Weekly Roundup – June 25th, 2024

"As one of ESPN’s biggest stars, Smith knows a thing or two about marketing and self-promotion. His uncanny ability to dominate the conversation—whether by weighing in on controversies or starting them himself—has helped him become a ratings juggernaut for a network that needs one.
To his critics, Smith is a loudmouth provocateur; to others, he is a genius who understands what it takes to grab viewers’ attention in a noisy media environment. In an era when hot takes win, Smith takes pride in having the hottest, whether it is speculating about an unlikely NBA trade, ranting about a player or airing his grievances about a former colleague on his independent show.
Smith declined to be interviewed for this article.
Smith, whose contract expires next year, has been offered $18 million a year to stay with ESPN, according to a person familiar with the matter. (Puck News earlier reported the amount of ESPN’s initial offer). That would mark a 50% pay bump from his current deal of about $12 million a year, another person said—which might make him ESPN’s highest-paid employee."

"Two thirds (66 per cent) of people plan to follow the Paris 2024 Olympic Games via live television broadcasts, according to a study from YouGov.
Confirmed:
-34 per cent of people will follow the event through social media
-The same proportion of fans will keep up with the Games through online streaming
-74 per cent of British fans will watch Paris 2024 through TV broadcasts, while 25 per cent will consume the event via online streaming and through social media
-62 per cent of US fans will follow the Games through TV, while 32 per cent will stream the event online"

"Today’s media landscape in general is as uncertain as ever. But still, one thing remains constant: Sports leagues can almost always expect a rights-fee increase when negotiating new broadcast deals. That’s a particularly interesting wrinkle considering the continued decline of customers who pay for TV access.
Four major TV provider companies reported collective losses of roughly 1.35 million customers during their first fiscal quarters, according to Cord Cutters News.
...
Despite the shift in viewing habits, live sports continue to generate more revenue than any other programming available. Leagues of all kinds are still seeing regular increases in new media-rights deals."

"As Fox’s Summer of Soccer continues, the company announced Sunday it will be the home of the UEFA Women’s Euros next summer. Fox announcers Carli Lloyd, Ari Hingst and Rob Stone revealed the news during halftime of the USMNT and Bolivia’s Copa America game on Sunday night. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The Women’s Euros will take place in Switzerland from July 2-27, 2025. ESPN had the rights to the 2022 Women’s Euros. The tournament, held every four years, features the top national teams in Europe.
Fox is in the middle of 30 straight days of soccer coverage, between the Men’s Euros and Copa America."

"The 2024 presidential campaign is taking place amid intense debates over such topics as immigration, growing racial and ethnic diversity in the United States, the changing American family, crime and reproductive issues.
These topics sometimes are grouped together as “culture war” or “woke” issues.
On most – but not all – of these topics, voters who support President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have starkly different opinions. Yet in many cases, Biden and Trump supporters are themselves sharply divided."

"Netflix has discussed creating free versions of its streaming service in some markets, namely in Europe and Asia, as the company looks for more ways to increase its audience, according to people familiar with its plans.
Netflix experimented with a free plan in Kenya, but discontinued it last year. Top executives at the company have discussed whether to create a free version of the service in far larger markets, especially those with popular free TV networks where it also sells ads. (Think Germany or Japan.)
The company has no plans to offer a free service in the US, where it already reaches the majority of its potential customer base, said the people, who declined to be identified because the plans are nascent. There are no current plans to do this anywhere — these are just talks, for now.
But a free service would help the company reach more people who either can’t afford the service or don’t have a good way to pay for it. It would also address one of the biggest present challenges for the company: creating more advertising inventory.
When it comes to video streaming, Netflix is the biggest player around (besides YouTube). But when it comes to advertising, it’s still a minnow."

"Google Podcasts, which closed on April 2 in the US, was scheduled to finally close globally yesterday. Founder Zack Reneau-Wedeen left in Sept 2021, and the app has had no feature updates since. Google Podcasts started making its way to the Google Graveyard in Jan 2023, when Google Podcasts was removed from Google Search. The third attempt at a podcast player from Google, it was almost six years old."