As FanDuel and DraftKings continue to try to convince New York’s Attorney General they are skill-based entertainment instead of games of chance, the loss of their substantial ad dollars could hurt cable and broadcast networks that have come to rely on the daily fantasy sports sites for ad revenue.

New York State attorney general Eric Schneiderman sought an injunction against both FanDuel and DraftKings from operating in the state, claiming the daily fantasy sports companies are basically illegal gambling sites. Both FanDuel and DraftKings have argued that they are skill-based entertainment, which would exempt them from regulation.

While the sites take in millions of dollars from fans that pick players for cash and can win money based on their game performance, TV networks have been a major beneficiary of the intense ad campaigns of both FanDuel and DraftKings. The ads, touting six-figure pay days won by some players, have peppered cable and broadcast networks for months.

According to Sanford Bernstein media analyst Todd Juenger, daily fantasy sports made up about 50% of cable networks advertising gains in the third quarter, or $134 million out of a total gain of $227 million.

In his research report, Juenger said the fantasy football category spent more ad dollars on sports networks than beer companies. That could mean that their potential ban would put a serious dent in ad revenue.

“Daily fantasy sports sites may not even exist next year. Even if they do, the probability that they grow, again, at these rates is very low (impossible?),” Juenger wrote.

Sports-centric networks like CBS, Disney and Fox received the most form the category, Juenger wrote.

In a separate note to clients, MoffettNathanson media analyst Michael Nathanson, using data from Kantar Media, wrote that Fox reaped $24 million in fantasy sports ads in September alone, followed by CBS ($21.5 million), NBC ($21.3 million) and ESPN ($17.9 million).  Nathanson noted that non-sports networks also received a fair amount of fantasy football ads, with DFS investing over $1 million in advertising on each of 13 broadcast and cable networks during the month.

Nathanson noted that DFS ads accounted for between 4% and 7% of total ads at networks like ESPN2, Fox Sports 1 and Fox. According to Nathanson, Draft Kings spent about $65 million in ads in September with FanDuel shelling out $53 million for a combined $118 million or 3% of total ad revenue.

The presence of DFS in expensive NFL ad time slots helped tighten the scatter market in September and driving up prices, Nathanson wrote. While not as large as other ad sectors like autos, films or health care, the analyst said that the new category was incremental to the market and was a factor in the revenue increases in the period. He added that looking forward, networks should be “concerned” if the government decides that DFS is essentially glorified sports betting.

“Killing the golden goose of DFS would definitely be against the interest of the NFL’s network partners,” Nathanson wrote.    

As expected, former ESPN radio personality Colin Cowherd has landed at Fox Sports, the company announced Wednesday.

Cowherd, who was dismissed at ESPN late last month over controversial comments surrounding Dominican Republic-born baseball players, will launch on Sept. 8 The Herd, a three-hour weekday talk show to air simultaneouslyon Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports Radio Network, said network officials.

Cowherd will also be featured as part of Fox’s Fox NFL Kickoff pre-game show, as well as Fox Sports 1’s coverage of Jim Harbaugh’s debut as Michigan head coach when Utah hosts the Wolverines Sept. 3, said network officials.

“Colin is the first person I hired for my first daily studio show at ESPN, so it’s fitting that he’s the first one I’m hiring at FS1,” said Jamie Horowitz, President, Fox Sports National Networks.  “Colin is a unique voice in sports media with a loyal following of fans, and we’re looking forward to building our daytime programming around him.”

Added Cowherd: “It’s hard to put into words how much fun it is for me, as a broadcaster, to build something with really smart, talented people. I can’t wait for this next chapter in my career to start.  FOX Sports is the perfect spot for me at this time in my life.”

Lead-in programming ahead of the UFC 190 main event -- in which Ronda Rousey knocked out her opponent, Bethe Correia, in 34 seconds (video highlights) -- peaked at 1.6 million viewers on Fox Sports 1 on Saturday (Aug. 1), making it the most-viewed program among ad-supported cable sports networks in primetime, Fox Sports said. The performance was the third-best ever for pre-pay-per-view event fare on FS1, riding a wave of interest in Rousey.

The blonde Rousey has become a star outside of her mixed-martial-arts fame. As this blog notes, she's made movie appearances (Furious 7, the Entourage movie), has been on a recent cover of Sports Illustrated and made headlines at the ESPY Awards. After winning an ESPY as best fighter, in a field that included PPV boxing titan Floyd Mayweather, she jabbed at Mayweather, who has a history of domestic violence, saying she wondered "how Floyd feels being beat by a woman for once."  

Fox said that Saturday night’s UFC preliminary bouts (8-10 p.m. PM ET) averaged 1,322,000 viewers before peaking at 1,599,000 viewers (9:15-9:30 p.m. ET). That was 13% better on a household rating basis (1.04 vs. 0.92) and 10% better on an average audience basis (vs. 1,205,000) compared with the preliminary matches on FS1 before Rousey’s last main event PPV card (Feb. 28). That time she defeated challenger Cat Zingano at UFC 184 in 14 seconds.    

The Fox Sports 1 UFC 190 pre-fight show on Saturday (7-8 p.m. ET) drew 518,000 viewers, making it the third most-watched PPV prefight yet on the network, which converted from Speed in August 2013. 

After Rousey dispatched Correia in their bantamweight title fight, the FS1 UFC 190 post-fight show (1:42-2:42 a.m. ET) attracted 438,000 viewers, making it the second most-watched UFC 190 post-fight show yet on FS1.

On Friday, a repeat of UFC Main Event: UFC 168 Rousey Vs Tate Friday night (9-10 p.m. ET) had 388,000 viewers, a record for the program on FS1.  The 10 p.m. Friday night telecast of a special edition of UFC Tonight focusing on Rousey had 396,000 viewers, the most viewers yet for an airing of UFC Tonight, all according to FS1.

Image via UFC.com.

TV sports executive Charlie Dixon has been named executive vice president of content for Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2.

In the newly created position, Dixon will oversee all content and production on the channels and report to Jamie Horowitz, President of Fox Sports National Networks.

Dixon and Horowitz worked together at ESPN where they co-developed series such as Olbermann,Numbers Never Lie and the reimagining of First Take. Most recently Dixon was NBC senior vice president of development, working with MSNBC and NBC News, according to Fox.

Reporting to Dixon are Melissa Forman, Senior Vice President, Development; Rick Jaffe, Senior Vice President, News; and Bill Dallman, Vice President, News Director; and Michael Hughes, Executive Producer, Fox Sports Live, said Fox Sports executives.

“Charlie brings us strong leadership, a keen knowledge of content, and a clever understanding of what programming resonates with sports fans on all screens,” said Horowitz in a statement.  “He is a great fit for the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit that I have found since coming to FOX Sports, and I can’t wait for him to begin working with the talented and creative people we already have in place.” 

Fox Sports and Fox Sports 1 will be the home of the National Hot Rod Association Drag Racing Series as part of a long-term deal reached between the two parties.

The NHRA, which has been on ESPN since 2001, will move to Fox, with Fox Sports 1 offering coverage of Friday and Saturday qualifying and Sunday eliminations for each NHRA Mello Yello Series event, according to Fox Sports. A minimum of 16 Sunday eliminations will be presented in a live coverage format, with the remainder shown either in weekend afternoon or primetime slots, according to Fox.

Four of the live elimination shows will air on the Fox national broadcast network, said network officials.

“Committing to 16 live events, including four on the FOX broadcast network, certainly demonstrates the commitment and excitement level we have for the National Hot Rod Association,” said Jamie Horowitz, President of FOX Sports National Networks. “As home to the strongest and most diverse collection of racing properties on television, adding NHRA drag racing to the weekly lineup absolutely solidifies Fox Sports as the leader in motor sports television.”

For its part, ESPN vice president of league sports programming Julie Sobieski said in a statement: “The NHRA is an exciting form of racing with a very loyal fanbase. Unfortunately, we have had scheduling challenges with NHRA programming due to other commitments in the fall. We look forward to continuing our event coverage for the remainder of the 2015 season, and to serving fans with the stories of the NHRA on our news and information platforms for many years after that. We have tremendous respect for the NHRA and its history and we wish them all the best in the future.”

With the first FIA Formula E Championship concluding this weekend with an ePrix doubleheader from London’s Battersea Park, Fox Sports and Formula E announce their broadcast deal now extends through the 2019-20 season, with races airing live on Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2 and Fox Sports Go.

“With a history-making first season under its belt -- where every race was a successful first race -- we’re thrilled to extend our relationship with Formula E,” David Nathanson, head of business operations for Fox Sports, said in a release. “Worldwide interest continues to grow in a series that delivers great racing alongside aggressive green initiatives and next-generation technology, and Fox Sports is proud to partner with such an effort.”

The new deal, which calls for a minimum of eight races per season, also includes live racing on newly re-branded Fox Sports Racing in Canada and the Caribbean, as well as the possibility of additional Formula E shoulder programming.

“We are delighted that Fox Sports has extended its exclusive agreement to show Formula E live in North America,” Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag said in the release. “Fox remains an important partner for Formula E in this market, where we enjoyed great success with our Miami and Long Beach races this season. This agreement will ensure U.S. viewers receive the very best live coverage, which will allow us to grow our fan base. In addition, Fox Sports has believed in Formula E since the very beginning and we’re very happy that we’ve renewed our long-term partnership just ahead of the final rounds of the inaugural season -- a sign that the confidence they put on us has become even stronger.”  

This weekend’s championship-deciding events were slated to air Saturday on Fox Sports 1 and today (June 28) at 10:30 a.m. on FOX Sports 2. Both races were also available on FOX Sports Go. Former NASCAR and Formula One driver Nelson Piquet Jr. was the favorite to win the series’ inaugural title, following a 11-race season highlighted by stops in some of the most influential cities in the world, including Buenos Aires, Miami, Los Angeles, Moscow, Beijing, Berlin and London.

The series currently features two U.S. entries -- Jay Penske’s Dragon Racing and Andretti Formula E, sitting fourth and fifth, respectively in the team standings, heading into this weekend’s final two races. 

Fox Sports Saturday will kick off its unprecedented coverage the FIFA 2015 Women’s World Cup from Canada. Fox broadcast network, Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2 will combine to air all 52 matches from the tournament, which will run from June 6 to July 5.

I chatted with David Neal, executive producer for Fox Sports’ WWC coverage, and here are a few things he pointed out about the Women’s World Cup and Fox’s coverage of the event.  

Fox Sports is Going Big: “This is the largest Women’s World Cup in history with 52 games, up from 36 four years ago, 24 teams, up from 16 in 2011. We’re covering all [WWC] games live on television whether its Fox, FS1 or FS2 and online on Fox Sports Go which has never been done before. Overall we’ll offer more than 200 hours of coverage for the tournament. We have 28 on-air talent for both live game and studio coverage and a total workforce of 400 Fox Sports employees, so we are fully committed to covering the entirety of the tournament. We think it’s an important moment for this event and for women’s sport.”

Increased Coverage Of On Field Action: “There will be a minimum of 20 cameras for each game, and it ramps up to 22 and 24 when you get to the semis and the finals. That’s world class coverage level – by comparison an MLS game might only have eight cameras. It will be gold standard, world class coverage and I think viewers will benefit from that.”

Women’s Soccer Has Grown in Popularity: “There’s no question about it. An interesting litmus test was when the US. Women’s team played their final sendoff game at Red Bull Arena and it was sold out. The exact same matchup four years ago drew barely 6,000 fans into the arena. That tells you in four years’ time the level of popularity this team has achieved and the familiarity Americans have with the team now.”

Fox Sports 1 in 2015 is hoping to build on a freshman campaign that saw the former Speed Channel post a 71% increase in viewership, compared to Speed a year prior. A highlight of 2014 was October coverage of Major League Baseball’s playoffs, which drew more than 18.7 million new viewers to the network. Fox Sports 1 general manager and chief operating officer David Nathanson spoke with programming editor R. Thomas Umstead and news editor Mike Reynolds about year one and plans to keep ratings momentum going with a strong programming slate in 2015, including FIFA Women’s World Cup coverage this summer.

MCN: Looking back during Fox Sports 1’s first year, did you accomplish everything that you wanted to accomplish?

David Nathanson: I don’t think you ever accomplish everything you want to accomplish. We certainly aren’t going to rest on our laurels and our past successes and, frankly, we learned a lot more from some of our failures than we did from some of our successes. I think in the first year we adjusted our programming mix dramatically. We launched with a slate of shows, and we’re constantly re-evaluating where we are, if we’re speaking to the right audience, whether we’re positioning ourselves and the network to grow in the sports marketplace, if we are servicing the fans the way we want to service the fans. I think some of the adjustments we made along the way are a reflection of that.

MCN: What are expectations for Fox Sports 1 in 2015?

DN: In year two, we have an opportunity to really expand the audience and evolve our programming. What I’m most looking forward to is a combination of showcasing our incredible premiere events on Fox Sports 1, many of which, like golf, are new to the Fox Sports brand. It’s also an opportunity to expand how we relate to sports fans in shows like Fox Sports Live. So that’s an exciting opportunity for us.

MCN: Sports networks take a lot of hits from the media and from consumers because of the high cost of their content. Talk about your perception of sports and how valuable it is to the overall cable business.

DN: We’ve all been part of the cable business a long time, and sports has always been an integral part of the cable business. You can go back to the early boxing days on HBO when fights like the “Thrilla in Manila” [the 1975 Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier heavyweight title fight in the Philippines] helped catapult HBO back in those days. You can see how sports impacted Fox in terms of acquiring [broadcast- TV] NFL rights in 1994 … that established the Fox Sports brand. So launching Fox Sports 1 is no different, and I think the fact that sports news is relevant, timely, must-see content provides tremendous benefits to the whole cable ecosystem.

MCN: Is there anything in the marketplace coming up that you guys are very interested in potentially acquiring?

DN: I think we’re always looking at everything in the marketplace. It’s no surprise that there are things out there in the college space, in the professional sports space, in the international sports space, all of which we look at and evaluate. Ultimately, it has to be a decision that fits within our portfolio. It has to be a smart economic decision for us, and a smart strategic decision in terms of where we want to grow our audience and our brand.

MCN: Do you have enough room to get back into England’s Premier League soccer?

DN: It’s less of a capacity issue — we have Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2, so certainly we have enough outlets to help satisfy the need for those sports fans. Ultimately, it’s a question of is it the right decision for us and at what price? The Premier League is, on a global scale, the mostrecognized soccer league in the world. We’re building ourselves as the home of soccer and we have the rights to prove it, from FIFA to [Major League Soccer] to CONCACAF to the [English soccer] FA Cup, etc. So ultimately, the Premier League has been an important part of our past and it could be an important part of our future. So will our coverage of the Women’s World Cup. Our coverage is going to be unprecedented to any coverage of that event in the history of that event. We’ll have 16 games on broadcast television and 30 on Fox Sports 1.

MCN: What role do ring sports such as boxing and mixed martial arts play in the development of Fox Sports 1?

DN: UFC is one of the columns that Fox Sports 1 was built upon. I think they are some of our strongest partners. The UFC and MMA helped build the foundation by which Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2 were launched. And they remain one of the most important sports categories for us. We’re seeing record numbers with both TV series and the Fox Sports 1 events, not to mention the events that air on the broadcast network. And we believe there’s huge growth still. Some of the biggest stars are evolving and about to come up the ranks in the UFC. So for us, this is the most exciting time for the UFC and ultimately I think it’s going to see tremendous growth in the coming years.

MCN: How far along is the Fox Sports Go app, in terms of the TV universe?

DN: We’d like to see Fox Sports Go continue to add new affiliates, and it is. I think you’ll find in the coming months that new affiliates will be added to the equation to broaden the availability of Fox Sports Go. For us, it’s an essential part of the experience, you want to be able to watch Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, wherever it’s most convenient to you. To do that in conjunction with our distributors is almost an expected thing that the consumers hope to get today from their sports network. So for us, as widely as we can make that available and as fast as we can make that available to the consumer, that’s our objective. We’re certainly on the road to doing that.

MCN: How do you view the competition?

DN: We have a tremendous amount of respect for all the sports networks out there. As I mentioned, this is arguably the most competitive time ever in the sports landscape. And you can see that just by how competitive rights are for the top exclusive rights. Each of the other sports networks in the television landscape — as well as some of the sports outlets in the digital landscape — all present unique rights, unique perspectives, unique options. So we view them very respectfully, and we’re aware of what it takes to be competitive in the landscape. At the same time we’re very confident in the portfolio of rights we have, in the talent that we’ve amassed to support those rights, and our future strategic plans to grow those rights. Ultimately, we’re extremely optimistic in our position in the landscape.

Fox Sports will ring out 2014 and tip off 2015 with a five-pack of Big East college basketball games.

The quintuple-header will feature all 10 men's teams opening their conference seasons, with five back-to-back games airing live on Fox Sports 1 on Dec. 31.

The New Year's Eve hardwood festivities begin at 11:30 a.m.  (ET) with the Fox Sports 1 College Hoops Tip-Off pregame show hosted by Rob Stone with analysts Austin Croshere and Kevin O’Neill live from the Los Angeles studios. At noon,  Fox Sports’ lead college basketball broadcast team of Gus Johnson and Bill Raftery call the opener as No. 15 St. John’s travels to Seton Hall.

At 2:30 p.m., No. 6 Villanova hosts Butler with Tim Brando and Ron Thompson courtside, followed by Marquette at DePaul at 5 p.m. with Dick Stockton and Donny Marshall behind the microphone. Come primetime, Aaron Goldsmith and Tarik Turner are on the ball call for Creighton at Providence at 7:30 p.m., and Joe Davis and Bob Wenzel bring fans into the New Year with No. 25 Georgetown at Xavier, tipping off at 10 p.m.

Multiple coaches will wear wireless microphones, and coaches’ audio, plus dedicated coaches’ cameras, will be used within the games. Throughout the day, FS1 will also showcase pregame speeches and halftime coaches meetings and goes inside the huddle during timeouts. In addition, each game features at least one hyper motion camera, providing super slow video replays, and above-the-rim cameras.

Stone, Croshere and O’Neill are in studio all day with halftime and between-games analysis, along with special features, interviews and behind-the-scenes access at each team’s practices leading up to the day’s games. In addition, BIG EAST coaches and players share their New Year’s resolutions.

The Giants won the pennant and Fox Sports 1 matched its all-time ratings mark on Thursday night.

Evoking Bobby Thomson 63 years earlier, Travis Ishikawa (pictured) crashed a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to move the Giants into the World Series versus the Kansas City Royals, as FS1 averaged a 3.1 U.S. household rating with its coverage of National League Championship Game 5. The Oct. 16 performance tied the mark the channel set the night before with the fourth contest between San Francisco and St. Louis.

Thursday night's telecast averaged 4.89 million viewers to rank second on the network's all-time Nilesen list behind the 5.09 million watchers for Game 4. FSI bowed on Aug. 17, 2013.

With its leading five and seven of its top 10 shows hailing from its first Major League Baseball postseason, FS1 has been the fastest-growing network since the start of the 2014-15 TV seasons, according to network executives. 

Viewership built every half hour during the Oct. 16 telecast, which faced the CBS/NFL Network simulcast of Thursday Night Football, peaking with 6.52 million viewers from 11:00-11:14 PM (ET) when Ishikawa turned the clock back to 1951 --Thomson's three-run shot heard round the world eliminated Dem Bums, the Brooklyn Dodgers--  as his bomb sent the Cardinals home, ticketing the Giants' 20th World Series appearance. The peak audience for Game 5 marked a new 2014 postseason high, breaking the record set in Game 4, when 6.08 million watched in the 10:30 p.m. half hour. 

St. Louis led all markets with a 25.2,, followed by San Francisco at an 18.8, both FS 1 records in those DMAs.  Sacramento was third (13.7), followed by Kansas City, home of the American League Champion Kansas City Royals (9.4).

Fox Deportes also delivered big,  tallying 199,000 viewers, including 108,000 persons 18 to 49,  the highest audience delivery for a Game 5 in Spanish-language television history. Viewership peaked from 10 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. with 265,000 total viewers.

Buoyed by NLCS Game 5, Fox Sports Go rang up its fourth-best authenticated streaming day, according to FSI executives, who noted digital viewership of NLCS Game 5 was strongest in San Francisco, followed by San Jose, Los Angeles and St. Louis.

Game 1 of the 2014 World Series is scheduled for Oct. 21 at the Royals' Kauffman Stadium.  Coverage begins with a special 90-minute edition of America's Pregame on FS1, followed by the World Series Pregame Show on Fox at 7  p.m. and Game 1 at 8 p.m. on the broadcaster.

The excitement on the field at Chavez Ravine translated into record marks on TV and TVE screens for Fox Sports 1.

In its first day of MLB postseason action, FS1's exclusive presentation of Game 1 of the National League Division Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers on Oct. 3 averaged  3.59 million viewers, according to Nielsen fast national data.

The game -- a 10-9 nailbiter in which the Cardinals knocked Cy Young front-runner Clayton Kershaw from the box (pictured) during an eight-run,seventh inning, and then had to hold off the Dodgers which had the tying run on third with two outs in the bottom of the night -- eclisped FSI's previous Nielsen mark of 5.23 million watchers for NASCAR Sprint Unlimited event on Feb. 15.

The 14-month-old service also connected on its highest-rated and most-watched weekday daytime and non-primetime program, drawing 2.04 million viewers for its coverage of the opener of the other NLDS -- a 3-2 triumph by the San Francisco Giants over the Washington Nationals.

The home markets for yesterday’s NLDS games set individual market ratings for a televised event on FS1.  St. Louis (17.4) and Los Angeles (7.1) each set their mark for the Cardinals-Dodgers contest, while Washington DC (6.9) and San Francisco (6.6) set theirs for the Giants-Nationals tilt. The Los Angeles DMA also set a new household reach mark for a single market watching an FS1 event with 392,000.

Digitally, Fox officials said that Friday marked the best day ever for authenticated viewership for on the Fox Sports GO, as both NLDS matchups attracted more than twice the streams on the platform's previous high-water mark for a baseball event, surpassing the 2014 MLB All-Star Game.

Dish Network said Thursday that it has worked out its dispute with FS1 regarding four college football contests and will carry the games this weekend afterall.

In a brief statement Dish said that it “is now in a position to deliver the full lineup of Fox Sports 1,” including the games in question, to subscribers to its America’s Top 200 programming package and above.

“We are proud to deliver the most college football anywhere, at the best possible value,”

said Dish vice president of programming Josh Clark in a statement. 

Those games are:

Rutgers vs. Washington State, Aug. 28, 10:00 p.m. ET

Colorado State vs. Colorado, Aug. 29, 9:00 p.m. ET

North Dakota State vs. Iowa State, Aug. 30, 12:00 p.m. ET

SMU vs. Baylor, Aug. 31, 7:30 p.m. ET

Veteran ESPN sports commentator Stephen A. Smith says he’s not concerned about the rise of new cable sports networks looking to compete with cable sports network leader ESPN.

“When I look at Fox (Sports 1), Comcast (which owns NBCSN) and all of these different networks, I love it,” Smith said during a recent video interview with Multichannel News.

Smith added: “I love the fact that there are people who want to come and try to knock us off our pedestal … I like those challenges.”

As far as his future, Smith says he wouldn’t mind taking a stab at political reporting or hosting a political show, but his goal now is to continue to build his voice in sports media.

“I want to establish myself as the pre-eminent voice in the world of sports,” he said. “I’m just getting started.”  

Click here to see the video interview, or here to see the first half of the Smith interview.