Sportscasting Headlines

After years of expansion in Houston sports radio, we now face ownership consolidation.

Gow Communications, which owns KGOW (1560 AM) and Yahoo Sports Radio, has signed a letter of intent to purchase KFNC (97.5 FM) and is expected to continue to operate it as an ESPN Radio affiliate. Continue reading →

FOX Sports North has announced that Tom Hanneman has joined the FOX Sports North team as main studio host for the regional sports network, covering Minnesota Timberwolves, Twins, Wild and Gopher Hockey. Continue reading →

The Southeastern Conference’s 12 current schools each stand to add about $8 million a year in revenue under soon-to-be-renegotiated television agreements, but they will be well short of what Pacific-12 Conference schools might get from the combination of their recent TV deals and new conference-owned networks, according to an estimate prepared for USA TODAY Sports by a college sports rights-valuation firm. Continue reading →

Last year, after 13 years as president of ESPN, George Bodenheimer was named executive chairman of ESPN and ABC Sports and co-chair, Disney Media Networks.

On Wednesday, Bodenheimer, 53, was on the campus of St. Norbert College to deliver an address to a Sport and Society conference held for the second straight year at the school. Bodenheimer’s topic was “The Future of American Sports Media.” Continue reading →

Ask Michelle Beadle whether she’s ever been told that she brings out a side of Colin Cowherd, her cohost on ESPN2’s “SportsNation’’ the past three years, that isn’t often evident on the cantankerous and often contrarian Cowherd’s radio program, and she laughs. Continue reading →

Assuming the position of the pinch-hitter – one of the best ever — Mark Sweeney came to be quite the railbird. He’d park himself in the front row of his team’s dugout, hanging over the guard-rail, the better to watch pitchers that he might be summoned to face on a moment’s notice. Continue reading →

Graham Bensinger had jumped from St. Louis whiz kid to international biz man.

He burst his way onto the national scene at age 19 with an eye-opening interview for ESPN with Terrell Owens that led to the Philadelphia Eagles receiver being suspended, and resulted in appearances for Bensinger with Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien and other big-time TV names. Continue reading →

Toledo television sports has been a stepping stone and it has been stability. More recently, sadly, it has been a pink slip.

One leading station, WTVG, has had six sports anchors/directors stop off since the late 1970s on their way to the big time. In whatever order, the station offered John Gillespie (left for Milwaukee) Michael Reghi (later a major league baseball and pro basketball announcer), Neil Hartman (now Comcast SportsNet in Philadelphia), Jeff Blanzy (later 11 years on air at the ABC-owned station in Chicago), Ryan Burr (now an anchor with ESPN), and Rob Powers (now the top guy with WABC-TV sports in New York City). Continue reading →

une 1 is the big day. That’s when the Washington Nationals will find out how much their 2013 television rights will be worth — perhaps upward of $90 million to $110 million per year, way up from their current $29 million-per-year deal. Continue reading →

Some have been wondering for a few months who’d replace Josh Lewin as Mark Elfenbein’s sidekick on 105.3 The Fan, what with the former Texas Rangers TV-booth broadcaster having headed to New York to serve as the Mets’ radio play-by-player. … Continue reading →