord.
John Ourand of the Sports Business Daily says NBC decided to air the Federer match instead of Andy Roddick-Lleyton Hewitt because it’s “following history“. Thanks to the SBD for not only opening up the page today, but also mentioning Fang’s Bites.
Henry Blodget of the Business Insider writes not only is NBC screwing fans on TV, it’s also screwing fans online by forcing them to upgrade their Microsoft Silverlight players for those who want to watch live matches at NBCSports.com.
Awful Announcing which also links to me (thanks, Brian!) says don’t expect this tape delaying practice to end anytime soon.
The Orange County (CA) Metroblog is also angry with the NBC practice of tape delaying matches especially on the West Coast.
Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner writes about how the 1st “Breakfast at Wimbledon” almost started with NBC joining the Gentlemen’s Final in progress.
CNBC’s Darren Rovell is in London following Wimbledon and he writes that local favorite Andy Murray’s sponsors are getting plenty of mileage. Darren reports that golfer Vijay Singh is not wearing the logo of embattled sponsor, Stanford Financial at the AT&T National PGA Tour stop. And Darren is fascinated by a lawsuit involving the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Back to the Sports Business Daily where Terry Lefton reports that the NBA has signed Taco Bell to replace McDonald’s as an official league sponsor.
Justin Rice of Harvard University’s Nieman Journalism Lab looks at the ethics behind league-owned channels hiring and paying working journalists to cover stories.
Ben Klayman of Reuters writes about the UFL looking at overseas expansion even as it has yet to play a single down.
Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch has his Media Power Rankings for June. And Richard talks with an ESPN executive about the network’s plans for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Newsday’s Neil Best who’s blogging while on vacation says the US-Brazil final at the Confederations Cup scored well in New York. Neil informs us that he’s “100% testosterone.”
Laura Nachman says the date of the memorial service for the late Philadelphia sports anchor Gary Papa has been set.
From the Washington Post, Leonard Shapiro talks with Chick Hernandez of Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic.
Tom Jones of the St. Petersburg Times laments the loss of certain sports traditions. He’s way off on the roof at Wimbledon.
Barry Horn of the Dallas Morning News tells Cowboys fans that their favorite Super Bowl teams will be featured on the NFL Network this holiday weekend. Barry says the Texas Rangers rated high on Fox Sports Southwest on Tuesday.
Bob Wolfley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel talks about the Best Damn Sports Show Period and NFL Network’s “America’s Game” marathon this weekend.
The Kansas City Star’s Aaron Barnhart writing in his TV Barn blog talks about TV novice Jamie Quirk of Fox Sports Kansas City making his national debut this week on MLB Network. I know, that last sentence was wordy. Sorry.
James Edward of the Deseret (UT) News feels it was ESPN which made viewers want to watch soccer. I wouldn’t go that far.
Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times says ESPN could not be happier about its soccer ratings on Sunday.
Peter Ottesen of the Stockton (CA) Record previews a new fishing show that premieres on Comcast SportsNet California this weekend.
Melissa Grego of Broadcasting & Cable talks with FX President John Landgraf who’s looking at sports to increase the network’s ratings.
Katherine Rushton of Broadcast Now in the UK reports that ESPN plans to produce a daily sports show as part of its English Premier League broadcasts.
From the Sports Media Watch, we find that the ratings for the NBA Draft last week took a doub
le digit drop. SMW says NASCAR saw a ratings increase for the first time this year. SMW has some news on various sports figures. And you have the weekend overnight ratings.
Chris Byrne at the Eye on Sports Media writes that Fox Sports South has laid down the law for comments on its Facebook page. Chris also looks at a post that former Deadspin editor Will Leitch made about which sports death would have the most impact similar to Michael Jackson.
Paula Duffy of Examiner.com writes about the NFL Broadcasting Boot Camp.
And that will do it. When I return from the HBO screening, I’ll provide a quick impression on the Ted Williams documentary and post the press releases that have flooded my inbox today. See you then.
