Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Sports Media Digest- February 28, 2012

NFL Season Opener Will Take Place Wednesday, September 5th- It has become tradition that the opening game of the NFL season takes place on the Thursday prior to the first Sunday of action. 2012 will be different. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell today announced that the opener this year will take place on Wednesday, September 5th. The move was made to avoid a conflict as President Obama is scheduled to deliver his speech at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday September 6th. The game, which will feature the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, will air on NBC beginning at 8:30p.m. ET.

Evert joins ESPN as Full-Time Tennis Analyst- ESPN today announced that Chris Evert expanded her role as a tennis analyst for the network. As part of a four year deal, Evert will now serve as analyst for all four of the networks’ coverage of the Grand Slam tennis tournaments. Evert was initially signed last year to cover Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. She was also brought on during this year’s Australian Open. Her next tournament will be the French Open in June.

ESPN’s Daytona NASCAR Race Sets Cable Viewership Records- This past Saturday’s coverage of the NASCAR Nationawide Series race from Daytona on ESPN gave the network an average audience of 4.4 million viewers, making it the most-viewed race ever on cable television for the series. The race earned a rating of 3.3, the breaking the record Nationwide Series race set in 2010.

TNT NBA Twin Bill this Thursday- TNT is set for this Thursday’s NBA double header. Marv Albert, Steve KerrMike Fratello and Craig Sager will be on hand beginning at 8:00p.m. ET as the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Orlando Magic. The night cap begins at 10:30p.m. as the Mimi Heat take on the Portland Trailblazers with Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller and Cheryl Miller on the call.

NBA TV Continues to See Increased Ratings- NBA TV had its most viewed February of all-time and continues to post record ratings growth for its regular season game schedule. In February, the network averaged 312,000 total viewers and 247,000 households for 22 games, up 21% and 22% respectively compared to the same time period last year.

NBA TV to Air Chamberlain 100 Point Documentary- On the 50th anniversary of the 100 point night by Wilt Chamberlain, NBA TV will air a special documentary looking back at the historic event. Wilt 100, narrated by hall of fame center Bill Russell, will debut this Friday, March 2nd at 7:00p.m. ET.

Bob Knight Next Big Ten Icon- Legendary Indiana men’s basketball head coach Bob Knight will be the subject of the Big Ten Network’s series Big Ten Icons. The series, narrated by Keith Jackson will debut this Sunday 8:30p.m. ET, following the Indiana-Purdue men’s basketball game.

ESPN SoccerNet Gets Its Own Mobile App- ESPN announced today that its SoccerNet site now has its own app. The app is currently available for the iPhone with versions for Android, Windows Phone and Symbian to follow.

Paris-Nice Cycling Competition on NBC Sports Network- The NBC Sports Network will be providing coverage of the Paris-Nice Cycling competition. Coverage begins Sunday at 3:00p.m. ET and continue Monday through Friday at 4:30p.m. ET. Coverage on Saturday, March 10th will begin at 3:00p.m. ET while the finale on March 11th will air tape delayed at 10:30p.m. ET.

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