FOX Sports North Nominated for 30 Emmy Awards

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences-Upper Midwest Chapter recently announced nominations for the 2013 Emmy Awards. FOX Sports North was one of the top stations in the market with 30 nominations: http://midwestemmys.org/20130823/2013nominees/

 

The regional sports network’s “Sandlot Day” project - coordinated in conjunction with FOX Home Entertainment -  is among the highlights.  A tribute to the 20^th anniversary of the Sandlot, the  2013 Twins telecast is nominated in the ““Sports: 1 Time Special” category. 

Additionally, Twins play-by-play announcer Dick Bremer will be honored with Silver Circle Award. The special honor is designed to recognize individuals with 25+ years on the television industry who have made a significant contribution to television well above and beyond that required by their job.  Nominees answer to the highest standards of integrity and honor in all aspects of their personal and professional lives.

 

Stay tuned to find out how many gold statues the FOX Sports North team walks away with after the September 28 Emmy Gala.

ESPN, Turner in talks to exit NASCAR early

By Tripp Mickle & John Ourand, Staff Writers

Published August 26, 2013, Page 1

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ESPN and Turner Sports are talking with NASCAR about getting out of their broadcast rights agreement a year early, a move that could allow Fox Sports and NBC Sports Group to become the sport’s broadcasters next year.

It’s unlikely that the four TV companies will be able to reach a deal, sources say. But the fact that these types of talks are occurring is precedent-setting in an industry where live sports rights are held sacred. For at least the past decade, no rights holder has exited a major media agreement with a property early. 

MASN deal creates a legend and a deadlock

By John Ourand, Staff Writer

Published August 26, 2013, Page 27

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It remains one of the most lopsided deals in sports TV history and bolsters Peter Angelos’ reputation as a shrewd negotiator. 

In 2005, Major League Baseball gave the Orioles owner control of the media rights to his team’s closest geographic rival, the Washington Nationals. At the time, MLB wanted to relocate the Expos from Montreal to Washington, and MLB used this as a way to convince Angelos to cede rights to the D.C. market to the new club. 

After CBS, More Carriage Battles Looming for Time Warner Cable

• August 23, 2013, 6:06 PM

A Cable TV Exec Considers a Future That’s Online and On-Demand

By Shalini Ramachandran

REUTERS

Melinda Witmer taking part in a panel discussion in Beverly Hills, California

Time Warner Cable Inc.TWC -0.21%’s carriage fight with CBS Corp.CBS +0.87%has cast a spotlight on Melinda Witmer, the top video executive at the cable operator who handles negotiations with media companies. She’s a formidable but polarizing figure in the pay-TV industry, at the center of debates on everything from sports programming costs to online streaming rights.

There could be more battles looming. After CBS, Ms. Witmer is expected in coming months to have carriage renewal discussions with Viacom Inc.VIAB -0.20%,Discovery CommunicationsDISCA +0.32%, A&E Networks and some cable channels belonging to Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal.

In an exclusive interview with The Wall Street Journal, Ms. Witmer weighed in on a variety of hot industry topics. She spoke of her ambitions to “future proof” the cable company, contemplated the notion of a world with only on-demand entertainment TV, and explained her case for demanding the same Web streaming rights given to new entrants like Intel.  

Melinda Witmer Strikes Fear in the U.S. Cable Industry

By 
• SHALINI RAMACHANDRAN
 
• CONNECT

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323980604579029133492230444.html?mod=wsj_streaming_latest-headlines

August 22, 2013

One day last week, amid a blackout of CBS Corp.'s CBS +3.72% programming on Time Warner Cable Inc. systems, junior negotiators at CBS got on a conference call, expecting to talk to their counterparts at the cable company. They were taken aback when they heard Melinda Witmer, Time Warner Cable's top video executive, on the other end of the line.

Enlarge Image

Reuters

Melinda Witmer is the top video executive at Time Warner Cable.

Thinking it was a call for lower-level executives to resolve matters related to CBS's premium channel Showtime, the top CBS negotiator, Ray Hopkins, wasn't on the phone. Far from building goodwill between the two sides, the call quickly went south. CBS felt Ms. Witmer was reopening issues related to how Showtime gets compensated that had previously been resolved. Ms. Witmer said in an interview that she was indeed meant to be on the call, and it was CBS that went back on agreed economics. By the time the call ended, the firms were further apart than when they started.

NBA Global Chief Heidi Ueberroth to Exit

Daniella Zalcman for The Wall Street Journal

NBA International President Heidi Ueberroth is the daughter of former MLB Commissioner Peter Ueberroth.

After nearly 20 years, one of the highest-ranking female executives in professional sports is calling a time out.

'FOX Sports 1 Fan Express' Pulls into the Lone Star State

San Antonio/Austin

http://youtu.be/Whz46xNfcE0

This leg of the trip included a visit by the FOX Sports Girls and Cleatus to the Alamo, Riverwalk, and El Mercato followed by an on-site activation at Dell Diamond for the Round Rock minor league game in Austin.

Houston

http://youtu.be/oIZJbcBuQtI

*The FOX Sports  Girls visited the Texas State Capitol in Austin before heading to the Woodlands in Houston.  They stopped to visit with fans at Katch 22 before heading over to the Rangers/Astros game at Minute Maid Park. 

Interviewing Fans “Man on the Street style”

http://youtu.be/glDcRA4WxK4

*The FOX Sports Girls interviewed fans to see just what they knew about FOX Sports 1.  Fans were excited for the start of all things fun on FOX Sports 1! 

How USGA found a fit with Fox

‘Fresh perspective’ quickly won over golf executives

By Michael Smith, Staff Writer

Published August 12, 2013

When Fox Sports executives Randy Freer and Larry Jones first sat across the table from the U.S. Golf Association on Aug. 2, a mix of curiosity and skepticism filled the New York City conference room.

Some saw Fox, known for its cutting-edge production and attitude, as the perfect alternative to NBC’s tradition-laden coverage. Others were skeptical that Fox was a legitimate contender for the broadcast rights to golf’s ultra-conservative governing body. Just two years ago, the PGA Tour had attempted to draw Fox into the bidding for its rights and Fox, a complete stranger to golf, declined. 

But the USGA, spearheaded by Sarah Hirshland, senior managing director of business affairs, and consultants from Wasserman Media Group, was immediately taken by the enthusiasm coming from Freer and Jones, who positioned the U.S. Open among Fox’s other premium events like the World Series and Super Bowl.  

FOXSports.com and FOX Sports GO Offer Digital Counterparts to FOX Sports 1

FoxSports.com refurbishment will re-create site as digital counterpart for new channel

By Eric Fisher, Staff Writer

Published August 12, 2013

The launch of Fox Sports 1 is primarily a linear TV initiative, but the arrival of the network also is prompting changes for FoxSports.com.

Network executives are using the arrival of FS1 to remake the website as the channel’s true digital counterpart. A more blog-styled visual refresh is already in place, and will be followed soon by a new content management system. 

'FOX Sports 1 Fan Express' Pulls into Phoenix; FOX Sports Arizona Hits HR with Cross Promotion

The 'FOX Sports 1 Fan Express' rolled into Phoenix for some fun in the desert, including an appearance at the FOX 10 Morning Show.  The Rays/Dbacks game on FOX Sports Arizona was the #1 show in primetime in Phoenix and featured multiple hits promoting FOX Sports 1 during pre, in-game and postgame, including Cleatus and FOX Sports Arizona Girl Danielle throwing out the first pitch, a look-alike game with Cleatus and Rays catcher Jose Molina, and promotion of FOX Sports 1. Next stop: San Antonio.

FOX Sports Detroit Gives Heavy Dose of Promotion to FOX Sports 1

FOX Sports 1 Lower 3^rd in game w/ Announcer VO

http://urban.webhop.net/tigers_080713_fs1elevator_080813.mov

FOX Sports 1 promo during a break

http://urban.webhop.net/tigers_080713_fs1promo_080813.mov

SMU students design advertising campaign for Fox Sports Southwest’s college football programming

Dallas Morning News - August 8, 2013

Louis DeLuca/Staff Photographer

SMU professor Judy Foxman, with former students Ryan Allison (left) and Jeremy Moran, has twice had a class partner with Fox’s Creative University to give students an opportunity to design a marketing campaign

By RYAN OSBORNE RYAN OSBORNE The Dallas Morning News

Staff Writer

rosborne@dallasnews.com

Jeremy Moran and his Southern Methodist University classmates were stuck.

For weeks this spring, they tossed around ideas and strategies during the early stages of a semester-long project for their honors sports marketing class at the Cox School of Business.

“It was just sessions of brainstorming that went nowhere,” Moran said.

But the blank slate the group began with gradually grew into a detailed marketing campaign complete with a commercial script that will be used to promote Fox Sports Southwest’s college football programming this fall.

Fox Sports Wins Rights to Televise Golf Events

• MEDIA & MARKETING
• Updated August 7, 2013, 7:37 p.m. ET

• By MATTHEW FUTTERMAN
 
• CONNECT

21st Century Fox has scored a broadcasting hole-in-one.

The company's Fox Sports unit won the rights to televise United States Golf Association tournaments such as the U.S. Open, ending long-standing relationships with Comcast Corp.'s CMCSA +0.42% NBC Sports and Walt Disney Co.'sDIS -1.70% ESPN.

The 12-year agreement—which starts in 2015—includes a significant increase in fees and highlights the broadcast battle for major sports content, driven in part by Fox Sports's launch of Fox Sports1, a new 24-hour national sports network later this month. 

Pay-TV Providers Lose Subscribers

Wall Street Journal - August 6, 2013 - 8:26 p.m. ET

By 
• SHALINI RAMACHANDRAN
 
• CONNECT

Pay-TV providers lost video customers in the latest quarter, and tempers are flaring in the industry over who is most to blame for the rising costs that are driving some subscribers to "cut the cord." 

This One's For You brings a taste of home to troops overseas

FOX Sports Midwest presented This One's For You, a St. Louis Cardinals telecast to troops, on July 25, connecting Missouri National Guard soldiers in Afghanistan with their families and with Cardinal Nation.



This was the RSN's sixth tribute to troops, and below we shine the spotlight on a few of the elements that made it unique.

P&G Shifts Marketing Dollars to Online, Mobile

World's Largest Advertiser Says as Much as 35% of Ad Budget Going to Digital

By Serena Ng and Suzanne Vranica - August 1, 2013

Procter & Gamble Co. PG +1.67% is now spending more than a third of its U.S. marketing budget on digital media, an aggressive shift as Americans for the first time are expected to spend more time online this year than watching television.

Bloomberg News, Reuters

'We need and want to be where the consumer is,' says A. G. Lafley, CEO of P&G, maker of basics like Tide. 

DirecTV CEO Mike White Sounds Off on Consolidation, Sunday Ticket, and Programming Costs

August 1, 2013, 5:41 p.m. ET

DirecTV Earnings: Profit Slips on U.S. Subscriber Losses

Company's CEO Favors Consolidation in Pay-TV Sector as Programming Costs Rise

By 
• SHALINI RAMACHANDRAN
 And 
• SAABIRA CHAUDHURI
 
• CONNECT

DirecTV Group Inc. DTV -2.02% Chief Executive Mike White added his voice to those calling for consolidation in pay television, saying it should happen because the "balance between content providers and distributors is out of whack."

Mr. White's comments follow similar statements recently by Charter CommunicationsInc. CHTR +1.77% CEO Tom Rutledge and John Malone, the chairman of Charter's biggest shareholder, Liberty Media Corp. LMCA +0.22% Mr. White made his comments on a conference call after the satellite-TV operator reported a 7.2% drop in second-quarters earnings on worsening U.S. subscriber losses.