Weekly Roundup – Week of September 25th, 2023

"The heads of ESPN and NBC Sports believe their ability to combine linear and streaming distribution will continue to give them an advantage over big tech firms when securing major sports rights – including the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Amazon and Apple have made several investments in the sports space, with the former securing the National Football League’s (NFL) Thursday Night Football in the US, while the latter has signed a US$2.5 billion ten-year deal with Major League Soccer (MLS).
Many rights holders are interested in courting streaming platforms as a way to increase the value of their broadcast deals, while deep-pocketed big tech firms see sports rights as a valuable acquisition tool to bring consumers into their ecosystems."

"More than half of college-age Americans are betting on sports, including two-thirds of those living on college campuses, per survey results released Wednesday by the NCAA.
By the numbers: The survey, commissioned by new NCAA president Charlie Baker and conducted last month, polled 3,527 people in the U.S. aged 18-22.
58% of respondents have participated in at least one sports betting activity, which includes both daily and season-long fantasy sports.
67% of on-campus students have bet on sports, and 63% recall seeing advertising for sportsbooks, which the NCAA notes is higher than the general population's rate."

"Max and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports announced a Bleacher Report Sports add-on tier that will allow subscribers to watch live sports. Here’s what you need to know:
The option allows viewers to see live coverage of MLB, NHL, NBA, the NCAA Tournament and U.S. Soccer events in addition to studio shows like “Inside the NBA.” Max and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports said more than 300 live events — including the MLB and NHL postseasons — will be available.
NBA fans will be able to watch opening night and regular season action, the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament, NBA All-Star events and part of the postseason.
The add-on will launch Oct. 5 and be included until Feb. 29 before users are charged $9.99 per month."

"Fox News executive chair Rupert Murdoch will transition from his role overseeing the Fox Corporation and News Corp boards, he announced Thursday morning.
Lachlan Murdoch, Rupert’s eldest son, will serve as the sole executive at the helm of the media empire, he wrote in a note to the company’s staff. The 92-year-old businessman will stay on as chair emeritus at Fox and News, he said.
Murdoch will make the official transition in November."

"The nation’s TV networks are picking their own measurement team.
The U.S. Joint Industry Committee, a group backed by Fox, NBCUniversal, Paramount, TelevisaUnivision, and Warner Bros. Discovery, has granted a conditional certification to audience-measurement technologies developed by Comscore, VideoAmp and iSpot, three start-ups that have worked in recent years to challenge Nielsen’s status as the media industry’s primary means of audience tabulation. The media companies are working with Open AP, the industry consortium that has in the past been used to create standard definitions of audience segments that can be used by advertisers, no matter the media company with which they transact."

"Amazon announced the general availability of the Alexa Radio Skills Kit (RSK) console for radio providers today. With the Alexa Radio Skills Kit, radio providers can now offer radio content on Alexa, right out of the box. RSK allows providers to enable a high-quality customer experience in a no-code way, so that listeners can seamlessly access their radio station on Alexa just by using their voice. All providers have to do is submit their station data, and Alexa Radio Skills Kit Console handles subsequent steps related to publishing and discovery."

Katie Miller, in her latest blog for Harker Bos Group, writes about the importance of integrating Alexa listenership to enhance your station's reach. Katie offers guidance for stations to ensure that they are accessible via smart speaker.