
Does Fox Sports hate college football? (And more sports media questions, answered)
(Note: Some questions have been edited for length.)
Why does Fox hate college football? – Brent W.
I see you share my feelings on having Urban Meyer as a sports television analyst. However, seriously, Fox at a corporate level does not hate college football. Quite the opposite. Fox loves the revenue that comes with college football, and it loves being a player for the second-most-popular sport in the U.S.
Advertisement
Fox Sports has invested significantly in the product over the last five years, including making the noon Eastern Time window a significant event for college football fans. It has invested money in studio talent (whether you like that talent is a different question) and the operational resources to send its pregame show on the road. It heavily pursued Rece Davis to jump from ESPN, a big college football play. Also, the Big Ten Network (of which Fox is a significant equity and operating partner) does excellent work on college football. That shows commitment to me.
Now, Fox Sports is heavily invested in the business of Big Ten football, so your feelings about the network's college football coverage probably align with how you feel about that conference (which may be the genesis of this question). If you are an Ohio State fan, you are understandably upset about the Buckeyes start times.
A very fair criticism of Fox is how the company and ESPN have inserted themselves into college football's realignment, consolidation and scheduling. Plenty of The Athletic's college football writers have hit on that topic. Like most major networks that cover college football, in my opinion, they deify coaches during their coverage far too much.
However, they've invested significant money in the sport, and they employ a lot of people who care about it.
Going off the Lakers sale, how dangerous do you think it is for one owner to own two teams from two different professional leagues in the same city? The billionaire could hold the city hostage to obtain tax breaks and/or infrastructure upgrades around stadiums and/or new stadiums. — Brian S.
It's a great question. I am fervently against pro sports teams receiving corporate welfare from taxpayers, and you can find me on social media from back in the day expressing my opposition to New York City hosting the Olympics when I lived there. However, owners in many cities know they have lawmakers and the public over a barrel because of the cultural importance of professional franchises.
Advertisement
The Bills — a team I care about a lot as a former Buffalonian— are a perfect example. The stadium is being funded in part by taxpayers, but the Pegula family holds the cards because nothing is more important culturally to Western New Yorkers than that football team. So, yeah, Mark Walter has a ton of power in L.A. right now (though he'd never move either team, given the lost valuation among other reasons).
What's the basis for the media's fascination/obsession with Kevin Durant? Granted, he's had a long and successful career, but I can't think of any other player whose trade demands and dissatisfaction with his situation are discussed as frequently by TV sports talking heads. — Brian W.
First, he's one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA. That alone will get him a lot of coverage. He's been a dominant figure in the sport for two decades. He's played on high-profile teams, including Team USA. Much of the NBA's coverage is about transactions, and Durant has been traded three times.
All things Durant are easily monetized by sports talkers, especially those of a dubious nature, and he has been a target for some of the biggest blowhards at ESPN and Fox Sports. One thing about Durant: I love that he claps back on social media. He understands that big sports media have used him in many ways, and he's one of the few athletes at that level who calls out the game.
What sport do you think is leaving the most viewership on the table? How could they improve? — Matthew S.
Interesting question. Several sports and leagues come to mind. First, MLS is leaving a significant amount of viewership on the table, given the Apple TV+ deal, but that was the tradeoff for Apple's investment. (The Athletic's MLS anonymous executive survey suggests the tradeoff might not be worth it.) I think the college football postseason could improve if it played the quarterfinals and semifinals on the weekend, rather than on weekdays. Women's college basketball continues to leave viewership on the table by not having a primetime Sunday night title game and for that game not airing on ABC.
I wonder if the NBA/NHL playoff series are just too many games for the average fan. The season drags on too long. The biggest global TV sporting events are a one-match final (World Cup, Super Bowl, Champions League, ICC cricket). Could we see a one-game final for the NBA or NHL? — Aqeel H.
I'd bet big we will never see this in America in our lifetimes, and the simple answer is money. The NHL and NBA can't generate the same audience as the NFL during the regular season, so they need significant postseason game inventory for the financials to work. The appeal of both sports to media companies lies in the prospect of the length of playoff series and selling advertising during those games (or, in the case of a streamer, selling subscriptions). The NFL can have a one-game championship because it can draw 100 million-plus viewers for the Super Bowl. Neither the NBA nor the NHL could come within an area code of that for a single-game title game.
Advertisement
Will NBCUniversal put more Premier League games on Peacock now that USA and NBCU's other cable channels have been spun off into Versant? — Tim B.
It will largely remain unchanged, given that the Premier League agreement was finalized before Versant. NBC Sports president Rick Cordella has stated that they will fulfill their cable obligations.
I feel like you have developed a set of beliefs about how things should be done, and it's hard for you to consider other points of view. For example, Pat McAfee. You like how he's different, and you've fully bought into the agreement he has with ESPN, and so you're unwilling to consider how wrong it is what he did with the rumor about the student from Mississippi. — Mark G.
I absolutely think McAfee and others amplifying a false rumor was awful, and Katie Strang ran an important story on it. Respectfully, your assessment of how I think about that issue is incorrect. I don't reflexively agree with everything McAfee has said or done. I do admire that he built an organic audience and crafted a deal with a major legacy sports media player where he controls the content. I also appreciate people who push back against the ESPN top management machine because I've seen decent on-air talent get screwed.
There is nuance in all of this, and you can think multiple things about a media person or media company depending on the issue. Big picture: If you're interested in sports media, I would recommend taking in as many different content sources as possible. Like art, film, and many other things, it's subjective when it comes to opinion.
SportsCenter from L.A. seems to have died a quiet death. I happened to catch the last show by accident. If there was any PR about it being the last show, I must have missed it. Was it canned to save money? What has happened to Linda Cohn and Stan Verrett? Linda was a stalwart at ESPN for decades. — Richard T.
You may have missed it, but there was a lot of press on ESPN about ending its Los Angeles edition of 'SportsCenter' and relocating the show's production to its headquarters in Bristol. The move was totally about economics. Verrett is leaving ESPN this summer; Cohn is under contract with ESPN. I asked ESPN about her future assignments and a spokesperson said, 'That is still being determined, but we should know soon.'
Will Fox provide any journalistic coverage of the U.S. hosting of the World Cup next year (e.g., covering topics such as travel bans on fans from certain countries), or should we expect the usual bland fanboy coverage? I appreciate Mike Tirico for his courage in discussing human rights issues at the Beijing 2022 Olympics while at NBC, but don't expect the same at the World Cup. — Chris D.
Fox Sports doing extensive journalism when it comes to FIFA? Fox Sports is hitting on these topics during the World Cup? It took some reporting, but I was able to procure a clip that should explain how the coverage will go.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Oil prices up; strong demand outweighs surprisingly big OPEC+ output hike
By Arathy Somasekhar HOUSTON (Reuters) -Oil prices rose nearly 2% on Monday as signs of strong demand more than offset the impact of a higher-than-expected OPEC+ output hike for August and fresh concerns about the potential impact of U.S. tariffs. Brent crude futures settled up $1.28, or 1.9%, at $69.58. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled up 93 cents or 1.4%, at $67.93. Early in the session, Brent had fallen as low as $67.22 and WTI's session low was $65.40. "The supply picture definitely looks to be elevating, however, the stronger demand is remaining above expectations as well," said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial. Travel industry statistics released last week showed that a record number of Americans had been set to travel for the Fourth of July holiday by road and air. On Saturday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies in OPEC+ agreed to raise production by 548,000 barrels per day in August, exceeding the 411,000-bpd hikes they made for the prior three months. The OPEC+ decision will bring nearly 80% of the 2.2 million-bpd voluntary cuts from eight OPEC producers back into the market, RBC Capital analysts, led by Helima Croft, said in a note. However, the actual output increase has been smaller than planned so far and most of the supply has been from Saudi Arabia, analysts said. In a show of confidence about oil demand, Saudi Arabia on Sunday raised the August price for its flagship Arab Light crude to a four-month high for Asia. Goldman analysts expect OPEC+ to announce a final 550,000-bpd increase for September at the next meeting on August 3. Oil had also come under pressure as U.S. officials flagged a delay regarding when tariffs would begin, but failed to provide details on changes to the rates that will be imposed. Investors are worried that higher tariffs could slow economic activity and oil demand. The U.S. will make several trade announcements in the next 48 hours, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday, adding his inbox was full of last-ditch offers from countries to clinch a tariff deal before a July 9 deadline. "Although U.S. trade policy is still unfolding, the U.S. is extending deadlines and backing away from punitive tariffs, helping to lift some of the demand gloom in place since April," said Jeffrey McGee, managing director of advisory firm Makai Marine Advisors. Meanwhile, Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday a cargo ship they struck with gunfire, rockets and explosive-laden remote-controlled boats had sunk in the Red Sea, after their first known attack on the high seas this year. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to meet with Trump at the White House on Monday, while Israeli officials hold indirect talks with Hamas aimed at reaching a U.S.-brokered Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he believes Iran can resolve its differences with the U.S. through dialogue, but trust would be an issue after U.S. and Israeli attacks on his country, according to an interview released on Monday. (Additional reporting by Florence Tan and Ahmad Ghaddar; Editing by Marguerita Choy, Nick Zieminski, Cynthia Osterman and David Gregorio) Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Padres star Manny Machado records 2,000th career hit to join rare club in loss to Diamondbacks
Manny Machado joined an elite club on Monday night in San Diego. The Padres star picked up the 2,000th hit of his career in their 6-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Machado officially reached the mark in the fourth inning of the contest, when he hit a single off Zac Gallen that barely made it past shortstop Geraldo Perdomo and into left field. Advertisement Naturally, that led to a big ovation at Petco Park. Machado entered the night two hits shy of the milestone. He hit a single into left field in the first inning, too. He then backed his historic hit up with a solo home run in the eighth inning, too. Machado is now just the fifth active player in Major League Baseball to record at least 2,000 career hits, and the 297th player in league history. He is also just the 12th player to record 2,000 hits with 350 home runs by his age-32 season. The home run on Monday was the 357th of his career. Machado now has 950 total hits with the Padres, who he signed with as a free agent in 2019. That has him in fifth on the franchise's all-time hits list. Machado first made his debut in the league with the Baltimore Orioles in 2012, and he had 997 hits there before he landed with the Los Angeles Dodgers seven seasons later. Advertisement By comparison, Dodgers star Freddie Freeman is the active hits leader in Major League Baseball. He entered Tuesday with 2,357 career hits — though he's nearly 2,000 short of all-time leader Pete Rose. Jose Altuve, Andrew McCutchen and Paul Goldschmit are the other active players over the 2,000 hits mark. Despite a big night from Machado, who went 3-of-5 at the plate, the Padres couldn't rally back to top the Diamondbacks. The loss, their third in five games, dropped them to 48-42 on the season.
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Morning Bid: Tariff deja vu takes hold
A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Rocky Swift U.S. President Donald Trump's assertion that his latest tariff deadline was "firm, but not 100% firm" was all Asian share markets needed to stage a weak rally. A July 9 date to secure trade deals with the United States was reset to August 1, and even as 14 nations received letters about tariff hikes on their goods, Trump's words left plenty of time and wiggle room for negotiation. Since Trump's unveiling of his sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs on April 2, each additional policy change has obeyed the economic maxim of "diminishing marginal returns" in terms of market reaction. Still, 25% duties on goods from Japan and South Korea, America's second- and third-largest trade partners in Asia, are still a hefty burden. More letters are expected to be doled out to other countries this week, keeping tariffs on the front pages. For the time being, a sense of deja vu is keeping market moves muted. The European Union is not among those expected to get a letter, EU sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday. The EU still aims to reach a trade deal by Wednesday after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Trump had a "good exchange," a commission spokesperson said. Since April, the Trump administration has put together just two, thinly sketched out trade agreements, with Britain and Vietnam, and a fragile trade truce with China. The U.S. dollar has been one of the biggest casualties from the tariff turmoil, but it bounced back strongly on Monday and held gains in Asia. Strength in the greenback against Japan's yen and the South Korean won added a tailwind to their major share indexes on Tuesday. Equity futures are indicating a down day broadly for Europe, whereas the U.S. market is poised for a flat open. But on the bright side, Goldman Sachs raised its return forecasts for the S&P 500, citing expectations for U.S. interest rate cuts and continued fundamental strength of major large-cap stocks. Key developments that could influence markets on Tuesday: - Germany trade data for May - Reopening of 5-year government debt auction in Germany – Reopening of 24-year government debt auction in the United Kingdom Trying to keep up with the latest tariff news? Our new daily news digest offers a rundown of the top market-moving headlines impacting global trade. Sign up for Tariff Watch here. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data