The 2024 NFL draft in Detroit kicks off tonight across television and streaming services with several marquee college quarterbacks expected to be among the first players chosen.

ESPN, ABC, ESPN Deportes and NFL Network will offer live coverage of the three-day draft’s first round on TV, while ESPN Plus and NFL Plus will stream the event.

ESPN’s Get Up! morning show host Mike Greenberg will anchor the network’s 45th year of draft coverage, while Rece Davis will host ABC’s main coverage. On the NFL Network, Rich Eisen will lead coverage of the draft.

The Chicago Bears will be the first team on the clock and are expected to draft USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the first pick. Other quarterbacks projected to be drafted early include North Carolina’s Drake Maye, LSU’s Jayden Daniels and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy. 

Other players projected to be drafted within the first 10 picks include wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. (Ohio State) and Malik Nabers (LSU). 

Following the Bears, the 10 teams scheduled to pick in order include the Washington Commanders, New England Patriots, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Chargers, New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons, Bears and New York Jets. 

ABC, ESPN2 and NFL Network will air rounds two and three of the draft Friday night, with ABC, ESPN and NFL Network televising rounds four to seven on Saturday afternoon. 

The three-day 2023 NFL draft averaged 6 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, NFL Network, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and digital channels, an increase of 12% over 2022's 5.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen numbers reported by the league.  

Charter Communications said subscribers of its Spectrum TV Select Plus video service are now getting the ESPN Plus streaming service at no additional cost.

The arrangement is the result of the groundbreaking carriage agreement that Charter and The Walt Disney Co., reached last year, following a contentious two-week blackout.

Charter customers also began getting Disney Plus in January.

During negotiations, Charter argued that its subscribers were already paying for Disney programming that was moving from networks like ABC and ESPN to Disney Plus.

Also Read: CEO Chris Winfrey Says Charter Wants More Deals Like Disney’s

Disney agreed to the deal, which will expand the subscriber base for both Disney Plus and ESPN Plus.

“Through our collaboration with Disney we are providing a better experience for our customers,” Charter executive VP, programming acquisition Tom Montemagno said. “Making ESPN Plus available to our TV Select Plus customers allows us to cater to sports fans’ evolving viewing habits with one high-value video package that includes the best of linear and direct-to-consumer sports content.”

“The addition of ESPN Plus to Spectrum’s offerings helps bridge the gap between linear TV and streaming services to provide a comprehensive entertainment solution for Spectrum customers,” The Walt Disney Co. president, platform distribution Justin Connolly said. “Spectrum TV Select Plus customers will now have access to ESPN’s linear and direct-to-consumer content, making ESPN Plus available to a wider audience and providing fans with even more ways to stay connected to the sports they love such as NCAA Women’s Basketball, FA Cup Soccer, NHL games and more.”

Viewers feasted on live sports programming during the Thanksgiving week, with pro and college football games generating huge viewership numbers.

NFL football games led the ratings onslaught, generating the three most-watched games of the year led by CBS's Thanksgiving day Washington Commanders-Dallas Cowboys game, which drew 41.76 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings published by SportsMedia Watch. The telecast was the second most-watched NFL regular-season game on record behind only last Thanksgiving’s Giants-Cowboys game, which drew 42 million viewers.

Fox's November 23 Green Bay Packers-Detroit Lions game drew 33 million viewers, while NBC’s San Francisco 49’ers-Seattle Seahawks Thanksgiving evening game drew 24.78 million viewers.

CBS’s November 26 late Sunday afternoon NFL window – mostly featuring the Buffalo Bills-Philadelphia Eagles matchup -- drew 30.90 million viewers for fourth place on the chart. Also, the November 20 Philadelphia Eagles-Kansas City Chiefs Monday Night Football telecast averaged more than 29 million combined viewers across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN Plus, and ESPN Deportes – the biggest Monday Night Football audience for the Walt Disney Company since 1996, according to ESPN. 

On the college football front, Fox’s November 25 Ohio State-Michigan game drew a season-high 19 million viewers and finished as the most-watched regular season college football game in 12 years. 

The biggest non-football audience was Fox’s Thanksgiving day college basketball game between Michigan State and Arizona, which drew 5.18 million viewers, the largest regular-season college football audience in 15 years, according to SportsMedia Watch. 

ESPN said it signed a new two-year agreement to stream featured group coverage at eight LPGA Tour events live on ESPN Plus.

ESPN Plus will cover each day of certain tournaments, with one feed showcasing the rounds of four featured groups: two in the morning and two in the afternoon.

The agreement includes the CME Group Tour Championship, taking place this week and the 2024 CME Group Tour Championship.

“ESPN’s commitment to covering world-class golf and women’s sports has never been stronger, and having more of the LPGA on ESPN Plus is a vital component of that commitment,” Tim Bunnell, senior VP, ESPN Programming and International, said. “With PGA Tour Live on ESPN Plus, The Masters, PGA Championship, TGL and now the LPGA on ESPN Plus, we’re bringing more golf to more fans than ever before.”

Financial terms were not disclosed.

“We are excited to partner with ESPN Plus to elevate women’s golf,” LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said. “The LPGA represents the best of the best and we’re thrilled to be able to offer more opportunities for fans to watch these incredible athletes perform on the biggest stage. Fans are in for a real treat as we create unique broadcasts to bring them closer to the action.”

ESPN Plus streamed featured group coverage of the CME Group Tour Championship in 2022.

ESPN Plus looks to add another big revenue punch to this year’s busy PPV Boxing category with Saturday’s (October 28) Tyson Fury-Francis Ngannou event while looking to be opportunistic in the category in 2024.

The fight, pitting the current heavyweight boxing champion Fury against the former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou, is the 10th major PPV boxing match in 2023 and the first to feature the heavyweight division in the main event.

While Fury’s World Boxing Council heavyweight title is not on the line in the 10-round bout, ESPN VP of programming and acquisitions Matt Kenny says the fight pits the two combat fighters in a much-anticipated battle. 

“We look at it as a very compelling event with two very high-profile heavyweight combat athletes,” Kenny said. “The ability to see both of them compete in the ring has captured the imagination of sports fans, and certainly those who follow combat sports.”  

The fight marks ESPN Plus’ fourth PPV-distributed boxing match this year and third  mixed combat fight, following February’s Jake Paul-Tommy Fury bout and its October 14 bout between YouTube fighter KSI and Fury. ESPN also distributed a May 20 Devin Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko event.

While Kenny would not project buys for the bout, he said the fight should draw both boxing and mixed martial arts fans to purchase the event. He added that ESPN will remain “opportunistic” in its overall approach to the pay-per-view boxing category in 2024. 

“We’re bullish on PPV Boxing. When presented with the opportunity to offer the biggest events on a pay-per-view basis, we’re open for business,” Kenny said. “Pay-per-view fans vote with their wallets. Consumers have so much choice, convenience and control over their viewing choices, so at the end of the day we want to be there to showcase to them the biggest athletes and events.” 

ESPN and TNT are hitting the ice with opening-week coverage of the 2023-24 National Hockey League season with high expectations for year three of the networks’ seven-year TV deals with the league. 

TNT tonight (October 11) drops the puck on its 2023-24 season with a doubleheader which includes the game between the Chicago Blackhawks and rookie phenom Connor Bedard and the Boston Bruins, part of a 62-game regular season schedule that also features New Year’s Day coverage of the NHL Winter Classic featuring the Seattle Kraken and defending champion Vegas Golden Knights. 

Warner Bros. Discovery Sports chief content officer Craig Barry said TNT will look to continue to mesh the action on the ice with technology to offer both hard-core and casual hockey fans a unique viewing experience. 

Also Read: Bankrupt Diamond Officially Announces Bally Sports Schedules for the NHL’s Panthers and Lightning

“We really want to lead into the data opportunity with puck speed and player tags to see what more we can do to drive the narrative,” he said. “We also want to try some new things as well as we move forward and think about how to apply technology for a better fan experience.”

Barry also pointed to the opportunities streamer Max’s new sports tier can provide to supplement TNT’s coverage, including potential alternative game feeds. “We like the simulcast approach where you can watch on TNT or you can watch on Max — the ability to stream games creates a lot more flexibility,” he said. “There are some options for alternative feeds that we can explore.”  

Line Changes at Disney Nets

ESPN Tuesday night (October 10) launched its 2023-24 NHL coverage with a tripleheader. Overall, 34 games will be televised on ESPN and 16 contests will air on Disney broadcast sibling ABC. Another 50 games will stream on ESPN Plus.

ESPN senior manager of programming and acquisitions Eric Loh said this year’s regular-season TV schedule is equally balanced between cable/broadcast and streaming, providing exposure for the league on both platforms. That’s a major change from the 75 streaming and 25 linear telecasts the network offered in 2021, the first year of the contract.

“We have worked to continuously remind people that ESPN is the home of hockey over the past three years, so we’ve done that by changing up the balance of linear and [streaming] to try to reflect our commitment to the game throughout the regular season,” he said. 

Among the highlights of the season is ESPN’s February 17 and 18 coverage of the NHL Stadium Series from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, featuring the Philadelphia Flyers-New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers-New York Islanders games. 

Also, ESPN and the NHL on October 24 will offer 16 games featuring all 32 teams, with games starting at staggered start times to give hockey fans an opportunity to sample every game across ESPN and ESPN Plus. In addition, ESPN2 will feature a “Frozen Frenzy” whip- around show, similar to the NFL’s RedZone channel, providing live look-ins as games are played. 

“We will do our best to create an NHL Red Zone-style show that takes you around from game to game, highlighting all of the goals, hits and saves of the night and creating a frenzy that everyone enjoys on Sunday afternoons with the NFL,” he said. 

In time for the fall football season, Vizio said it made a deal that will put the ESPN app, with access to ESPN Plus, on millions of Vizio smart TV sets.

Vizio set users will also be able to subscribe to the Disney Bundle Trio, which offers programing from ESPN Plus, Disney Plus and Hulu.

"With our expanded relationship with Disney, Vizio audiences can now enjoy the ESPN app, ESPN Plus, and the Disney Bundle Trio, offering a wide selection of live sports and entertainment," Vizio senior director of business development Chris Tanquary said. “ESPN has helped revolutionize sports storytelling, and we’re excited to bring live sports from the best leagues and biggest tournaments as well as their ground-breaking originals to Vizio’s millions of users." 

Also Read: Vizio Adds ViX In Time For Hispanic Heritage Month

ESPN is accessible from the apps catalog on the Vizio Home Screen and provides access to the ESPN Plus sports streaming offering for $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year.

The ESPN App is also featured on Vizio’s curated Football Kickoff collection for the 2023 NFL and college season. 

The U.S. men’s basketball team failed to reach the finals of the FIBA World Cup basketball tournament for the second straight time, losing Friday morning to Germany in the semifinal round.

Germany defeated the U.S. team 113-111, winning its first game ever against the Americans in World Cup or Olympic competition. Germany will face Serbia in the finals on Sunday in its first gold medal round appearance.

Also Read: What's On This Weekend in TV Sports 

The US, which didn't medal in the 2019 games and hasn’t won the tournament since 2014 when it defeated Serbia, will play Canada in the bronze medal game Sunday morning. All 2023 FIBA World Cup games have aired on ESPN2 and/or ESPN Plus. 

Week one of the college football regular season headlines a busy Labor Day holiday weekend TV sports schedule.

The first official weekend of college football action features several top 10-ranked teams in the nation playing on Saturday, beginning with the top-seeded and defending champion Georgia Bulldogs facing UT Martin on the SEC Network and second-ranked Michigan facing East Carolina on Peacock. Third-rank Ohio State travels to Indiana to face the Hoosiers on CBS, while fourth-ranked Alabama hosts Middle Tennessee on the SEC Network. 

The rest of the top 10 includes No. 6 USC-Nevada (Pac 12 Network) and No. 10 Washington-Boise State (ABC.) On Sunday, fifth-ranked LSU battles No. 8 Florida State on ABC, while on Monday, No. 9 Clemson faces Duke on ESPN.

ESPN2 on Saturday will offer coverage of the U.S. Open tennis tournament featuring third-round men’s singles action, while on Sunday, ESPN and ABC will offer live coverage of the fourth round of women’s singles play. 

On the racetrack Sunday, USA will air the NASCAR Cup: Cook Out Southern 500 race, NBC will televise the IndyCar BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland race, and ESPN will showcase the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix competition. 

On the baseball diamond, Peacock will stream the Philadelphia Phillies-Milwaukee Brewers game. ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast will pit the New York Yankees against the Houston Astros. 

In the octagon, ESPN Plus will stream a UFC Fight Night card headlined by the Ciryl Gane-Serghei Spivac heavyweight match. 

ESPN and two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry’s Unanimous Media production company will take to the links for a third season of the Why Not Us sports documentary series focusing on the Howard University golf program.

The eight-episode, Why Not Us: Howard Golf series debuts August 21 on ESPNU and will follow both the Howard men’s and women’s golf teams as they look to compete at the top of college tournaments across the country, according to ESPN. 

This past spring, the Howard men’s golf team in its third year as a Division 1 program won its second consecutive PGA Works Collegiate Championship, while the Howard women’s team placed three players on the Women’s Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar Team in 2023 in its second year of competition. 

“As we continue to shine a light on HBCU culture through the Why Not Us series, we’re inspired by the student-athletes, coached and administrators who dare to forge their own legacies while embracing and celebrating the history of their institutions,” ESPN Films senior VP of original content Brian Lockhart said in a statement. “The story of Howard Golf is particularly interesting, not only for the tremendous, immediate success of the program, but the way in which Coach [Sam] Puryear, his student-athletes and Steph Curry show us what is possible when you truly believe in a common vision and you put in the work to get there.”

As The Walt Disney Co. studies when to create a standalone, direct-to-consumer version of ESPN, MoffettNathanson senior research analyst Michael Nathanson is calling time out.

Nathanson said he thinks Disney would be better off keeping ESPN in the Disney bundle with Disney Plus and Hulu.

The combination “will deliver enough premium content to reduce churn, aggregate engagement and substantial non-programming cost savings,” Nathanson said. 

“We believe that a sports-only streaming app is a tough model and that sports integrated in a general entertainment service a la Peacock or Paramount Plus makes more sense,” he said. “Given the current light penalties for cheating the MVPD system, we would argue that Disney could create more stickiness and audience flow integrating ESPN into Hulu and Disney Plus than trying to build a standalone premium service.” 

Nathanson notes that the current Disney bundle of Hulu, Disney Plus and ESPN Plus has a churn rate lower than Netflix and three times lower than the rest of the streaming industry.

Nathanson also noted that the bulk of Disney’s current 25 million ESPN Plus subscribers are already bundled customers. (The bundle has 20 million three-service subscribers.)

This weekend’s lineup of live tv sports events starts on the basketball court as the WNBA tips off its 2023 season.

The league, which is coming off a strong ratings run during its 2022 campaign and which welcomes back star Brittney Griner after her detention in a Russian prison, will feature two Saturday games on ABC pitting the Atlanta Dream against the Dallas Wings, and the defending league champions Las Vegas Aces against the Seattle Storm.    

In the NBA, ABC will air Game 3 of the Western Conference championship between the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers, with Denver up two games to none in the series. On Sunday, TNT will air Game 3 of the Boston Celtics-Miami Heat Eastern Conference championship series.

On the ice, TNT will televise Game 2 of the Florida Panthers-Carolina Hurricanes NHL Eastern Conference Finals while ABC on Sunday will air Game 2 of the Dallas Stars-Vegas Golden Knights Western Conference Finals. 

In the boxing ring, ESPN Plus Saturday will distribute a pay-per-view card headlined by the Devin Haney-Vasiliy Lomachenko undisputed lightweight championship fight. ESPN Plus will also distribute a Saturday UFC Fight Night card featuring a main event women’s strawweight bout between Mackenzie Dern and Angela Hill. 

On the baseball diamond, Peacock on Sunday will stream the New York Yankees-Cincinnati Reds game, while ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast will pit  the Cleveland Indians against the New York Mets. 

ESPN and CBS will offer final round weekend coverage of the PGA Championship golf tournament, while Fox on Sunday will air the Professional Bowlers Association’s Super Slam Cup tournament. 

On the football field, week six of the USFL season kicks off Saturday with USA Network's telecast of the Pittsburgh Maulers-Memphis Showboats game while Fox airs the Birmingham Stallions-Michigan Panthers matchup. Sunday’s action includes FS1’s New Orleans Breakers-Philadelphia Stars telecast and Fox’s New Jersey Generals-Houston Gamblers game. 

On the track, NBC on Saturday will air The Preakness Stakes, the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown. 

ESPN Plus on May 12 will debut a new season of the NHL’s Quest for the Stanley Cup sports documentary series chronicling the remaining NHL playoff teams vying for the Stanley Cup championship.

The seven-part series will go behind-the-scenes with the final eight NHL Playoff teams — the Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, Seattle Kraken, Toronto Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights — as they compete to make the Stanley Cup Finals.

Each episode will take fans through the unscripted drama on the ice, on the benches, in the dressing rooms and in the homes of players and members of the coaching staff. The series will reair on ESPN2. 

The busy lineup of live TV sports events airing during the first weekend of May begins Saturday in the boxing ring as super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez battles contender John Ryder in a DAZN-distributed pay-per-view event. 

Also on PPV Saturday, ESPN Plus will distribute the UFC 288 fight card featuring the main event bout between bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and former champion Henry Cejudo.

The NBA Playoffs continue Saturday on ABC with Game 3 of the New York Knicks-Miami Heat and the Golden State Warriors-LA Lakers series. On Sunday, ESPN will air Game 4 of the Boston Celtics-Philadelphia 76’ers series, while TNT telecasts Game 4 of the Denver Nuggets-Phoenix Suns series.

On the ice, the second round of NHL playoffs continue Saturday on TNT with Game 2 of the Edmonton Oilers-Vegas Golden Knights series. On Sunday TBS will air a tripleheader of Game 3 contests featuring the Carolina Hurricanes-New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs-Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars-Seattle Kraken series.

NBC on Saturday will televise live the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race. On the links, CBS will televise final round coverage of the PGA Wells Fargo Championship golf tournament. 

The Tv sports world will be focused on Arizona this weekend as Fox televises Super Bowl LVII, part of a lineup of live sports events airing this weekend. 

Fox on Sunday will televise Super Bowl LVII featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles from State Farm Stadium in Arizona. Fox Sports NFL play-by-play announcers Kevin Burkhardt and Gregg Olsen will call their first Super Bowl on the network. 

Also: Fox's Kevin Burkhardt Is Ready to Call Super Bowl LVII

On the ice, ABC will air an NHL afternoon doubleheader featuring the Tampa Bay Lightning-Dallas Stars and the Washington Capitals-Boston Bruins contests. The network will also hit the basketball court Saturday with a primetime telecast between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, as well as a Sunday afternoon telecast featuring the Memphis Grizzlies-Boston Celtics game. 

In the ring, Showtime on Saturday will air a February 11 junior lightweight title bout between Rey Vargas and O’Shaquie Foster. In the octagon, ESPN Plus Saturday will offer the UFC 284 pay-per-view fight card featuring a main event bout between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski.

Weekend games featuring top 10-ranked men’s college basketball teams starts with third-ranked Alabama taking on Auburn on ESPN, fourth-ranked Arizona facing Staford on ESPN2 and  fifth-ranked Texas hosting West Virginia on ESPN2. Other games include No. 7 UCLA-Oregon (ESPN), No. 8 Virginia-Duke (ESPN), No. 9 Kansas-Oklahoma (CBS) and No. 10 Marquette-Georgetown (FS1).

On Sunday, top-ranked Purdue takes on Northwestern on the Big Ten Network. 

Elsewhere, CBS and Golf Channel will offer weekend coverage of the Phoenix Open PGA golf tournament.■  

The Association of Pickleball Professionals said it signed broadcast rights deals with CBS Sports and ESPN, bringing the fast-growing sport to more viewing.

Under the agreement, 12 hours of live matches and highlight programs will appear on the CBS Sports Network, while eight hours of event recaps will appear on ESPN2.

More than 200 hours of coverage of 20023 APP Tour events will be livestreams on ESPN Plus and APP TV.

Also Read: Tennis Legends To Play in Pickleball Tourney on ESPN

Financial terms were not disclosed.

“We are delighted to welcome CBS Sports and ESPN to the APP and are excited to be working with two of the most significant names in sports media to bring the sport of pickleball to fans across the country,” commented Tom Webb, APP Chief Marketing Officer. “Over 36.5 million Americans played pickleball in 2022 and this media package enables those fans to tune in to our world-class tournaments, and introduces the sport and its best players to millions more. The APP exists to expand the sport of pickleball domestically and internationally and this media exposure is an important step in that mission.”

The APP’s fourth season, the 2023 APP Tour, kicked off January 15 in Punta Gorda, Florida, with a sold-out event and over 720 professional and amateur pickleball players from across the USA and around the world. ■

The National Football League Divisional Playoffs lead a busy weekend of live TV sports action.

NFL playoffs action kicks off Saturday with the AFC Divisional Playoff game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Kansas City Chiefs on NBC, followed by a NFC Divisional Playoffs primetime matchup between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles on Fox.

Sunday’s action begins with CBS’s coverage of the Cincinnati Bengals-Buffalo Bills AFC playoffs game followed by Fox's coverage of the Dallas Cowboys-San Francisco 49’ers NFC playoffs contest.

In the octagon, ESPN Plus will offer via pay-per-view the UFC 283 fight card featuring a main event bout between Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill for the UFC light heavyweight championship. 

In men's college hoops, second-ranked Kansas plays 14th-ranked TCU on CBS, while fourth-ranked Alabama travels to play Missouri on the SEC Network and fifth-ranked UCLA battles 11th-ranked Arizona on ABC. Other games include No. 7 Texas-West Virginia (ESPN), No. 8 Xavier-Georgetown (FS1), No. 9 Tennessee-LSU (ESPN) and No. 10 Virginia-Wake Forest (ESPNU).

On Sunday, college basketball games include top-ranked Houston taking on Temple on ESPN and third-ranked Purdue facing Maryland on FS1.

On the soccer field, NBC, USA Network and Peacock will combine to offer nine live Premier League game telecasts throughout the weekend. ■ 

The list of live TV sports events airing during the first full weekend of January starts on the football field with the NFL’s final week of the 2022-23 regular season.

Week 18 of the NFL season kicks off Saturday with two games with playoff implications airing on both ABC and ESPN: the Kansas City Chiefs facing the Las Vegas Raiders and the Tennessee Titans battling the Jacksonville Jaguars.

On Sunday CBS and Fox will offer regional game coverage, with NBC airing its final Sunday Night Football telecast of the regular season featuring a matchup between the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers.

On the links, NBC will air the final rounds of the PGA Tournament of Champions on Saturday and Sunday, while also airing the high school football All-American Bowl on Saturday.

This weekend’s men’s college basketball schedule includes Sunday games featuring top-ranked Purdue facing Penn State on the Big Ten Network and second-ranked Houston traveling to Cincinnati to face the Bearcats on ESPN.

Saturday’s hoops action features third-ranked Kansas against West Virginia on the Big Ten Network, fourth-ranked UConn battling Creighton on Fox, and fifth-ranked Arizona taking on Washington State on ESPN Plus. Other games include No. 6 Texas-Oklahoma State (Fox), No.7 Alabama-Kentucky (ESPN), and No. 8 Tennessee-South Carolina (SEC Network).

In the ring, Showtime on Saturday will distribute the first pay-per-view boxing event of 2023 when lightweight champion Gervonta Davis steps into the ring to face challenger Hector Luis Garcia.■ 

The World Cup final and NFL Saturday and Sunday games dominate this weekend’s live TV sports action.

Fox on Sunday morning will televise the FIFA World Cup final game between Argentina and France, as well as Saturday’s third-place game between Morocco and Croatia. Fox is coming off a record-breaking week of World Cup coverage that saw the network average 6.5 million viewers for its two semi-final telecasts – the highest viewership for any World Cup on U.S. airwaves, according to the Sports Business Journal. 

On the pro football field, NFL Network will offer a week 15 Saturday tripleheader of games. Network coverage starts with the Indianapolis Colts-Minnesota Vikings game, continues with the Baltimore Ravens-Cleveland Browns contest, and concludes with the Miami Dolphins-Buffalo Bills matchup.

On Sunday, Fox and CBS will offer regional afternoon NFL coverage, followed by NBC's Sunday Night Football game between NFC East division rivals New York Giants and Washington Commanders. 

In the ring, Showtime on Saturday will air a fight card featuring a lightweight main event bout between Michel Rivera and Frank Martin. ESPN Plus will stream a super middleweight fight between Christian Mbilli and Vaughn Alexander. 

ESPN Plus on Saturday will also steam a UFC Fight Night mixed martial arts card featuring a Jared Cannonier-Sean Strickland middleweight main event bout. 

The college football bowl season kicks into high gear this weekend with seven games. ESPN will televise the Fenway Bowl (Cincinnati-Louisville), the Las Vegas Bowl (Florida-Oregon State), Lending Tree Bowl (Rice-Southern Miss) and Frisco Bowl (North Texas-Boise St.), while ABC will air the New Mexico Bowl (SMU-BYU), LA Bowl (Washington State-Fresno State), and Celebration Bowl (Jackson St-NC Central). 

Also on the college football front, NBC and Peacock will carry the HBCU Pigskin Showdown all-star game from Alabama. 

On the ice, ESPN will televise the New York Rangers-Chicago Blackhawks NHL game while on the links, NBC will offer final round weekend coverage of the PNC Championship Pro-Am tournament. Tiger Woods will team up with his son Charlie as one of 20 teams in the family-themed golf event. ■ 

This weekend's busy, live TV sports lineup starts on the soccer field with World Cup quarterfinals round action.

Fox on Saturday will televise live World Cup games between Morocco and Portugal, along with England versus France. The winners from the two games will meet in a December 14 semifinal matchup, with that winner qualifying for the World Cup finals against the winner of the December 13 semifinal game.

In the boxing ring, welterweight champion Terence Crawford on Saturday will step into the ring against David Avanesyan in a pay-per-view fight. Also on PPV, retired eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao will fight an exhibition bout against martial arts fighter DK Yoo.

ESPN Plus on Saturday will stream the Teofimo Lopez-Sandor Martin fight, while DAZN will carry the Josh Warrington-Luis Alberto Lopez featherweight championship bout.

Also: Manny Pacquiao, Terence Crawford Fights Round Out 2022 PPV Boxing Card

In the octagon, ESPN will distribute via PPV the UFC 282 mixed martial arts fight card featuring a main event light heavyweight championship bout between Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev.

ABC will air a Saturday primetime matchup between the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors in a rematch of the 2022 NBA Finals won by the Warriors.

On the links, TNT on Saturday will air its golf exhibition event The Match, featuring Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy facing Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. NBC and Golf Channel will offer weekend coverage of the PGA’s QBE Shootout event.

Also: TNT Turns Primetime Spotlight on 'The Match' Golf Event

Week 14 of the NFL season picks up Sunday with regional action on CBS and Fox, followed by NBC’s primetime Sunday Night Football contest between the Miami Dolphins and the Los Angeles Chargers. ■

The second round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament featuring the U.S. National Team highlights a busy lineup of live TV sports events scheduled the first full weekend of December.

The USMST – fresh off its November 29 win over Iran to advance to the World Cup’s round of 16 – will battle the Netherlands Saturday morning on Fox, with the Spanish-language feed on Telemundo and streaming service Peacock. The other World Cup game on Saturday features Argentina against Australia, also on Fox, Telemundo and Peacock.

On Sunday, FS1, Telemundo and Peacock will offer the England-Senegal and France-Poland World Cup games.

In the boxing ring, ESPN Plus will stream live the heavyweight championship fight between titleholder Tyson Fury and Derek Chisora in the third match between the two fighters. Fury, who knocked out Dillian Whyte in his last fight this past April, has won the first two bouts against Chisora. Also on Saturday, DAZN will stream the third bout between Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez. The two boxers split the two previous fights. 

In the Octagon, ESPN Saturday will televise a UFC Fight Night card featuring a main event  welterweight bout between Stephen Thompson and Kevin Holland.

College football's Championship weekend Saturday schedule offers several big games featuring top 10-ranked teams, including top-ranked Georgia against No. 14 LSU in the SEC Championship game on CBS, second-ranked Michigan against Purdue in the Big Ten Championship on Fox, third-ranked TCU battling 10th ranked Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship game on ABC and No. 9 Clemson versus No.23 North Carolina in the ACC Championship game on ABC. 

Week 13 of  the NFL season starts with Sunday afternoon regional game coverage on Fox and CBS, followed by NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast pitting the Indianapolis Colts against the Dallas Cowboys.

On the links, NBC will air weekend final round coverage of the PGA Hero World Challenge golf tournament.■  

The launch of the 2022 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament leads the lineup of live sports offerings hitting the small screen this weekend.  

Fox will offer English-language coverage of the World Cup tournament from Qatar, beginning Sunday with the Qatar-Ecuador matchup airing at 11 am (ET). Telemundo and streaming service Peacock will offer live Spanish-language feeds of the game. 

Also: Fox Sports’s World Cup Coverage Playing on Broadcast and Cable Field

On the gridiron, college football is inching closer to securing its four playoff teams going into week 12 of the season. Top-ranked Georgia takes on Kentucky on CBS, second-ranked Ohio State faces Maryland on ABC and third-ranked Michigan battles Illinois on ABC. Fourth-ranked TCU travels to Texas to take on Baylor on Fox and fifth-ranked Tennessee plays South Carolina on ESPN. 

Other games include No. 6 LSU-UAB (ESPN2), No. 7 USC-UCLA (Fox), No. 8 Alabama-Austin Peay (ESPN Plus), No. 9 Clemson-Miami (Fla) (ESPN), and No. 10 Utah-No. 12 Oregon (ESPN).

In the squared ring, DAZN will stream the Jaime Munguia-Gonzalo Gaston Coria middleweight fight, while ESPN Plus will stream the Zach Parker-John Ryder interim super middleweight title fight. ESPN Plus will also offer on Saturday a UFC Fight Night card featuring the Derrick Lewis-Serghei Spivac heavyweight main event mixed martial arts bout. 

Week 11 of the NFL season features Sunday afternoon regional games on Fox and CBS, as well as NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast between the Kansas City Chiefs and division rival Los Angeles Chargers.■  

The Walt Disney Co. added 14.6 million subscriptions in the fourth quarter, giving it a global total of over 235 million, staying ahead of Netflix, which last month reported having 223 million subscribers worldwide.

The company added 12.1 million Disney Plus subscribers.

Disney’s direct-to-consumer losses widened to $1.474 billion from $630 million a year ago, but overall earnings were up and CEO Bob Chapek said he expected DTC losses to begin to narrow and Disney Plus to turn profitable in fiscal 2024. 

Disney’s streaming strategy was based on big spending on content, low-priced products and a willingness to take short-term losses to build what Chapek called “the world’s most powerful suite of streaming services,” reaching millions of viewers with must-see content.

Now the focus turns to making money.

“Our financial results this quarter represent a turning point as we reach peak DTC operating losses which we expect to decline going forward,” Chapek said on Disney’s earnings call with analysts.

Wall Street has shifted its focus from measuring streaming services by subscriber growth at all costs to demanding profitability and increasing revenue per subscriber.

Chapek said Disney’s streaming financial health will improve with price increases and the launch of an ad-supported Disney Plus tier next month. 

“We believe we are on a path to a profitable streaming business that generates shareholder value long into the future,” Chapek said.

Disney's earnings and revenue were below Wall Street estimates and Disney shares dropped 6% in after-hours trading.

At the end of the fourth quarter, Disney Plus had 164.2 million subscribers, up from 152.1 million last quarter and up 39% from a year ago.

Domestic Disney Plus subscribers rose to 46.4 million from 44.5 million last quarter and up 20% from a year ago.

ESPN Plus had 24.3 million subscribers, up from 22.8 million last quarter and up 42% from a year ago.

Hulu had 47.2 million subscribers, up from 46.2 million subscribers last quarter and up 8% from a year ago. It had 42.8 million SVOD-only subscribers, up from 42.2 million last quarter and up 8% from a year ago. Hulu Plus Live TV had 4.4 million subscribers, up 400,000 from last quarter and up 10% from a year ago.

The Disney bundle accounts for more than 40% of the company's DTC subscribers.

Disney chief financial officer Christine McCarthy said the company expected ESPN Plus and Hulu to continue to add new subscribers in the first quarter, but Disney Plus sub growth will slow because of comparisons to Disney Plus Day promotions in the fourth quarter.

Content spending for 2022 was $30 billion and the company expects it to be in the low $30 billion range for fiscal 2023, McCarthy said.

Average revenue per subscriber at the streaming services were down because of the strong dollar, fewer pay-per-view events and lower Hulu ad revenue.

ARPU will rise modestly in Q1 as price increases take hold, but will be felt more strongly in Q2, McCarthy said. The company doesn’t expect ARPU to benefit from the launch of the Disney Plus ad tier until later in fiscal 2023.

Disney’s fourth-quarter net income edged up to $162 million, or 9 cents a share, up from $159 million, or 9 cents a share, a year ago. Operating income from Disney's theme parks jumped to $1.5 billion from $640 million a year ago as revenue rose 36% to $7.4 billion.

Overall Disney revenues rose 9% to $20.2 billion.

Disney’s Media and Entertainment Distribution unit had operating income of $1.6 billion, up 1% from last year, despite a 3% drop in revenues to $12.7 billion.

Disney’s linear network had operating income of $1.7 billion, up 6% despite a 5% drop in revenue to $6.3 billion.

CFO McCarthy said the linear network gains were driven by lower programming costs — the NBA Finals were in Q3 this year and the company aired fewer Major League Baseball games but one more National Football League contest — offset by lower advertising revenue.

ESPN ad revenue was down 23% in the fourth quarter. It was down only 2%, adjusting for the NBA Finals, McCarthy said. 

So far in the first quarter, ESPN ad sales are pacing down because there will be two fewer college football playoff games in the quarter.

"Assuming we do not see a meaningful shift in the macroeconomic climate, we currently expect total company fiscal 2023 revenue and segment operating income, to both grow at a high single-digit percentage rate, versus fiscal 2022,” McCarthy said.

“2022 was a strong year for Disney, with some of our best storytelling yet, record results at our Parks, Experiences and Products segment, and outstanding subscriber growth at our direct-to-consumer services, which added nearly 57 million subscriptions this year for a total of more than 235 million,” Chapek said in recapping the results.

“Our fourth quarter saw strong subscription growth with the addition of 14.6 million total subscriptions, including 12.1 million Disney Plus subscribers,” Chapek said. “The rapid growth of Disney Plus in just three years since launch is a direct result of our strategic decision to invest heavily in creating incredible content and rolling out the service internationally, and we expect our DTC operating losses to narrow going forward and that Disney Plus will still achieve profitability in fiscal 2024, assuming we do not see a meaningful shift in the economic climate. 

“By realigning our costs and realizing the benefits of price increases and our Disney Plus ad-supported tier coming December 8, we believe we will be on the path to achieve a profitable streaming business that will drive continued growth and generate shareholder value long into the future,” he said. ■

The TV schedule for live sports programming airing during the last weekend in October begins at the diamond, with Fox televising Game 2 of the World Series between the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Also on Saturday, Showtime will distribute via pay-per-view a boxing card featuring YouTube star Jake Paul and former UFC mixed martial arts champion Anderson Silva. In addition, ESPN Plus will feature a UFC Fight Night event featuring featherweights Calvin Kattar and Arnold Allen. 

Week nine of the college football season begins Saturday in Florida with the Florida Gators facing top-ranked Georgia on CBS and second-ranked Ohio State visiting 13th-ranked Penn State on Fox. Third-ranked Tennessee will face 19th-ranked Kentucky on ESPN, and fourth-ranked Michigan will take on in-state rival Michigan State on ABC. 

Other games include No. 7 TCU-West Virginia (ESPN), No. 8 Oregon-Cal (FS1), No. 9 Oklahoma State-No. 22 Kansas State (Fox) and No. 10 Wake Forest-Louisville (ACC Network).

On Sunday, Aaron Rogers and the Green Bay Packers will face Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in NBC’s NFL Sunday Night Football telecast.

On the soccer field, CBS on Saturday will televise the National Women's Soccer League championship game between Portland and Kansas City. Also, USA Network, Peacock and NBC will distribute 11 live English Premier League games combined on Saturday and Sunday while ABC and FS1 will each televise an MLS game on Sunday. 

NBC on Saturday will televise the Xfinity Series Dead on Tools 250 race, and on Sunday will air the NASCAR Cup Xfinity 500. ■  

This weekend’s lineup of live TV sports events features a rare Sports Equinox where on Sunday for just the 28th time all four major sports leagues will have regular-season or postseason games in play. 

Sunday’s action begins on the baseball field with Game 4 of the Major League Baseball American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros on TBS. Also on Sunday, the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies battle in Game Five of their National League Championship Series on Fox.

On the football field, week seven of the National Football League regular-season kicks off with afternoon regional game telecasts on CBS and Fox, as well as an NBC Sunday Night Football matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins.

The National Basketball Association enters the first weekend of its 2022-23 regular season with a Sunday primetime doubleheader on NBA TV featuring the Washington Wizards versus the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Phoenix Suns vs. the L.A. Clippers.    

On the ice, ESPN will air a National Hockey League matchup between the Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings. 

Pro soccer will also be in play Sunday with Peacock, CNBC and USA Network offering seven Premier League games combined, while ESPN is airing a Major League Soccer doubleheader.

Saturday’s events include a slate of college football games, beginning with second-ranked Ohio State hosting Iowa on Fox, No. 3 Tennessee playing UT Martin on SEC Network, and fifth-ranked Clemson battling No. 14 Syracuse on ABC. 

The lineup for the remaining top 10-ranked schools includes No. 6 Alabama-Mississippi State (ESPN), No.7 Ole Miss-LSU (CBS), No. 8 TCU-Kansas State (FS1), and No. 9 UCLA-No. 10 Oregon (Fox).

In the octagon, ESPN Plus will distribute the UFC 280 pay-per-view mixed martial arts fight card featuring the main event bout between Lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. ■  

This weekend’s list of live TV sports events begins in the boxing ring as Fox Sports distributes a Saturday night pay-per-view boxing card featuring former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.

Wilder, whose last three PPV fights against heavyweight champion Tyson Fury combined drew more than 1.7 million pay-per-view buys, will fight division contender Robert Helenius as part of the PPV boxing event offered via In Demand and PPV.com. Also on Saturday, ESPN will distribute the lightweight championship rematch bout between titleholder Devin Haney and George Kambosos Jr.

In addition, ESPN Plus will stream a Saturday afternoon main event bout between women’s middleweight champion Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall. 

On the baseball diamond, the division series playoff round continues on Saturday with TBS airing game four of the NLDS Atlanta Braves-Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers-San Diego Padres series. Both series were tied one game apiece heading into Friday’s action. 

FS1 will air game three of the ALDS series between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians, with the Yankees holding a 1-0 game lead prior to Friday’s game, as well as the Houston Astros-Seattle Mariners series, with Houston holding a two games to none lead in the best-of-five series.  

College football launches its seventh week of regular-season action starting with top-ranked Georgia against Vanderbilt on the SEC Network, third-ranked Alabama against No. 6 Tennessee on CBS, fourth-ranked Clemson traveling to face Florida State on ABC and fifth-ranked Michigan battling tenth-ranked Penn State on Fox. Also on tap for Saturday is No. 7 USC-Utah (Fox), No. 8 Oklahoma State-TCU (ABC) and No. 9 Ole Miss-Auburn (ESPN).

NBC on Saturday will air the Xfinity Alsco Uniforms 302 playoffs race and Sunday’s NASCAR Cup South Point 400 playoffs race. 

NBC on Sunday will air its Sunday Night Football game telecast featuring the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles and their NFC East division rival Dallas Cowboys.■ 

ESPN dropped the puck Tuesday night (October 11) on its 2022-23 National Hockey League regular season schedule, its second campaign as part of a seven-year deal with the league signed in 2021.

The network’s 103 NHL games will feature more linear TV exposure for the league on ESPN and ABC, as well as less overlap of games throughout the season, according to ESPN officials. The sports network will look to improve on the 616,000 viewers it averaged last season for live NHL regular-season telecasts on ESPN and ABC.

ESPN senior VP of programming acquisitions Ilan Ben-Hanan discusses ESPN’s NHL live-game distribution strategy in an interview with Multichannel News. An edited transcript of that conversation appears below. 

MCN: Going into ESPN’s second season of NHL’s coverage, are you more confident about the network’s distribution of the sport across its platforms?

Ilan Ben-Hanan: Year one was really about establishing our credibility and authenticity. We came into this after few years without being a rights holder of the NHL, and we wanted to make sure that fans knew that they could trust us to cover hockey. We were very pleased with what we were able to do in year one, but like anything else, there's always a learning curve. There were things that we wanted to build on to get ready for in year two, and we feel like we’re ready for them. We're chomping jump a bit as usual to get started here.

MCN: What’s different this year compared to ESPN’s presentation last year? 

IBH: I'll start on the scheduling side just because we work so closely with the league on that. In year one we got the rights deal done a little later in the process, and the schedule had been fairly baked by the time we got a chance to get after it. Still, we put together a good schedule that we were really proud of, and we learned a lot in year one. For example, there’ll be less overlapping of the 103 exclusive games that we have, so this year fans will be able to see all of those games. We’ll also have more doubleheaders or more games spread out over more days of the week to allow for a better sampling opportunity for our exclusive games. We’ll also have three Saturday night games -- last year we only had one, so we're really excited about that and we know the league is excited as well. 

MCN: In general will there be more regular-season games on linear TV channels compared to last year when most of those games were on ESPN Plus?

IBH: We have a slight change in strategy in that respect. Last year of our 103 games, 28 were on linear and 75 were on ESPN Plus and Hulu. This year that split is going to be more balanced – 50 games on linear and 53 games on ESPN Plus and Hulu. It’s an opportunity we saw in our schedule to put the NHL on linear Tv a few more times. ESPN Plus and Hulu remain vitally important to our schedule, and we still have more than one thousand games available [via digital] through our outer market package. 

MCN: With one year under your belt, what are your expectations from an audience and ratings perspective going into the second season? 

IBH: When we announced the deal, we said this was not going to be something measured off just one metric, meaning television ratings. This is really a first-of-its-kind deal for us to have the quality and quantity of games we had available exclusively on ESPN Plus and Hulu. We wanted to make it evident to other leagues and to fans that you could find premier content on a direct-to-consumer service produced with the same level of care, attention and high quality that you'd see on linear. Across all of those metrics, we were very pleased with last year’s results and we hope that continues to build this season. ■ 

The first weekend of October’s live TV sports schedule begins on the baseball diamond as Major League Baseball enters the final weekend of the 2022 regular season, highlighted by the NL East division battle between the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves.

The Mets lead the defending World Series champion Braves by one game in the division heading into a crucial three-game series beginning Friday night. On Saturday, Fox will televise game two of Mets-Braves, while the third and final game will air Sunday on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast.

Saturday’s college football schedule begins in Missouri as top-ranked Georgia takes on the Tigers on the SEC Network, while second-ranked Alabama battles Arkansas on CBS. Third-ranked Ohio State takes on Rutgers on the Big Ten Network, and Fox will televise fourth-ranked Michigan’s game with Big Ten rival Iowa.

No. 5 Clemson will host No. 10 NC State on ABC, No. 6 USC will host Arizona State on ESPN, No. 7 Kentucky meets Ole Miss on ESPN and No. 9 Oklahoma State battles Baylor on Fox.

Sunday’s NFL action features an early morning NFL Network telecast from London featuring the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints. After Sunday afternoon regional NFL game telecasts on CBS and Fox, NBC will air live the Kansas City Chiefs-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game on Sunday Night Football.

English Premier League soccer games will air on USA Network and Peacock throughout the weekend, while ABC and FS1 will televise Major League Soccer games on Sunday.

On Sunday, NBC will air the NASCAR Cup YellaWood 500 auto race, while FS1 televises the NHRA Midwest Nationals drag racing competition.

In the Octagon, ESPN Plus on Saturday will stream a UFC Fight Night card featuring a main event bout between female straw-weights Mackenzie Dern and Yan Xiaonan. ■

The live TV sports schedule for the first weekend of fall begins on the baseball diamond, as ESPN on Sunday will showcase New York Yankees’ star Aaron Judge’s historic season as the Yankees host the rival Boston Red Sox. 

Going into Friday night’s Yankees-Red Sox game, Judge was one home run away from Tying Roger Maris’ American League regular-season record of 61 round trippers, and was on pace to become the league's first triple crown winner since Miguel Cabrera accomplished the feat in 2012.

On the college football front, top-ranked Georgia faces Kent State on ESPN Plus while second-ranked Alabama hosts Vanderbilt on the SEC Network. Third-ranked Ohio State plays Wisconsin on ABC and fourth-ranked Michigan hosts Maryland on Fox. Fifth-ranked Clemson battles No. 21 Wake Forest on ABC. 

Other games include No. 6 Oklahoma-Kansas State (Fox), No. 7 USC-Oregon State (Pac-12 Network), and No.10 Arkansas-Texas A&M (ESPN).

In the boxing ring, retired former boxing champion Floyd Mayweather will fight mixed martial arts fighter Mikuru Asakura Saturday night in a pay-per-view exhibition fight from Japan. PPV.com will distribute the event, which carries a suggested retail price of $29.99. 

On the soccer field, Peacock, USA and NBC will air eight live Premier League games on Saturday, while FS2 airs three UEFA Nations League games on Sunday.

On the links, NBC and Golf Channel will feature final round coverage of the President’s Cup golf tournament, while on Sunday CBS will televise coverage from the Professional Bull Riders.

Action from the the third week of the NFL season begins Sunday afternoon with regional game coverage on CBS and Fox, as well as NBC's Sunday Night Football telecast of the San Francisco 49'ers-Denver Broncos matchup.■ 

ESPN’s season debut of Monday Night Football last week helped the sports network secure its third straight primetime ratings win.

The sports network averaged 2.3 million viewers in primetime during the week of September 12 to September 18, besting Fox News, which averaged 2.2 million watchters, according to Nielsen. ESPN’s ratings were bolstered by the Sept. 12 Seattle Seahawks-Denver Broncos NFL telecast, which averaged 17.3 million viewers combined across ESPN, ABC, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Plus and ESPN2. 

MSNBC finished third with 1.2 million viewers, followed by HGTV with 893,000 viewers and USA Network with 823,000 watchers.

The rest of the top 10 most watched networks for the week include TLC (762,000 viewers), Hallmark Channel (722,000), CNN (705,000), INSP (660,000) and Food Network (652,000), according to Nielsen.

ESPN could not unseat Fox News on the total day charts, as the news network averaged 1.4 million viewers to take its 37th consecutive crown in the category. ESPN finished second with 841,000 viewers, followed by MSNBC (791,000), CNN (597,000) and HGTV (475,000), said Nielsen. ■  

The Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin pay-per-view boxing match punches up the list of live TV sports events airing this weekend. 

The DAZN and PPV.com-distributed fight card will pit WBC, WBA WBO and IBF super middleweight champion Alvarez against former champion Golovkin for the third time in the last five years. The first two Alvarez-Golovkin fights in 2017 and 2018 generated a combined 2.4 million PPV buys, according to industry sources. The Alvarez-Golovkin PPV bout retails at a suggested price of $84.99. 

The WNBA Finals continue Sunday with game-four of the Connecticut Sun-Las Vegas Aces. The Aces travel to Connecticut leading two games to one and hoping to close out the best-of-five series.

On the football field, the second week of the NFL season kicks off with Sunday afternoon regional coverage on Fox and CBS. NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast will feature a matchup between NFL North division rivals Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. 

On the college football front, ESPN will offer coverage of top-ranked Georgia’s game against South Carolina, while the SEC Network will telecast second-rank Alabama’s matchup against UL Monroe. In other games, Fox will air third-rank Ohio State-Toledo, ABC will deliver fourth-ranked Michigan-UConn and ACC Network will feature fifth-ranked Clemson-Louisiana Tech. 

The remaining games featuring top 10-ranked schools include No. 6 Oklahoma-Nebraska (Fox), no. 7 USC-Fresno State (Fox), No. 8 Oklahoma State-Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Big 12 Network), No. 9 Kentucky-Youngstown State (SEC Network) and No. 10 Arkansas-Missouri State (ESPN Plus).

Streaming service ESPN Plus will offer a UFC Fight Night card on Saturday featuring a main event bout between bantamweights Cory Sandhagen and Song Yadong. 

The Premier League returns to action with USA Network and NBC airing five live games across Saturday and Sunday.

As the Major League Baseball season winds down, ESPN on Sunday will televise the Los Angeles Dodgers-San Francisco Giants as part of its Sunday Night Baseball telecast. ■  

This weekend’s busy lineup of live TV sports events begins on the gridiron as the National Football League kicks off its opening weekend of regular season games. 

Along with Sunday regional coverage of NFL games on CBS and Fox, NBC will air its first Sunday Night Football game featuring two of the league’s more popular teams, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys.

This weekend’s college football schedule begins with top ranked Alabama facing Texas on Fox and second-ranked Georgia taking on Samford on SEC Network. Third-ranked Ohio State will match up with Arkansas State on the Big Ten Network, fourth-ranked Michigan battling Hawai’i on Big Ten Network and fifth-ranked Clemson going up against Furman on the ACC Network.

The rest of the top ten ranked teams include No. 6 Texas A&M-Appalachian State (ESPN2), No. 7 Oklahoma-Kent State (ESPN Plus), No. 8 Notre Dame-Marshall (NBC), No. 9 Baylor-BYU (ESPN) and No. 10 USC at Stanford (ABC).

In the octagon, ESPN Plus will distribute the UFC 279 mixed martial arts pay-per-view event featuring the main event bout between welterweights Khamzat Chimaev and Nate Diaz. 

The U.S. Open tennis tournament will conclude this weekend with the women’s finals match airing on ESPN Saturday and the men’s finals airing live Sunday afternoon.

The Major League Baseball season continues to wind down with ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball coverage of the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs contest.■ 

ESPN Plus is ready to break the huddle with a lineup of NFL games it will stream this season, including the first game it will have exclusively.

On Sunday, October 30, ESPN Plus will be the exclusive national telecast when the Denver Broncos and the Jacksonville Jaguars play in London’s Wembley Stadium.

ESPN Plus will simulcast five Monday Night Football games, two Saturday games during the league’s Week 18 and the Wild Card Monday playoff game.

This is the first year that Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will call games for ESPN after 20 years at Fox. 

Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli — also known as the Manningcast — will stream live on ESPN Plus in weeks 1, 3 and 15, as well as the Wild Card Monday playoff game.

ESPN Plus also will be streaming studio shows including NFL PrimeTime, NFL Matchup and NFL Turning Point. ■

The first full weekend of the college football season highlights a busy Labor Day weekend of live sports programming on linear TV channels and streaming services.

Several of college football’s Top 10 teams will be in action Saturday, beginning with No. 1 Alabama, who will open the season against Utah State on the SEC Network. Second-ranked Ohio State travels to No. 5 Notre Dame in a primetime ABC-televised game, while No. 3 Georgia battles 11th-ranked Oregon, also on ABC. 

Other games on Saturday include No. 6 Texas A&M-Sam Houston (SEC Network), No. 7 Utah-Florida (ESPN), No. 8 Michigan-Colorado State (ABC), No. 9 Oklahoma-UTEP (Fox) and No. 10 Baylor-Albany (ESPN Plus).

Also: Heavyweights Take Over Fall PPV Boxing Schedule 

On Monday, fourth-ranked Clemson meets Georgia Tech on ESPN. 

On the tennis court, ESPN and ESPN2 will offer continuing coverage of the U.S. Open Grand Slam tennis tournament from New York. The biggest story of the early rounds has been the success of tennis legend Serena Williams, who announced last month  that the US Open will serve as her last major tennis tournament competition. If Williams wins her third U.S. Open match on Friday night against Ajla Tomljanovic, she would compete Sunday in the fourth round of the women’s singles division. 

The WNBA playoffs continue with game three coverage of the semifinal series between Chicago Sky and the Connecticut Sun (ESPN2) as well as the Las Vegas Aces and Seattle Storm (ABC). 

Major League Baseball moves into the final full month of its regular season with Sunday coverage on Peacock featuring the Toronto Blue Jays and the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Sunday Night Baseball coverage on ESPN showcasing the San Diego Padres-Los Angeles Dodgers game. 

NBC on Sunday will offer IndyCar coverage from the Grand Prix of Portland, while USA Network will air live the NASCAR Cup Cook Out Southern 500 race and ESPN televises the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix event. 

In the ring, Fox Sports on Sunday will distribute a pay-per-view boxing card featuring a main event fight between heavyweights Andy Ruiz and Luis Ortiz. ■

This weekend’s lineup of live TV sports events begins in the octagon with ESPN Plus’s UFC 278 pay-per-view fight card featuring a main event welterweight rematch between champion Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards.

Usman will look to defend his title against Edwards after defeating him via unanimous decision in 2015. ABC and ESPN will air UFC 278 undercard fights leading up to the PPV event. 

In the boxing ring, DAZN and PPV.com on Saturday afternoon will distribute the Oleksandr Usyk-Anthony Joshua heavyweight championship rematch fight. Joshua will look to regain three heavyweight title belts after losing to Usyk last September in a major upset. 

ESPN Saturday night will step in the ring with a WBO featherweight title bout between champion Emanuel Navarrete and Eduardo Baez. Showtime on Saturday will also televise a fight card featuring a main event bout between junior welterweights Omar Figueroa Jr. and Sergey Lipinets. 

On the links, NBC and Golf Channel will televise final round coverage of the PGA BMW Championship golf tournament.

USA, Peacock and NBC will televise nine Premier League soccer games over the course of the weekend, while FS1 on Sunday will telecast a MLS doubleheader. 

On the baseball diamond, Peacock will televise the Chicago White Sox-Cleveland Guardians game, while ESPN’s telecast will feature an American League East Divisional matchup between the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles. ABC on Saturday will televise a Little League World Series doubleheader, while ESPN and ABC will air second round coverage of the tournament. ■ 

Disney Plus's original basketball-themed film Rise will stream across Hulu and ESPN Plus for a limited time.

The film, which chronicles the real-life story of Nigerian-born NBA players and brothers Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo along with younger brother Alex, debuted on Disney Plus June 24 and will launch on Hulu and ESPN Plus beginning August 18, according to Disney Plus. 

Rise chronicles the exploits of the Anteokounmpo family who, after emigrating from Nigeria to Greece, struggled to survive while living under the daily threat of deportation. Nevertheless, Anteokounmpo brothers Giannis and Thanasis would beat the odds, become pro NBA players and go on to help bring the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks their first championship ring in 50 years, while Kostas played for the previous season champs, the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Rise stars Dayo Okeniyi, Yetide Badaki, Manish Dayal, Taylor Nichols, Ral Agada and Uche Agada. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Douglas Jones served as the executive producers.■

The list of live TV sports events scheduled for the last weekend in July starts in the Octagon Saturday with ESPN Plus's UFC 277 pay-per-view rematch fight between multi-division champion Amanda Nunes and current bantamweight champion Julianna Peña.

Nunes, arguably the greatest women’s MMA fighter of all time, will look to regain the bantamweight title from Peña, who defeated Nunes in a shocking upset last December. 

In the boxing ring, Showtime on Saturday will televise the junior middleweight fight between former welterweight champion Danny Garcia and Jose Benavidez Jr.

NBC on Saturday will rev up its engines to televise the Xfinity Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard and the IndyCar Gallagher Grand Prix auto races. On Sunday, the network will air the NASCAR Cup Verizon 200 at the Brickyard race, while ESPN will offer the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix race. 

On the drag racing circuit, Fox on Sunday will televise the NHRA Northwest Nationals competition. 

Peacock’s Sunday afternoon baseball telecast will feature the Detroit Tigers against the Toronto Blue Jays, while ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast will feature the Chicago Cubs against the San Francisco Giants.

On the golf links, CBS will feature weekend coverage of the PGA’s Rocket Mortgage Classic, while Golf channel will televise the LPGA’s Scottish Open. ■ 

The return of spinoff shows from ABC's black-ish and FX’s American Horror Story lead a list of new and returning series debuting this week.

Freeform’s black-ish spinoff grown-ish stars Yara Shahidi as now college graduate Zoey Johnson and Marcus Scribner as her younger brother Junior, who will take center stage as a freshman college student in the show’s upcoming fifth season debuting July 20.

Returning July 21 for its second season is Hulu’s American Horror Stories. The anthology series spun from the Emmy-winning series American Horror Story, will continue to showcase a different horror story in each episode, according to the streaming service. Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Alexis Martin Woodall, John J. Gray and Manny Coto serve as executive producers of the series.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for multiple shows debuting the week of July 18-24 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

July 18 – The Captain (sports documentary) – ESPN

July 19 – Aftershock (documentary) – Hulu

July 19 – The Day The Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s ‘American Pie’ (documentary) – Paramount Plus

July 19 -- Love Island (returning series) -- Peacock

July 20 – Virgin River (drama) – Netflix

June 20 -- Dickie V (documentary/sports) -- ESPN Plus

July 21 – Rap Sh!t (comedy) – HBO Max

July 21 -- The Last Movie Stars (documentary) -- HBO Max

July 22 – Anything’s Possible (drama) – Prime Video

July 22 – The Gray Man (action movie) – Netflix

July 22 – Trying (returning series) – Apple TV Plus

July 23 – Black Love (returning series) – OWN

Docuseries The Captain, about Yankees standout Derek Jeter, debuts on ESPN and ESPN Plus July 18. Episode one runs after the MLB All-Star Home Run Derby. There are seven episodes. 

Randy Wilkins directed the ESPN Films series. 

“He was the face of the New York Yankees, a five-time World Series champion, the most popular and admired player in baseball, and one of the great sports superstars of any age,” says ESPN. “The Captain tells the story of Derek Jeter’s life and Hall of Fame career in a seven-part docuseries that’s anchored by exclusive, extensive, unprecedentedly candid interviews with Jeter, along with his family and dozens of teammates, rivals, and observers.” 

Also: ESPN Exec: Sports Is Seeing Steady Comeback as Summer Ratings Show

The series features interviews with Jeter, his mother and father, his sister, his wife, Hannah, Yankees mates Roger Clemens, Tino Martinez, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Willie Randolph, Mariano Rivera, Alex Rodriguez, C.C. Sabathia, Darryl Strawberry, Joe Torre and Bernie Williams, and hip-hop artists Fat Joe and Jadakiss. 

“We set out on a journey to discover the man behind the iconic Yankees number two jersey,” said Wilkins. “The series gives insight into a Hall of Fame baseball career, but more importantly, we reveal a person who sits at multiple intersections of American culture. The Captain is a story about race, media, celebrity culture, and the insatiable drive to be the best version of yourself.” 

The first episode details Jeter’s upbringing as a biracial child in the Midwest and getting drafted by the Yankees. ■

ESPN Plus is getting its third -- and biggest yet -- price increase on August 23, with the monthly bill for the standalone version shooting up by $3, a whopping 43%, to $9.99 a month, Disney said.

The annual price will shoot up from $69.99 to $99.99. Notably, the $13.99 monthly price of the Disney Bundle, which packages ESPN Plus with Disney Plus and Hulu, is unchanged.

"While it is a significant change to the price, it’s reflective of the increased scope, scale and value of ESPN Plus as we continue to add significantly to both live sports and original programs and series, and it is part of an established plan to ensure ESPN+ is a profitable and strong long-term business," Disney said in a statement. 

Among a litany of expanded league rights, game coverage and documentary specials offered to ESPN Plus users recently, Disney listed the addition of an exclusive NFL game each season to the DTC service, beginning in October. Disney also ticked off ESPN Plus' popular documentary series, which have included Man In The Arena: Tom Brady and the upcoming Derek Jeter-themed The Captain.

Disney reported a 62% year over year increase in ESPN Plus subscribers in the first quarter to 22.3 million, with 1 million users joining the direct-to-consumer service in the first three months of 2022.

According to a Disney rep, it's not accurate to say that the majority of ESPN Plus users receive the service through the bundle at this point, but specific data is hard to find.

The linear ESPN was in 76 million U.S. TV households as of the end of Disney's fiscal 2021 calendar year. But that base continues to erode. MoffettNathanson released projections this week suggesting that the U.S. pay TV industry will soon collectively report the loss of another 2.1 million subscribers for the second quarter. ■

The July 4 holiday weekend slate of live TV sports events begins on the football field as the upstart USFL concludes its inaugural season with its Championship Game between the Birmingham Stallions and Philadelphia Stars.

Also on tap for the weekend is WNBA action as ESPN televises the Phoenix Mercury-Chicago Sky contest on Saturday as well as Sunday’s Washington Mystics-Connecticut Sun contest. Also on Sunday, NBA TV will air the Seattle Storm-Atlanta Dream game and CBSSN will televise the New York Liberty-Los Angeles Sparks game.

On the links, CBS and the Golf Channel will offer coverage of the final rounds of the John Deere Classic PGA tournament.

On the racetrack, NBC Sunday will air the Honda Indy 200 IndyCar Series race, while USA Network will televise the NASCAR Cup Series Kwik Trip 250 race and ESPN covers the British Grand Prix Formula One race.

ESPN Plus on Saturday will distribute the UFC 276 pay-per-view bout between Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier.

ESPN will continue its Wimbledon tennis tournament coverage throughout the three-day holiday weekend. On Monday, ESPNNews will telecast live the annual Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Peacock’s Sunday afternoon baseball game will feature the Kansas City Royals against the Detroit Tigers, while ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball matchup pits the St. Louis Cardinals against the Philadelphia Phillies.

NBC, Peacock and USA Network on Saturday will offer live coverage of the Tour de France cycling event, with USA and Peacock offering third-round coverage on Sunday.

MLB Network will offer a full day of Independence Day baseball games featuring five regional telecasts scheduled to begin as early as 11 a.m., according to the network. ■

The weekend’s lineup of TV sports events begins on Saturday with the 154th running of the Belmont Stakes, the third leg in horse racing’s Triple Crown. Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike will look to return to the winner’s circle after skipping the Preakness Stakes race. 

The NHL Playoffs continue Saturday with Game six of the Eastern Conference finals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the New York Rangers. The Lightning will look to close out the Rangers with a win and advance to the Stanley Cup finals for the third straight year.

ABC’s coverage of Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors will air Monday. The Warriors evened the series at two games each with a win Friday night. 

On the baseball diamond, ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast will feature the first place New York Mets against the Los Angeles Angels, while Peacock Sunday morning will stream the Oakland A’s-Cleveland Guardians game.  

The USFL enters its ninth week with two Saturday games including the New Jersey Generals-Michigan Panthers contest (NBC) and the Houston Gamblers-Birmingham Stallions matchup (USA Network.) On Sunday the Tampa Bay Bandits face the New Orleans Breakers on Fox, while the Philadelphia Stars battle the Pittsburgh Maulers on FS1. 

ESPN Plus on Saturday will distribute the UFC 275 pay-per-view main event between light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka. In the boxing ring, ESPN will televise the Edgar Berlanga-Roamer Alexis Angulo super middleweight fight, while DAZN streams the Jaime Munguia-Jimmy Kelly super middleweight fight card.

On the race track, NBC on Sunday will televise the IndyCar Sonsio Grand Prix, while ESPN airs the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix and FS1 carries the NASCAR Cup Toyota/Save Mart 350 race. 

CBS and Golf Channel will hit the links with weekend coverage of  the PGA Canadian Open and the LPGA ShopRite Classic. 

With Verizon set to launch its Plus Play bundle of digital subscriptions later this year, Barclay’s Group media analyst Kannan Venkateshwar believes that depending on the structure, the growing trend of bundling streaming services to attract new subscribers could serve as a gateway to the industry’s true direction: an aggregation model similar to what Google did with search, Netflix did with TV networks and Spotify did with recorded music only a few years ago.

With streaming subscriber growth on the fritz over the past few quarters, investors and analysts are understandably paying close attention to how bundling could change the dynamic in the industry. While others have tried bundling services -- Disney has grouped its Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus streaming services in a $13.99 monthly package ($19.99 ad-free) with relatively strong success. what makes Verizon’s Plus Play different is its decision to pair video with sports news sites like The Athletic, fitness programming from Peloton, music, weight management via WW International and language services from Duolingo. Already other streamers like Discovery Plus, AMC Plus, Disney Plus, A+E Networks and others have signed up to Plus Play, with HBO Max agreeing in April to be available through the service.  

There are Bundles, and Then There’s Bundling

“Bundles are more than the sum of its components,” Venkateshwar wrote, adding that consumers see bundles as separate products with a value all their own.   

“In our opinion, the implications of this are not appreciated enough by media management teams because if they were, fragmentation of content in forms seen over the last few years would not have been enabled by media companies and distributors,” he wrote.

In that vein, the analyst said that more important will be how bundles are constructed, adding that the old way of simply offering fewer channels for a lower price won’t cut it anymore. In fact, he added that in many cases, smaller bundles could be worth more than their fatter counterparts. 

“In our opinion, the nature of bundles as independent products also implies that a 20-channel bundle is not necessarily half as valuable as a 40-channel bundle,” Venkateshwar wrote. “In fact, the smaller bundle could even be perceived as being of more value than the bigger bundle, based on factors such as content mix, nature of experience, and convenience (e.g. full stacking, offline viewership, etc.)”

And he continued that if streamers follow that recipe, it could be bad news for traditional distributors. 

“This is also why a bundled offering of streaming services could accelerate the pace of cord cutting in legacy pay TV bundles, especially if the streaming bundle is offered by an aggregator that eases content discovery,” he wrote.

While Verizon hasn’t yet mapped out what the Plus Play bundle will look like exactly, Venkateshwar predicted it would be a mixed price bundle, where the underlying services will be available individually but potentially more expensive on a retail basis, much like the Disney model for its Disney Plus-Hulu-ESPN Plus bundle. He expects HBO Max and Discovery Plus, which parent Warner Bros. Discovery has indicated will eventually be bundled together, to look the same at least initially. 

Advertising Changes Everything

But Venkateshwar said the dynamic changes again once advertising is added to the streaming mix, especially around the ad-time allocated to distributors. Every major streamer has said it will offer an ad-supported version if they haven’t already, with Disney Plus and Netflix targeting year-end for their respective launches. So-called Free Ad-Supported Television (FAST) services like Tubi and Pluto TV have managed to attract a large swath of consumers -- they have 51 million and 68 million active monthly users, respectively -- another catalyst for other providers to join the fray. 

According to Venkateshwar, while it is possible that streamers will offer distributors the standard 2 minutes of ad inventory each hour in addition to their affiliate fees, similar to linear bundles, some streamers like Hulu and Tubi share ad revenue with their content partners, which may have constraints. Other streamers with fixed cost agreements like Netflix and Disney Plus would have more flexibility and better margins on the advertising side, he wrote. 

“Distributors in the streaming world are also likely to have a more integral role in ad measurement and delivery than in the legacy cable network world,” Venkateshwar wrote. “As a result, compared to the legacy cable bundle world where distributors got the arguably the worst spots (typically at the 26th and 56th minute every hour, when viewership typically dips), distributors may get more leverage in a streaming world.”

Aggregation is the Thing

While Venkateshwar believes that bundling streaming services is all well and good, the real value lies in aggregation. While Verizon will probably bundle streaming video, Peloton, music and gaming under one low, low price, the real driver of value is its wireless service. According to Venkateshwar’s thinking, bundling is more about convenience and adding value to another core service, while aggregation is about the core offering and driving more engagement.

In that scenario, for example, Amazon could embed its Amazon Fire Operating System into TV brands and bundle streaming services with Amazon Prime, giving consumers the benefit of lower pricing, enhanced content discovery and a potential link to the online shopping service. Google could do the same with Android TV and Apple with Apple TV Plus. 

That could be a scary scenario for cable networks, because the best aggregators make underlying applications irrelevant, like Google did with Yahoo, Spotify did with record albums and Netflix did with TV networks, the analyst wrote.

“... now Android TV and other [operating systems] may make Netflix less relevant as a standalone brand,” Venkateshwar wrote, adding that this will force streaming services to work harder to establish their brands. While Disney appears to be the leader on that front, the impact of other brands like Peacock, Pluto TV, Tubi or even Apple TV Plus is less clear.

While it seems like only the huge tech players will come out on top of the aggregator heap, the analyst was somewhat encouraged by Comcast’s mix of assets -- broadband-only service Flex, Peacock, a scaled ad team, strong content base and distribution scale. But he worried that the slow pace of its Flex product rollout in its own footprint could indicate it’s not quite ready to match up with the tech giants. 

“Overall, while bundling is easy to do, it is quite anachronistic given content distribution technologies today,” Venkateshwar wrote. “We believe the real value of bundling will be realized by aggregation, which is still in its very early phases. As this model evolves, content discovery for TV shows may not be very different than, say, Google search, even if the process is more passive for consumers.” ■ 

Catching Netflix, which then had over 165 million subscribers, was an almost unthinkable prospect for Disney on November 12, 2019. But just 31 months after it launched Disney Plus, surpassing Netflix in global scale is no longer a matter of if, but when. 

And "when" is probably later this year. 

Disney added 9.2 million streaming subscribers in its fiscal second quarter ending April 2, upping its total direct-to-consumer base to 205.6 million customers across its Disney Plus, Disney Plus Hotstar, Hulu and ESPN Plus brands. 

Disney added 7.9 million subscribers alone across its Disney Plus and India-situated Disney Plus Hotstar brands, and it now has 137.7 million customers under the Disney Plus brand. By fiscal 2024, it expects that number to grow to between 230-260 million. (Hulu added around 300,000 customers during the quarter, while ESPN Plus grew by about 1 million subs.)

Revenue growth remained strong for Disney, rising 23% to $19.2 billion. (You can read a full summary of Disney's fiscal Q2 report here.)

After enduring its first quarterly subscriber drop in over a decade, Netflix finished the first three months of 2022 with 221.6 million customers. It expects to lose around 2 million more in the second quarter. Revenue growth, which flew well above 20% each quarter amid the pandemic, slid below 10%. 

To return to growth, Netflix is making aggressive investments in regions like India, the global market with perhaps the best potential for developing future broadband and streaming users. But Disney Plus Hotstar finished 2021 with 50 million users in the region, dwarfing Netflix's current local stature. 

And with Disney Plus set to deploy in around 53 new international markets, and unfurl a local international production slate of more than 500 original titles, its runway seems immeasurably longer than Netflix's at the moment.

With Disney charging only a fraction globally of what Netflix does, revenue varies widely. But oranges and apples comparisons of respective business models aside, the raw subscriber numbers carry huge sway in places like Wall Street. This horserace matters. ■

The weekend TV sports lineup for the Mother’s Day holiday weekend starts on the pro basketball court with second round coverage of the NBA Playoffs. 

On Saturday, ABC will offer game three coverage of the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks series, followed by primetime coverage of the Memphis Grizzlies-Golden State Warriors game three contest. 

On Sunday, ESPN will televise game four of the Phoenix Suns-Dallas Mavericks series, followed by TNT game four coverage of the Miami Heat-Philadelphia 76’ers series. 

The WNBA opens the first weekend of its 2022 regular season with two matchups on Saturday – ESPN’s Connecticut Sun-New York Liberty and CBSSN’s Atlanta Dream-Dallas Wings telecasts – as well as a Sunday ESPN doubleheader featuring the Washington Mystics-Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm-Las Vegas Aces games.

On Saturday, the NHL playoffs continue with first round coverage of the Florida Panthers-Washington Capitals series on ESPN, followed by a TNT tripleheader that includes the Colorado Avalanche-Nashville Predators, NY Rangers-Pittsburgh Penguins and Calgary Flames-Dallas Stars series. 

NBC on Saturday will televise live the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby from Churchill Downs in Louisville. Also Saturday, the National Women’s Soccer League will hold its Challenge Cup final between the Washington Spirit and the North Carolina Courage, which will air live on CBS. 

In the octagon, ESPN Plus will stream the UFC 274 pay-per-view fight card featuring the main event match between lightweights Charles Oliveria and Justin Gaethje. In the ring, DAZN and PPV.com will offer the Canelo Alvarez-Dmitry Bivol light heavyweight championship fight. 

Also: Digital Sportsplay: In Demand Punches Up Streaming Pay-Per-View Service

On the links, CBS and Golf Channel will televise the final rounds of the PGA Wells Fargo Championship pro golf event. On the bowling lanes, Fox on Sunday will televise the semifinal round of the KIA PBA Playoffs.

ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast features National League rivals the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Chicago Cubs. ■ 

The TV sports lineup for the last full weekend of April begins on the basketball court as the first round of the NBA playoffs rolls on. On TNT Saturday, the Philadelphia 76’ers will look to eliminate the Toronto Raptors in the series’ fourth game, while the Utah Jazz will look to even up its series at two wins each with the Dallas Mavericks.

On ESPN, the Boston Celtics will look to take a 3-0 lead in its best-of-seven game series with the Brooklyn Nets, while the Memphis Grizzlies will look to take a 3-1 lead on the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Sunday’s action includes ABC-televised games featuring game four of the Milwaukee Bucks-Chicago Bulls and Golden State-Denver series, while TNT will telecast game four of both the Miami Heat-Atlanta Hawks and the Phoenix Suns-New Orleans Pelicans series. 

In the ring, ESPN Plus will distribute a Saturday afternoon pay-per-view boxing match between heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and contender Dillon Whyte.

Also: Errol Spence, Tyson Fury, Canelo Alvarez to Step into PPV Boxing Ring

On the track, Fox on Saturday will air the Xfinity Ag-Pro 300 auto race and on Sunday the NASCAR Cup GEICO 500 race. 

The final weekend of the NHL regular season will feature an ABC televised matchup between the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins and a Sunday TNT telecast of the Pittsburgh Penguins-Philadelphia Flyers matchup. 

On the soccer field, USA Network, CNBC, NBC and Peacock will feature Premier League games throughout the weekend, while ESPN and FS1 will offer MLS games on Sunday. 

The USFL will enter its second week with three weekend telecasts, including Fox’s Pittsburgh-Philadelphia and FS1’s Birmingham-Houston games on Saturday and NBC’s New Orleans-Tampa Bay game telecast on Sunday. 

ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball matchup will feature the Milwaukee Brewers and the Philadelphia Phillies. ■

Golf legend Tiger Woods expects to play at the Masters golf tournament this weekend, more than a year after a serious car accident threatened to end his career.

Woods announced his intentions to play in the prestigious tournament Tuesday during a press conference for the event, which begins on Thursday at Augusta National Golf Club. Woods hasn’t played in a major pro tournament since suffering severe leg injuries in a February 2021 car crash. Woods has also suffered from debilitating back injuries throughout the latter part of his illustrious career, in which he has won the Masters five times. 

The last PGA Major tournament Woods played in was the November 2020 Masters tournament.

Woods, who this past December played with his son Charlie at the PNC Championship celebrity/family golf tournament, said during the conference that he would practice on Wednesday before making a final decision about competing in the tournament. 

Also: ESPN Extends Deal with NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski

ESPN and ESPN Plus will offer full coverage of the Masters tournament beginning Thursday with first-round coverage. Below is ESPN’s Masters TV schedule through Friday: 

Tuesday, April 5

Noon-2 p.m.

Tuesday at the Masters on ESPN+ 

Wednesday, April 6

10 a.m.-Noon

Wednesday at the Masters on ESPN+ 

Noon-3 p.m.

Par 3 Contest on ESPN+ 

Noon-1 p.m.

SportsCenter at the Masters

1 p.m.-2 p.m.

SportsCenter at the Masters 

2 p.m.-3 p.m.

SportsCenter at the Masters 

3 p.m.-5 p.m.

Par 3 Contest on ESPN 

5 p.m.-6 p.m.

SportsCenter at the Masters on ESPN 

Thursday, April 7

8:45 a.m.-3:45 p.m.

Featured holes (Nos. 4, 5 & 6)on ESPN+ 

9:15 a.m.-7:30 p.m.

Featured groups on ESPN+ 

10 a.m.-2 p.m.

SportsCenter from the Masters on ESPN 

10:45 a.m.-6 p.m.

Amen Corner on ESPN+

11:45 a.m.-7 p.m.

Featured holes (Nos. 15 & 16) on ESPN+ 

3 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

First round of the Masters on ESPN 

7:30 p.m.-8 p.m.

SportsCenter at the Masters on ESPN 

8 p.m.-11 p.m.:

First round of the Masters (encore) on ESPN

Friday, April 8

8:45 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Featured holes (Nos. 4, 5 & 6) on ESPN+ 

9:15 a.m.-7:30 p.m.

Featured groups on ESPN+ 

10 a.m.-2 p.m.

SportsCenter from the Masters on ESPN 

10:45 a.m.-6 p.m.

Amen Corner on ESPN+ 

11:45 a.m.-7 p.m.

Featured holes (Nos. 15 & 16) on ESPN+ 

3 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

First round of the Masters on ESPN 

7:30 p.m.-8 p.m.

SportsCenter at the Masters on ESPN ■ 

The TV sports lineup for the weekend leading into the President’s Day holiday starts on the basketball court with the 2022 NBA All-Star Game from Cleveland. 

On Saturday TNT will provide live coverage of the All-Star Skills Challenge, which features the 3-point contest and the Slam Dunk Contest. On Sunday TNT and TBS will offer alternative live feeds of the All-Star Game.

NBC Sports will wrap up its Winter Olympics coverage on Saturday with coverage of the finals in figure skating, ice hockey, speed skating and women’s curling across networks USA, CNBC and NBC. On Sunday NBC will air the closing ceremonies live at 7 am (ET) and repeat in primetime.  The full schedule of Olympics events can be found here.

In other sports, FS1 hits the auto racing circuit Saturday with live coverage of the ARCA Menards Series Lucas Oil 200 race and the Xfinity: Beef. It’s What’s For dinner 300 race.

On the greens, CBS and Golf Channel will provide weekend coverage of the PGA’s Genesis Invitational golf tournament. On the soccer field, USA, NBC and Peacock will offer live Premier League game coverage on Saturday, while USA will offer a Premier League doubleheader on Sunday.

Fox on Sunday will rev up coverage of the NASCAR’s Daytona 500 race, while CBS saddles up to telecast the Professional Bull Riders’ Ticketmaster Invitational championship round. 

ESPN Plus will offer a live Saturday night boxing card headlined by a welterweight matchup between former champions Amir Khan and Kell Brook. The streaming service will also telecast live a UFC Fight Night card featuring a light heavyweight tilt between Johnny Walker and Jamahal Hill.

Top-10 college basketball teams in action on national TV nets Saturday include second-ranked Auburn against Florida on ESPN, third-ranked Arizona facing Oregon on ESPN, and fourth-ranked Kentucky battling No. 25 Alabama on CBS. Also on tap are No. 6 Kansas-West Virginia (ESPN), No. 7 Baylor-TCU (ESPN 2), No. 9 Duke-Florida State (ESPN) and No. 10 Villanova-Georgetown (Fox). Sunday’s lineup includes No. 5 Purdue-Rutgers (FS1) and No. 8 Providence-Butler (FS1).

This weekend’s lineup of TV sports events begins at arguably the biggest sporting event of the year, Super Bowl LVI. NBC’s telecast of Sunday’s NFL Championship matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams is expected to be the most watched television event of 2022.

Following the Super Bowl, NBC will air live coverage of the 2022 Winter Olympics, part of the NBC Sports’ weekend-long coverage of the games across such networks as USA Network and CNBC. The full schedule of Olympics events can be found here.

In other weekend sports action, ABC will continue its Saturday night primetime NBA telecasts with live coverage of the Los Angeles Lakers-Golden State Warriors game. The network on Sunday afternoon will televise the Atlanta Hawks-Boston Celtics contest. 

On the soccer field, NBC and Peacock will offer Saturday morning Premier League coverage, while FS2 on Saturday begins Club World Cup coverage. On the links, CBS and the Golf Channel will offer weekend coverage of the PGA Phoenix Open golf tournament. 

ESPN Plus will distribute the UFC 271 pay-per-view mixed martial arts event featuring a main event rematch between middleweights Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker. In the squared ring, DAZN will carry live the Daniel Jacobs-John Ryder super middleweight boxing match.

Saturday’s college basketball schedule features top-ranked Auburn battles Texas A&M on ESPN, second-ranked Gonzaga takes on No. 22 Saint Mary’s on ESPN2, and fourth-ranked Arizona travels to play Washington on Pac 12 Network. Other games include No. 5 Kentucky-Florida (ESPN) No. 6 Houston-Memphis (ABC), No. 7 Duke-Boston College (ACC Network), No. 8 Kansas-Oklahoma (CBS), No. 9 Texas Tech-TCU (Big 12 Network) and No. 10 Baylor-No. 20 Texas (ESPN2). On Sunday, third-ranked Purdue faces Maryland on CBS.

Decided to boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games? No problem. There are plenty of other live and on-demand options being offered on the major streaming services in the next week. If you are looking for laughs, Netflix is offering Murderville and Disenchantment. In the mood for darker stuff? There’s HBO Max’s Raised By Wolves and Apple TV Plus’ Suspicion. Two documentaries – Disney Plus’ Torn and Hulu’s Clotilda: Last American Slave Ship will leave you in tears. And depending on your NFL allegiance to a certain recently retired middle-aged quarterback legend, ESPN Plus’ The Tuck Rule will also leave you in tears … or jumping for joy.

Raised By Wolves - Season 2 (HBO Max, Feb. 3)

Ridley Scott’s sci-fi epic is back. This time around android partners Mother (Amanda Collin) and Father (Abubakar Salim), and their six human children, join an atheistic colony after facing religious wars on the other side of extrasolar planet Kepler-22b, which this hybrid family calls home. But even in the absence of religious jargon, the future of the human race on Kepler-22b still isn’t looking so good. The first season of the series clicked with critics, who aggregated it at 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Muderville, (Netflix, Feb. 3) 

It’s a police procedural with a twist. In each of the series six episodes, Will Arnett stars as a senior homicide detective who teams with a different celebrity guest to solve a murder case. The twist is that the celebrity guests are not given a script. Instead, they must improvise their way through each episode and ultimately guess who committed the crime. On paper it seems like a difficult concept to pull off, but with Arnett at the wheel, how can it go wrong? Adapted from the BBC3 series Murder in Successville, Season ! guests include Ken Jeong, Marshawn Lynch (yup, "Beastmode" himself), Kumail Nanjiani, Annie Murphy, Conan O’Brien and Sharon Stone.

Torn (Disney Plus, Feb. 4)

In 1999, world-renowned mountain climber Alex Lowe was killed in an avalanche in the Himalayas. He left behind a wife and three children. Approximately two decades after the tragedy, Lowe’s oldest son, Max, now 31, began making a documentary about how the tragedy impacted his family, and how his father’s climbing partner and best friend, Conrad Anker, came to play a central role in the lives of his family. The National Geographic docu premiered at the 2021 Telluride Film Festival. While reviewed by just a handful of critics, the film scored an impressive 100% aggregated rating on Rotten Tomatoes. “The director’s conversations with his mother, younger brothers, and his stepfather, Conrad Anker, who was once Alex Lowe’s most trusted mountaineering partner, all straddle the line between interview and healing circle, trying to reconcile the real, mortal Alex with the Superman that they and the public at large saw him as. Learning to not only see but embrace that humanity is the central thread of Torn, which, by its quiet ending, has demonstrated how unexpected bonds can form around those in grief,” wrote Claire Shaffer for The New York Times. 

The Beijing Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony (Peacock, Feb. 4) 

Back in 2008, acclaimed Chinese director Zhang Yimou (The House of Flying Daggers) directed the opening and closing ceremonies for the Beijing Summer Olympic Games. This year he is back to helm the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games opening and closing acts. But don’t expect a repeat presentation of the show he produced 14 years ago. The 2022 edition of the opening ceremony will not include large-scale performances that stretch for long periods of time. Also, the number of performers has been cut from 15,000 in 2008 to 3,000, and the entire ceremony will take place in less than 100 minutes. Another new addition will be the cloud of tension hanging over Beijing’s National Stadium -- an atmosphere created by the ongoing pandemic, and China’s response to it, as well as President Biden’s decision to not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Games because of China’s “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses.” Peacock will present live streaming coverage of every event of The XXIV Winter Olympics across all 15 sports from Feb. 2-20.

Suspicion (Apple TV Plus, Feb. 4) 

Based on the award-winning Israeli series False Flag, this thriller series stars Uma Thurman as a successful American businesswoman whose only child is kidnapped from a New York City hotel. The FBI seeks out four ordinary looking British citizens who were at the hotel on the night in question. The show comes with quite a bit of pedigree. In addition to Thurman, the eight-episode series also stars Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory), Noah Emmerich (The Americans) and Georgina Campbell (Black Mirror).  Rob Williams (Man in the High Castle) created, and executive produced the series and Chris Long (The Americans) produced also directed various episodes.

Reacher (Amazon Prime, Feb. 4)

In the new Amazon series, novelist Lee Child’s Jack Reacher looks a bit different than he did in 2012 and 2016, when the diminutive Tom Cruise cinematically portrayed the anti-establishment hero. In his book series, Child describes the titular character as a 6-foot-5, 250 pound force to be reckoned with. Amazon heard that description loud and clear. The studio hired former Titan star Alan Ritchson to play the brick house trying to right wrongs in the eight-episode original series based on Child’s first Jack Reacher novel, The Killing Floor. The entire series will be available on Amazon Prime in over 240 countries and territories come Feb. 4.  

Howard High (Tubi, Feb. 4) 

The musical teen drama joins more than 1,400 Black cinema titles available on Tubi throughout February’s Black History Month. Focused on a high school performance group that must compete against a rival school in order to save their arts program, the Tubi original film “aims to shine a light on the challenges that school arts programs face in underfunded neighborhoods — all through the power of song and dance.”

The Tuck Rule: The Call That Change It All - 30 for 30 (ESPN Plus, Feb. 7)

Twenty years ago, the "Tuck Rule" changed Tom Brady’s life. Without that rule, which dictates that a football loosened from a quarterback's hand does not constitute a fumble if the arm is in a throwing motion, the recently retired quarterback wouldn’t have won his first playoff game. How differently might have things turned out for the seven-time Super Bowl champion? The controversial call is examined in the latest 50-minute installment of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. Brady along with the former player whose strip fumble was famously over-ruled, Raiders defensive back Charles Woodson, reminisce about the fateful collision, with referee Walt Coleman, Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick, Tedy Bruschi, Troy Brown, Willie McGinest, Mark Davis, Tim Brown, Eric Allen and Lincoln Kennedy also weighing in. 

Clotilda: Last American Slave Ship (Hulu, Feb. 8) 

The National Geographic documentary explores the remains of the last American slave ship, The Clotilda. In 1860, 110 kidnapped Africans sailed to slavery on the ship. Upon arrival in Alabama, traffickers, who knew it was illegal to bring new slaves to America, burned and sank The Clotilda to hide their crime. In 2019, 160 years after the ship sank, maritime archaeologists discovered the wreck. The documentary explores the remains of the ship, which is the most intact slave shipwreck found to date, the passengers, and their descendants.

Disenchantment – Season 4 (Netflix, Feb. 9) 

Matt Groening’s fantasy sitcom, which launched on Netflix back in 2018, is back. The adult animated sitcom is set in the kingdom of Dreamland and stars hard-drinking princess Bean, her elf-companion Elfo and her “personal demon” Luci. The official logline for the fourth season reads: “The mystery of Dreamland’s origins—and the stakes for its future—become ever clearer as our trio—and King Zøg—find themselves on personal journeys that will ultimately tie in to the kingdom’s fate.”