2015 was not your ordinary sports media year. We did have some upheaval in sports properties, record viewership for a new event, record viewership once again for the Super Bowl and some upheaval at ESPN. Overall, it made for an interesting year in covering the sports media beat in 2015. As is our tradition at Fang’s Bites, here are the Big Dozen stories in sports media for 2015.
We’ll go backwards to number one.
12. David Feherty leaves CBS for NBC/Golf Channel
MARANA, AZ – FEBRUARY 22: David Feherty reports on the action for CBS Sports during the quarterfinal round of the World Golf Championships – Accenture Match Play Championship at The Golf Club at Dove Mountain on February 22, 2014 in Marana, Arizona. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
After 20 years in covering the PGA Tour on CBS, Feherty felt it was time to leave. After two decades of being a voice on the Masters, PGA Championship and various PGA Tour events, Feherty will move to the Peacock where he will be assigned to the Open Championship (more on that later), Olympics and the Ryder Cup in addition to NBC/Golf Channel’s portion of the tour. Feherty will continue to host his Golf Channel talk show.
11. Stuart Scott passes away
This happened in January 2015. Scott died after a long battle with cancer at the age of 49. One of the more engaging personalities at ESPN dating back to when he was one of the original anchors on ESPN2 when it launched in 1993, then became a mainstay on SportsCenter partnering most with Steve Levy. His influence at the network and on younger sportscasters is immeasurable. This story would have been higher had not we had other stories occur in the year.
10. ESPN announces 2016 Wild Card Playoff Game to be simulcast on ABC
ABC’s last NFL game was Super Bowl XL in 2006. Since then, ESPN took over the Monday Night Football contract and it has replaced football with a more female-oriented lineup in Dancing With the Stars and Castle. After ESPN aired its first-ever NFL playoff game in 2015, it announced that it would simulcast the 2016 edition on ABC. ESPN’s airing of the Arizona-Carolina averaged 21.678 million viewers, the least-viewed of all of the Wild Card Playoff games that weekend. According to ESPN’s announcement, the decision to simulcast the game on ABC was to “maximize the audience across two networks.” It will be interesting to see if what the numbers will be.
9. NBC snatches Open Championship from ESPN
It had been an event that had either been on ABC or ESPN dating back to 1962. It will not be on either network starting in 2016. After losing the U.S. Open to Fox in 2014, NBC looked at the Open Championship as a potential replacement as a big event on its schedule. In 2015, NBC and the R&A announced a new long-term agreement that moves the Open Championship to the Peacock. Originally supposed to take effect in 2017, ESPN agreed to end its commitment to the tournament a year early so NBC/Golf Channel takes over this year. In a related note, BBC lost the rights to the Open Championship to Sky Sports and it also agreed to give up the event a year early allowing Sky to air all four rounds beginning in July.
8. Discovery obtains Pan-European Olympic rights from 2018-2024
Previously, the International Olympic Committee gave the European rights to the Olympics to the European Broadcasting Union which would dole out the Games to each country’s public broadcaster. Then, the IOC decided to negotiate with each country individually. But in 2015, in came Discovery which took over Eurosport, an all-sports cable network which was known for coverage of minor sports. But in June, the IOC awarded full multiplatform European rights Silver Spring, MD-based Discovery. And that is another blow to BBC Sport which has a deal to air the Olympics through 2020, but has to negotiate with Eurosport to continue its legacy with the Games which dates back to the early days of television.
7. ESPN shuts down Grantland
It was Bill Simmons’ baby, but after he left the company (more on that later), ESPN said it was committed to the site and even hired a caretaker editor-in-chief in Chris Connolly to take the reins and keep the literary site going. But despite having Connolly on-board, ESPN eventually decided to shut the site down. Some of the writing staff found out about the news on Twitter, while others were informed in other manners. Still the site had plenty of content that brought prestige to ESPN. But despite that, Grantland was not overwhelmingly profitable and the decision was made to close it. Some of the writers will remain at ESPN, but others have departed to other publications. Whether Simmons will decide to launch a similar site down the road is anyone’s guess.
6. Jason Whitlock gets fired from “The Undefeated” and eventually leaves ESPN
After dragging out the launch of what Whitlock himself called “The Black Grantland,” ESPN decided to remove Whitlock as editor-in-chief, hired a new EIC in Kevin Merida and establish a new infrastucture for the site which will deal with culture and race. Deadspin chronicled the problems with “The Undefeated” which seemingly could never get off the ground. Then in October, Whitlock and ESPN announced they were parting ways and he would sign a contract with FS1.
5. Super Bowl XLIX is the most-watched TV show in U.S. history
Any other year, this would have been higher, but this is become so commonplace, it’s number five. The game between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks on NBC drew an average 114.4 million viewers breaking the previous record of 112.3 million for Super Bowl XLVIII on Fox. The halftime performance with Katy Perry averaged 118.5 million which is amazing in itself.
4. Keith Olbermann and Colin Cowherd leave ESPN
Keith Olbermann’s return to ESPN in 2013 was the prodigal son returning home. Colin Cowherd had been the anchor of the ESPN Radio lineup. Both left in 2015. Olbermann’s next step is unknown at this point, although a return to MSNBC might be in the cards. Cowherd decided that he no longer wanted to live on the East Coast and signed a contract with Fox to host a national radio show on its radio network that is also simulcast on FS1. ESPN did make an effort to keep Cowherd, but as for Olbermann, the Worldwide Leader chose to let his contract lapse. It was two of three high profile departures for ESPN and was part of a bigger picture that we’ll get to later.
3. The new College Football Playoff draws record audiences
The College Football Playoff got off to a great start with record audiences for cable television. With the semifinals of the Rose and Sugar Bowls played on New Year’s Day 2015, the games drew 28.164 million viewers and 28.271 million viewers respectively. The games were records, but were blown away by the College Football Playoff National Championship game between Ohio State and Oregon which brought in an average of 33.395 million and all three games are the most-watched events in U.S. cable television history. However, the second edition of the CFP will not draw as many viewers as the semifinals were played on December 31, 2015.
2. ESPN Layoffs and Cord cutting
ESPN’s run as the Worldwide Leader in Sports is being challenged not by another network, but by the American viewing public and its parent company, Disney. Increased cord cutting has led to a reduced audience for ESPN. Once in 100 million homes 2011, as Americans are finding other ways to watch television, they’re cutting the cord and that has reduced ESPN’s availability to 92.9 million in 2015. That has led to lower revenue and Disney called for massive layoffs at ESPN this year. More than 300 people lost their jobs leaving huge holes at the company. You may not have seen the people who were laid off on-camera, but they all had played key roles at ESPN over the years. With ESPN deciding to cut its ties to the Open Championship, Grantland, Keith Olbermann and Bill Simmons, one has to wonder if all this is somehow related. Perhaps the decision to allow Olbermann and Simmons to walk may not have been part of the bigger picture, but the fact they came in the same year as the layoffs and other financial-related moves, it has to make you wonder what will be the future of ESPN as cord cutting becomes more prevalent.
1. The Bill Simmons Saga
It really began the year before when Captain Blowhard was suspended for his comments on his podcast relating to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. After that, it seemed like Simmons was biding his time at ESPN. And in May, ESPN decided that it was time to let him go. ESPN President John Skipper who was once one of Simmons’ biggest supporters admitted that he blindsided him when he made the announcement to cut ties. But it may be Simmons who will have the last laugh. He signed a deal with HBO, established a new podcast that is extremely popular, and created a new podcast network. His travails even had the President of the United States talking. Simmons will have a show on HBO, create content for the pay network plus produce documentaries. One has to think that Simmons will somehow exact revenge on his former employer and that he will enjoy himself as long as it lasts.
Honorable Mentions: Women’s World Cup draws record audience on Fox, Scott Van Pelt stays at ESPN and becomes solo midnight anchor on SportsCenter, NBA Finals set ratings record for ABC.
