Time for some tidbits from the media world that are worthy of note:
» Last week I was very impressed with the roll out of the Golf Channel on NBC. I thought the new team that came about when Comcast took over NBC was a real winner. This weekend we will get the Florida portion of the PGA Tour off to a great start as The Honda Classic will be the first full-field stroke-play event combining the resources of Golf Channel and NBC Sports under the newly formed NBC Sports Group. In Friday coverage that will air live from 3-6 p.m, Golf Channel will air two hours of live action Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, leading in to NBC Sports’ live coverage that will begin at 3 p.m. each day.
Speaking of NBC Sports, you may have seen that Comcast SportsNet has been airing some promos that now say “CSN now part of the NBC Sports Group.” You will see continued cross promotion with extended Golf Channel reports on CSN news programs as well as postgame reports from Versus when that Caps are on the network.
» It now looks like the NHL will have as many as five networks going after their broadcast and cable rights at the end of this season. We know that the existing rights holders the NBC Sports Group of Versus and NBC will be out in full force. They will be joined by FOX, Turner Sports and ESPN. So this should be a very hot summer of bidding as the NHL — who was given up for dead a few years ago — is now a very good ratings bet and will be cashing in on a new long-term deal.
The new deal will likely look like Major League Baseball and the NBA, where one broadcast network and two cable networks handle the majority of the broadcasts with the NHL Network seeing a share of the games left over.
» Tennis fans will be happy to know that in a new done this week the Tennis Channel will be the home through 2013 for all the U.S. Davis Cup matches. The network that has done such a great job of being an ambassador for tennis was happy to extend the deal. 2011 Davis Cup season begins this weekend with the U.S. team’s first-round play against Chile in Santiago, Chile. The meeting will consist of two singles matches on Friday, March 4, at 9 a.m. followed by the doubles match Saturday, March 5, at 10 a.m. ET. Tennis Channel’s live coverage concludes with the remaining singles play Sunday, March 6, at 9 a.m.
Examiner columnist Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this!
