By NFL reporter Ed Werder announces his departure from ESPN after the network let his contract expire. Plus: Diamond Sports Group files motion to delay bankruptcy hearing; Charles Barkley discusses morale at TNT, lays blame on WBD CEO David Zaslav.
Ed Werder out at ESPN
Longtime ESPN NFL reporter Ed Werder announced on social media Thursday that he is leaving the network after 26 years. ESPN subsequently released a statement praising his years of service for the network. Per a report from USA Today, ESPN chose not to renew Werder’s contract after it expired. In his statement, Werder made clear that he intends to land at another outlet for the upcoming NFL season.
This is not the first time Werder has been let go from ESPN, having been laid off in 2017 before returning to the network two years later. (Werder, 5.23) (ESPN, 5.23) (USA Today, 5.23)
Diamond Sports looks to delay court date
Diamond Sports Group has requested a 41-day extension on its previously scheduled June confirmation hearing in bankruptcy court, Sportico reported Thursday. While not explicitly stated in the court document, the extension would give Diamond more time to come to terms with Comcast, who has not carried the Bally Sports-branded RSNs since the two sides failed to reach an agreement last month. Diamond and Comcast have yet to resume negotiations since the RSNs went dark. If accepted as proposed, the extension would give Diamond until July 29th to reach a deal with Comcast before the pivotal hearing.
In other Diamond news, the company reached a carriage agreement with vMVPD provider Fubo on Wednesday, also per Sportico. Diamond’s Bally Sports RSNs will be available on Fubo’s basic subscription tier. Fubo is the 10th largest video distributor in the country boasting 1.51 million subscribers, a far cry from the over 13 million subscribed to Comcast. (Sportico, 5.22, 5.23)
Barkley targets Zaslav in new comments
Appearing on The Dan Patrick Show on Thursday, TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley took aim at Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav regarding his handling of the ongoing NBA media rights negotiations. Specifically, Barkley took issue with comments Zaslav made in 2022 about the company not having to have the NBA saying, “The first thing is they came out and said, ‘We didn’t need the NBA.’ So, I think that probably pissed Adam [Silver] off.”
Barkley also discussed how the uncertainty around TNT’s NBA rights has caused morale to suffer saying, “Morale sucks. Plain and simple.” He even went so far as to suggest he’d sign the crew and talent of Inside the NBA to his own production company should TNT lose the NBA. Reports in CNBC today suggest WBD is content to lose the NBA if the price is too high, though the same report suggests the company may use its back-end rights to lay claim to Amazon’s package of games, despite previous reporting suggesting that was not a possibility. (Awful Announcing, 5.23)
Plus: CBS, NCAA, U.S. Open Cup
— CBS announced its WNBA broadcasts crews Thursday ahead of its first game on Saturday between the Liberty and Lynx. Lisa Byington and Jordan Kent will handle play-by-play duties, while Julianne Viani and Isis Young will serve as game analysts. CBS will air eight WNBA games on broadcast this season along with 12 games on its cable channel CBS Sports Network as part of a new agreement with the league. This season marks the first time CBS has produced its own WNBA telecasts rather than using the league’s production. (CBS, 5.23)
— The NCAA and five power conferences agreed to a $2.7b settlement Thursday for three pending federal antitrust cases. All athletes that participated in a Division I sport since 2016 are eligible for payment. Per ESPN, the parties have also agreed to a revenue-sharing plan that would allow schools to pay athletes roughly $20m annually. The settlement will reshape how college athletes are compensated, allowing schools to pay athletes directly for the first time. (ESPN, 5.23)
— Apple TV and the U.S. Soccer Federation have agreed to a deal which will see the streaming service air the final stages of the U.S. Open Cup for free on MLS Season Pass, per Sportico on Thursday. The deal will kick in when the tournament resumes for the quarterfinals this July. Unlike last year, Lionel Messi‘s Inter Miami are not participating in the competition, instead playing in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. (Sportico, 5.23)
