Fox News outpaced all cable networks in primetime for the second straight week as it looks to dominate the remaining weeks of summer cable viewing.

Fox News averaged 2.1 million viewers in primetime for the week of July 12 to July 18 to top all cable networks, according to Nielsen. ESPN, which benefited from strong viewership numbers for its coverage of baseball’s July 19 Home Run Derby (7.1 million viewers), finished in a tie with MSNBC for second place with 1.3 million average viewers. HGTV finished fourth with 1.2 million viewers, followed by Hallmark Channel’s 998,000 watchers.

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History (940,000), TLC (845,000), CNN (831,000), USA Network (763,000) and INSP (757,000) rounded out the top 10 most watched cable networks last week in primetime.

Fox News extended its total day winning streak to 22 weeks in a row, averaging 1.1 million viewers, besting MSNBC (776,000 viewers), HGTV (644,000), CNN (573,000) and Hallmark Channel (558,000), said Nielsen. 

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Next week’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game — the traditional midpoint of the season — is just one of a series of crucial events that could profoundly impact Sinclair Broadcast Group’s regional sports network experiment, according to some analysts.

The All-Star Break (the few off days after the All-Star Game, scheduled this year for July 13 in Denver) is usually the point when the baseball gods decide whether teams are in or out of playoff contention. While there have been a few exceptions over the years, it also is traditionally the time of year when fans decide whether it’s worth it to religiously follow said ball clubs for the remainder of the year. 

For Sinclair’s RSNs, owned by subsidiary Diamond Sports Group and marketed under the Bally Sports Networks moniker, it means the beginning of a series of events that could seal the fate of the channels they bought just two years ago for $9.6 billion.

The All-Star break will likely pass without a streaming carriage deal for the RSNs with YouTube TV, Hulu and fuboTV, which earlier dropped the channels over pricing. YouTube TV has been without the Sinclair RSNs since September, while Hulu and fuboTV dropped the channels in October and January, respectively. 

So far there seems to have been little impact from the decision to drop the channels on the streamers. On June 2, Evercore ISI media analyst Vijay Jayant issued a report that downloads for the YouTube TV, Hulu and fuboTV apps were up sharply during June, largely because of sports like the U.S. Olympic Trials, NBA Playoffs and other non-RSN related fare. 

While Sinclair and the streamers appear to be living well without each other, another deadline approaches that could have a far greater impact — Sinclair’s upcoming broadcast retransmission consent negotiations with Dish Network. That deal expires in August and is expected to include at least discussions regarding the RSNs. Dish dropped the Sinclair RSNs in 2019, and restoring that deal is a key part of Diamond Sports’ attempts to restructure its $8 billion in bond debt. According to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June, Diamond Sports based its future revenue projections on getting that Dish deal done.    

“The countdown clock is ticking,” said LHB Sports, media & entertainment CEO Lee Berke, adding that the more pressing deal to get done is probably the August Dish deal. “It’s July 8. We’ve got 23 days to go.”

“The All-Star Game is coming next week, pennant races are underway, you’ve passed the midpoint of the season,” Berke continued. “If they [Sinclair] are going to cut deals for the RSNs with vMVPDs and Dish, it’s going to have to happen very, very quickly.”

Dish Deal Looms Large

One sports executive who asked not to be named said the importance of the Dish deal can’t be exaggerated.

“I wouldn’t say it’s do or die, but it is ultra, ultra important,” the executive said.   

Dish has driven a hard bargain in past RSN negotiations and seems to have the advantage with Sinclair. After two years without the channels, the subscribers Dish would have lost as a result are already gone. For some observers, the only incentive for Dish to do a deal for the RSNs would be a steep discount in retrans fees for the broadcast channels. 

“That flies against what everybody is looking for in the marketplace from a broadcast standpoint,” Berke said. “If they can achieve it, that’s what Dish does, they negotiate very aggressively.”

On the other hand, Sinclair plans to launch a direct-to-consumer version of the RSNs next year, which could offset those losses. Still, Sinclair has taken an extremely conservative approach to the DTC service, which according to the SEC documents is expected to have 4.4 million customers in five years. Dish represents about 8 million subscribers to the RSNs.  

In a research note last month, Wells Fargo media analyst Steven Cahall wrote that he believed the Dish deal needs to get done before bondholders would commit to a restructuring.

RSNs in general have been under pressure as distributors seek lower prices and pay TV customers jump ship for streaming services. Cord cutting has carved a huge chunk out of the traditional affiliate fee structure of the RSN business — about 6 million cable, satellite and telco TV customers cut the cord in 2020 — and programmers have been hard pressed to find a replacement. While DTC could solve part of that problem, it isn’t expected to be the be all, end all for the business. 

As a result, programmers are looking for other ways to monetize and distribute sports content in addition to traditional models.

NBCUniversal said it plans to shutter sports network NBCSN at the end of this year and shift some of that programming to USA Network and streaming service Peacock. Others like AT&T’s Root Sports Networks, were put on and taken off the block in the past two years, as demand for the channels waned. Root Sports recently agreed to carry the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers on its Root Sports Northwest RSN — jointly owned with the MLB Seattle Mariners — beginning in 2022. That deal could mean that NBCU’s NBC Sports Northwest will close its doors.   

Berke added that whether the NBC RSNs are up for sale or not, it appears that come next basketball season, at least NBC Sports Northwest will be no more. 

“That one’s dropping out of the portfolio regardless of what takes place with the rest," Berke said, adding that an RSN losing all the professional teams in a single city hasn’t happened since 2004, when Fox Sports Chicago lost the Bulls, Cubs, Blackhawks and White Sox to Comcast SportsNet.

“That’s a major shift,” Berke said. “It sure seems to confirm that once the basketball season rolls around, they won’t have anything to show.”    

And while sources said that NBCU has not started a formal process to sell its other RSNs yet — no bankers have been hired nor consultants consulted as of July 9 — the programmer has been thinking outside of the box regarding sports programming.

Peacock‘s Philly Experiment

On June 18, 19 and 20 NBC aired a three-game series between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants exclusively on Peacock. The move was thought by many to be another experiment by the league to look at different ways to distribute content.

In a press release, Major League Baseball said the move was part of its “ongoing commitment to deliver unique game presentations via emerging distribution platforms within the evolving media landscape.”

Back in April, MLB chief operating officer Chris Marinak told SportsPro Media  that the league was trying to “figure out what type of structure would make sense for an over-the-top product that may not require authentication.” 

Currently, RSNs stream in-market games to their pay TV subscribers, not on a standalone basis. The league has its own standalone streaming product — MLB.tv — that allows customers to stream every team’s out-of-market games for $44.99 per month or a single team’s out of market games for $34.99 per month. Blackout restrictions apply. 

Some reports have said that Sinclair has failed to secure approvals from some distributors for its DTC offering, but the company appears to be going full steam ahead with its streaming plans. In the meantime, Sinclair is scheduled to report its Q2 results on Aug. 4, and may have some updates on its DTC status, as well as that of its Dish negotiations. Maybe then investors will decide whether it's worth sticking around for the rest of the regular season.  

Fox Sports has extended its relationship with Major League Baseball, signing a new multi-year, multi-platform rights deal with the league through 2028.

Fox Sports will remain the exclusive home of the World Series and baseball’s All-Star game, while retaining rights to post-season coverage of one League Championship Series  -- TBS will air the other LCS -- as well as coverage of two Division Series, according to the company. 

Under the new agreement, FOX Sports will also continue to air 52 Saturday regular-season broadcast games with highlights packages, as well as maintain MLB-centric programs and Spanish-language rights through FOX Deportes.

Fox Broadcasting will increase its coverage of regular season and postseason games beginning in 2022, according to both parties.

“Fox Sports has been our national television partner for over 20 years and I could not be more pleased to announce the extension of our relationship through the 2028 season,” said commissioner Robert Manfred. “We value Fox Sports’ commitment to baseball and are excited to continue our partnership with this new agreement. Their innovative presentation of Major League Baseball through game telecasts and special programming across all their platforms has helped strengthen and elevate our sports’ popularity.”

On the digital side, the new agreement will include expanded streaming, social media and highlight rights. Fox will also will televise special event games to be determined over the term of the agreement.

Fox Sports’ current eight-year, reportedly $4 billion deal would have expired in 2021. Terms of the new deal were not disclosed.

“Major League Baseball has been a cornerstone of FOX Sports since 1996,” said Fox Sports CEO and executive producer, Eric Shanks in a statement. “It’s an honor to have shared countless historic moments with our viewers over the last 22 seasons. We are extremely proud to continue to be the home of Major League Baseball’s jewel events for the next decade.”

TNT heads into its coverage of the NBA All-Star weekend festivities in New Orleans looking to build some ratings momentum heading into the NBA playoffs push. TNT’s  NBA live game coverage -- which includes exclusive Thursday night doubleheader games and a new package of Monday night NBA telecasts -- is averaging 1.7 million viewers thus far this season, on par with last year’s performance.

I caught up with Turner president David Levy prior to his departure to New Orleans to discuss the state of the league going into the All-Star break, as well as the prospects for a strong TNT ratings performance during the second-half of the NBA season.  

MCN: How has the NBA on TNT performed thus far heading into the All-Star Game?

David Levy: The numbers have been pretty good – I believe we’re flat year to year but we added more games on Monday nights. I like the storylines developing with Golden State and Oklahoma City, and I like the fact that Boston and the Clippers are playing a little better; San Antonio is always there, and let’s not forget about LeBron (James) and Cleveland. So I think the NBA is going to be in a really good position, and I think the playoffs are going to be really exiting this year.

MCN: What are your expectations for the All-Star game thig year?

DL: First of all its back in the US [last year’s game in Toronto] -- from a ratings perspective last year wasn’t one of our best rated games. I think it’s going to be a ratings success having it in New Orleans, but I also think there’s interest in the NBA right now. Carmelo Anthony just got in – he’s the commissioner’s pick but some have asked does he deserve to be in? I love to see [former teammates] Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant have to practice with each other on the same team, so I think there are a number of underlying stories that people will look at.

MCN: If the elite teams in the league start to pull away from the pack, do you think that will hurt ratings for TNT’s NBA game telecasts in the second half of the season?

DL: No. I know a lot of people like to say parity is great, but it’s really about brands and strong teams. If we get some exciting [regular-season] games and then some game 7’s in the playoffs, the ratings will be there.

For the 23 million who were engaged with NBC’s Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special, there was another pretty good live event in New York on Sunday night.

Those lucky enough to be inside the transformed Madison Square Garden or watching the TNT/TBS simulcast of the 64th NBA All-Star witnessed some sweet moves (and a few lowlights) in the highest-scoring contest in the event's history.

The ASG in NYC --the West prevailed 163-158 -- began with the tip between the Brothers Gasol, with Pau winning on a double hit.  The big men for Spain were largely lost in the run-and-gun affair, although Marc did catch LeBron James’s attention with a crushing blow on a corner three point attempt.

The King didn’t take kindly to the body block, expressing his royal displeasure by later attempting an inbound decapitation with a pass off the back of Mark’s noggin.

LeBron loathers also had other reasons to revel. The Earl of Akron smacked an underhand alley-oop set-up from John Wall off the back rim and gave new meaning to the phrase wide left, when he missed the backboard on  what appeared to be a self-pass a la Tracey McGrady.

To be fair, LBJ notched 30, including a reverse alley-oop slam(Zack LaVine, anyone?) to pass Kareem and Michael Jordan and become the second All-Star scorer behind Kobe.  The absent Laker still leads by two.

Carmelo Anthony’s single ASG mark of 8 treys from last year withstood challenges by Kyle “Ashton Kutcher” Korver and James “The Beard” Harden, both of whom connected on seven from downtown.  

The hometown representative clanged it around like much of the Knicks’ abysmal season. Melo's futility included a pair of three-point misses on the East’s final possession -- he closed matters with 6 of 20 from the floor, before likely moving on to the operating table.

Russell Westbrook, perhaps the NBA’s most athletic player, had 25 with 7 minutes to go in the second quarter.  His full-game repertoire featured a quintet of threes, a number of rim-rocking dunks, and by his own admission four or five missed layups. Had he connected on one of those, the game's MVP would have dunked Wilt Chamberlain’s 42-point ASG record. That mark has stood since The Dipper’s incredible (50.4 points-per-game, 100-point-game outburst) 1962 season.

Sunday night's most entertaining player, though, was Saturday night's three-point champ, Steph Curry. While he disappointed in the horrendous Game Changer contest against John Wall during the team’s practices early that afternoon, Curry’s handle was in full flow, as he set up teams with an array of between the legs, around the back and alley-oop passes. (Dallas’ Dirk Novitizki got caught up in the moment, reaching into the past for a two-hand flush and then struck a vince Carter pose.)

But the highlight of the night from this perch on media row was Curry’s double behind the back dribble that led to an elongated one-hand scoop shot off the floor that evaded Al Horford’s reach and touched just below the top of the board before settling into the cylinder -- a Rafterian kiss the night after Valentine’s.

There was plenty of entertainment off the court as well.  Cast members from Broadway’s "Jersey Boys," "Mama Mia" and "Chicago" did their things, flouting short medleys as nationwide tourism plugs.  

An attempted “New York, New York” crowd sing-along went largely silent – wrong building, wrong borough.

Steve Schirripa engaged Curry, fellow "splash brother" Klay Thompson  and Atlanta's center Horford in “Wiseguy Vocabulary” on the giant scoreboard. Pau easily turned in the best "fuhgettaboutit" of the bunch.

There was also an inflatable mascot cotillion. Harry the Hawks and Hugo The Hornet were in perfect lockstep during Michael Bolton’s "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?”

As for celebrity row sightings, Bill Clinton received the biggest hand, although the former President and the Secret Service detail should have wagged their fingers to shoo Dikembe Mutumbo from blocking their views.

There were the usual suspects: Ben Stiller and wife Christine Taylor, Jay-Z and Bey, who usually sit first row at Barclays, and Spike Lee in a ridiculous get-up.

Rihanna sat to the right of the director, while Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes also had front row game -- authorizing billions of dollars in rights checks has its privileges.    

On court, five of the game’s greats gathered: Magic, Doc, Kareem, The Big O and Russ.

For their part, Knicks trotted out six:  BKing, Dollar Bill, Phil Jackson, The Pearl, Clyde in a cowskin suit and The Captain. One didn’t deserve action there.

Given the state of the Lakers and his various injuries, the 2015 All-Star Game could mark Kobe’s last major hurrah. There won’t be any Olympics like in 2014 and presumably NBC won’t be serving up a 41st anniversary of Saturday Night Live special to steal viewers.  However, AMC’s The Walking Dead will be still be stalking and there certainly won’t be any home-court Nielsen advantage from Toronto.

Still, the phrase Live from Toronto may have a nicer Nielsen ring to it than the 7.2 million who tuned in the TNT/TBS simulcast from New York.

The marquee events of NBA All-Star Weekend are going virtual.

The three-point contest and slam dunk event and its practice session at Barclays Center on Saturday night, as well as the 64th NBA All-Star Game on Sunday from Madison Square Garden will be shot in the virtual reality format, with highlights depicting immersive, 360-degree views soon to be available through Samsung’s Milk VR.

Fans with the Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition headset powered by Oculus, and a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 will be able to access the marque hoops content for free by downloading the Milk VR app and navigating to the NBA section for streams or downloads. 

In January, the league announced it would become the first U.S. professional sports league to bring virtual reality experiences to the public.  The NBA, which announced last month that it would become the first U.S. pro sports league to present virtual experiences to the public, plans to deliver new experiences on Samsung’s Milk VR, introduced at last month’s Consumer Electronic Show, throughout the balance of the 2014-15 campaign.

In addition to sports, the service offers downloads in the highest quality available (4K x 2K) and adaptive streaming options across music, action and lifestyle, with new content appearing daily.

The NBA and its technology teammates gave attendees of the league’s All-Star Technology Summit a chance to sample a courtside, virtual reality presentation of an October preseason game between the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers in Rio de Janiero, as part of its Global Games initiative. Last month, that series of contests yielded the first-ever U.S. pro league contest in 4K. Neulion streamed the presentation of BT Sports ultra-high production of the Milwaukee Bucks-New York Knicks contest from London’s O2 arena at NBA headquarters in Manhattan.

As to Samsung’s Milk VR, the service offers downloads in the highest quality available (4K x 2K) and adaptive streaming options across sports, music, action and lifestyle, with new content appearing daily.

“With basketball enthusiasts all over the world, it’s paramount that we explore new ways to bring fans even closer to the game,” said Jeff Marsilio, NBA vice president of global media distribution.  “Virtual reality delivers amazing vantage points like the NBA All-Star Game from a courtside seat or Sprite Slam Dunk from the baseline.  We’re very excited about the possibilities and look forward to rolling out the content to our fans.”

There’s good and bad Nielsen news for ESPN on the diamond.

The worldwide leader registered gains during the first half of its silver anniversary season with Major League Baseball, but the latest iteration of the Home Run Derby, which was delayed by rain, whiffed with many watchers.

Though 42 games, ESPN averaged a 0.9 U.S. household rating and 1.24 million watchers, gains of 13% and 11%, respectively, through the same stage of the 2013 MLB campaign.

As to 25th anniversary run of Sunday Night Baseball, ESPN rang up gains of 8% to a 1.3 rating from a 1.2, and 9% to a 1.98 million from 1.83 million, according to Nielsen data. SNB notched 2 million watchers with its most-recent telecast on July 13, as the Baltimore Orioles topped the New York Yankees (pictured) in a rain-shortened contest.

Meanwhile, network officials report that MLB games on WatchESPN were up 72% in average minute audience and 68% in unique viewers during the first half of the season.

The Home Run Derby, with Gillette supplanting State Farm in the title sponsor part of the lineup, averaged a 3.4 rating and 5.4 million on July 14, off 17% and 19% from its 4.1 and 6.7 million viewers a year ago.

This year’s telecast was hurt by a one-hour rain delay at Target Field in Minneapolis, and perhaps by a new format in which five-man American and National League squads only had seven outs per round, instead of the previous 10.

According to SportsMedia Watch, the 3.4 rating was the lowest for the event since at least 1997 (ratings prior to 1998 were not available), a tad below the 3.5 mark in 2003.

Relative to the Midsummer Classic itself, Fox garnered a 7.0 rating and 11.3 viewers, according to Nielsen fast national data, with its presentation of a 5-3 win for the junior circuit in a telecast that paid tribute to retiring Yankees captain Derek Jeter. That was up 1% and 3% from a 6.9 mark and 11 million watchers for the 2013 event.

Fox’s July 15 telecast marked 3% and 4% advances from the 6.8 and 10.9 million viewers for the 2012 All-Star Game, giving the affair its first back-to-back ratings amelioration since 1993 and 1994, and its best performance since 2010.

Early tune-in for the All-Star Game was strong, as interest in Jeter's final All-Star Game appearance drove viewing 9% to a 7.5 rating for the game’s first full half-hour from 8: 30 p.m. to 9 p.m. The numbers were consistently in each half until 10 p.m. – 12.3 million in the 8:30-9 p.m. period and 12.2 million in the 9 p.m. hour – while the venerable shortstop remained in the game. Jeter was pulled by All-Star Game manager, Boston Red Sox skipper John Farrell, after taking the field in the top of the fourth, to thunderous applause and "New York, New York" playing on the stadium's loud speakers.