Sports
News and analysis of sports media rights holders, leagues, franchises and teams/clubs.
Netflix lands FIFA World Cup TV rights in Spain, Andorra
The deal makes Netflix the primary broadcaster of the competition in both territories, with live coverage of every match and additional programming produced specifically for Spanish audiences.
ESPN to produce alternate telecasts for Super Bowl LXI
ESPN 2 will carry the "ManningCast," Pat McAfee will host a "Field Pass" alternate broadcast, and NFL Network will offer a NextGen Stats broadcast.
DAZN streaming viewership surges in Germany as soccer season begins
The increase was driven by the start of the Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League soccer seasons.
DATA
DAZN looks to scale U.S. sports business through local, regional deals
The streamer has been acquiring local television rights to NBA games and other sports franchises over the past few years as it pushes its way into the U.S. market.
Skydance dethrones NBC, Versant as largest holder of premium sports rights
With CBS and TNT Sports under one roof, Skydance now owns March Madness — and offers games from three dozen other premium sports organizations.
DATA
Ratings: 60 Minutes loses half of CBS NFL audience
CBS scored the highest sports, news and scripted series ratings of any broadcast network during Nielsen's most-recent measurement week, but it struggled to retain viewers for "60 Minutes."
RATINGS
ESPN to stream Super Bowl LXI on Disney Plus
Disney will offer Super Bowl LXI via Disney Plus in dozens of countries, with Spanish-language broadcasts also available in Latin America.
WNBA playoffs average record 1.3 million viewers in first round
The first round of the 2026 WNBA Playoffs averaged 1.3 million viewers across 10 games, making it the league’s most-watched opening playoff round.
RATINGS
Braiden Bell lawyers up, asks Trail Blazers for another shot
A sports broadcaster who lost his job with the Portland Trail Blazers before it even began is asking the team to reconsider their decision and has hired a lawyer to handle publicity on his behalf.
FIRST ON THE DESK
TEGNA brings basketball to broadcast stations in Memphis, Minneapolis
TEGNA-owned stations in Minneapolis and Memphis will offer more than a dozen NBA games on free, over-the-air TV this season.
TEGNA launches internal review of KGW-TV story on fired sports broadcaster
The probe comes one day after the station published a story on old social media comments made by broadcaster Braiden Bell while he was a teenager.
FIRST ON THE DESK
Braiden Bell: Hired for the right reasons, fired for the wrong ones
KGW-TV unearthed tweets he wrote when he was a teenager. Now, promising broadcaster Braiden Bell is out of a job. The cautionary tale and slippery slope this creates should worry everyone in the industry.
EDITORIAL