1. The NFL held a media call Wednesday regarding several media issues as the 2023 season gets ready to kick off. Among the more notable highlights:
• The decision to not allow Sunday Ticket viewers to control the games they watch on the multiview channel, which I wrote about last week, is YouTube’s, not the NFL’s. This is highly disappointing since YouTube TV viewers were given the ability to pick the games they wanted to watch on one screen during the NCAA tournament. YouTube will offer several multiview channels this season, featuring options with four games, three games and two games.
• The NFL said they will not release subscriber numbers for NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube now or in the future, which is very curious because everyone loves to tout numbers when they’re good. When NFL Sunday Ticket was on DirecTV, more than 2 million people subscribed.
• Flex scheduling comes to Monday Night Football and Thursday Night Football this season. ESPN will get flex for MNF from Weeks 12 through 17. Amazon gets flex for TNF from Weeks 13 through 17. For Sunday Night Football on NBC, flex may be used up to twice between Weeks 5 and 10, and at the NFL’s discretion during Weeks 11–17;
However, the NFL says the concept of flexing, which has been around since 2006 for Sunday Night Football, isn't as prevalent as fans may think.
Chief media and business officer, Brian Rolapp said that since 2006, Sunday Night Football has been flexed on average only 1.5 times per season
• Rolapp also said the league was satisfied with viewership on Amazon last season: Thursday Night Football averaged 9.58 million viewers.
2. Yankees outfielder Harrison Bader was put on waivers Tuesday. Harrison Bader has no idea what being put on waivers means. He also found out he was put on waivers while watching ESPN.
Harrison Bader tells @M_Marakovits how he discovered he was placed on waivers.#YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/T7CIGivRGs
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 30, 2023
3. J.J. Watt will be part of CBS’s pregame show this season on a part-time basis. During a conference call Tuesday, Watt explained, though, that doing TV wasn’t exactly something he desired for a very funny reason.
“I always said early in my career I didn’t want to be an analyst, I said, ‘Those guys don’t know what they’re talking about.’ They always rip on players when they don’t know their assignments. They always talk bad about us. I said, ‘I don’t want to do that.’ But now, leaving the game, I realize how much I love it and how much I can’t stand to not be around it. This is the perfect opportunity.”
4. Someone bringing a gun to a sporting event is not funny in any way, shape or form. It shouldn’t be joked about and should be taken seriously. Having said that, I’m just gonna leave this tweet here in case you want to click on it and read the replies that came in after that last line.
As I reported on @ESPN1000 just now… the shooting at Guaranteed Rate Field during a #WhiteSox game was indeed an accidental discharge by one of the women “grazed” by the bullet. She reportedly snuck the gun in past metal detectors hiding it in the folds of her belly fat.
— Peggy Kusinski (@peggykusinski) August 29, 2023
5. A brand-new SI Media Mailbag was published this morning. Among the topics readers had questions about: my recent podcast with Charles Barkley; NFL broadcasters calling preseason games; potential Sunday Ticket problems; more and more sports going to streaming and much more.
6. The latest SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast features the first appearance of Charles Barkley on the show. Barkley gave me 90 minutes of his time, and we covered a lot of ground. Among the topics we discussed:
• The Rock
• His future on television
• Would he work for another network if Turner loses NBA?
• New NBA TV deals
• A rule that would prevent NBA owners from raising ticket prices
• Sports needs to penalize teams that suck
• Betting Saturday’s Notre Dame–Navy game
• How serious was he about going to LIV?
• Turning down an offer to call Monday Night Football
• Would he call an NFL game today?
• Wanting to call a game with Dick Vitale
• His opinion on ESPN’s firing Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson
• Wanting Jeff Van Gundy to join Turner
• Hating sports media people who make things personal
• Is he sick of talking about his fallout with Michael Jordan?
• How many times has he been in the same room with Michael Jordan in the past 25 years?
• Turner putting an end to his “Big San Antonio Women” bit
• Is he cancel-proof?
• His love of College GameDay
• Issues when Shaq first joined Inside the NBA
• How he preps for the NCAA tournament
• Losing 70 pounds
• His all-time-worst gambling loss
• His love of Scott Van Pelt’s “Bad Beats”
• NFL Futures bets he likes
• Why he’s rooting for the Lions this season
• Going to Las Vegas with friends every two to three weeks during the NBA season
• Why he thinks sports gambling has gotten out of hand
• College football is ruined
• Funniest people in sports media
• Will he be remembered more for his playing career or broadcasting?
• Why nurses are the best
• Why LeBron’s story is the greatest story in sports history
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.
You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.
