No changes to this year’s CFL on TSN presentation. Australians can stream every game for free this season however on the CFL’s website.
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It’s a good surprise; I think last year it was a paid offering (not expensive though) from the CFL. They were trialling out the system during the pre-season and it’s the same deal as that.
I suspect part of this is due to ESPN in the US having dropped coverage from their part-owned Canadian partner. Which is strange, but perhaps the CFL didn’t want to see their games hived away onto ESPN+ like would’ve likely happened - so they are with CBS Sports Network this year, and US folk get what’s not shown there on the CFL web site too.
Always liked the much more subtle visual look of TSN’s Canadian gridiron coverage to that of the NFL - always been of the “the game should do the talking” kind of mindset - but that speaks as much about the two countries and the two codes as well.
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ESPN didn’t drop the CFL but rather CBS being willing to pay much more for the rights:
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ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier from Zimbabwe:
I find it crazy someone of Ian’s ability is on Nepal v Zimbabwe and not the Ashes (despite his West Indies’ participation at this tournament as well).
For the first time at this event, ICC will produce live coverage of all 34 matches to a global audience, with 20 of these games, played at Harare Sports Club in Harare and the Queen’s Sports Club in Bulawayo produced to a broadcast specification.
For the remaining 14 games, played at the Takashinga Cricket Club in Harare and Bulawayo Athletic Club in Bulawayo, the coverage will be produced to a live-stream specification.
For the first time in this tournament, DRS will be used from the Super Six stage onwards. The DRS specification includes ball tracking and edge detection technology, provided by Hawk-Eye.
The ICC TV production is supported by production services partner Sunset+Vine and equipment services partner NEP Broadcast Solutions. AE Live will deliver the on-air graphics for the broadcast coverage.
The commentary team will feature Mpumelelo Mbangwa, Ian Bishop, Natalie Germanos, Andy Flower, Ashwell Prince, Carlos Brathwaite, Preston Mommsen, Brian Murgatroyd, Samuel Badree, Niall O’Brien, Ed Rainsford, Russel Arnold, Dirk Nannes and Mitchell McClenaghan.
The live-streamed matches will additionally feature Raunak Kapoor, Andrew Leonard, Nikhil Uttamchandani, Firdose Moonda and Tino Mawoyo.
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Some 2017/2018 Ashes coverage from BT Sport:
https://twitter.com/gilly381/status/933938431935135744?s=20
Screengrabs going backwards chronologically, starting with the first ODI of that tour and going backwards from the post-match of the Sydney Test:
And the power outage at the Gabba in 2020/21:
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The BBC’s pre-recorded highlights show started while play was still underway on Day 5.
F1 rights in the UK continue with Sky and Channel 4:
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BT Sport is finally renaming as TNT Sports tomorrow. Some of the new presentation is being already broadcast, and it looks quite… Eurosport-like.
(Sourced from Pres Cafe)
It looks like WBD is bringing some of the unique traits of BT Sport’s presentation and mixing it with the Eurosport presentation style. According to Andrew Georgiou (WBD Sports Europe MD):
“We do want to be contemporary, we do want to be bold, we definitely want to push the boundaries of what sports broadcasting has been in this market over the previous years”
As such, TNT Sports has announced that its core soccer presenters will be an all-female team: Laura Woods and Reshmin Chowdhury will helm Champions League coverage, whilst Jules Breach is the new pitch side reporter for the main EPL match (Lynsey Hipgrave remains as studio presenter).
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TNT Sports launched at 6am today.
Alongside the already announced hirings and holdovers (Laura Woods, Reshmin Chowdhury, Lynsey Hipgrave and Jules Breach), more Eurosport overlap is widely expected, as Orla Chennaoui will compatibilise her duties for Eurosport and GCN as lead presenter of Premiership Rugby, alternating with Craig Doyle, and Radzi Chinyanganya will also serve as multisport host. Woods will also helm boxing fights for the main TNT Sports and the Box Office channels.
Other BT Sport holdovers who join TNT Sports include Darren Fletcher, Adam Summerton, Lucy Ward, Rio Ferndinand, Peter Crouch, Joe Cole, Alastair Eykyn, Nick Mullins, Ugo Monye, Suzi Perry, Neil Hodgson and Carl Frampton. New hirings include Ally McCoist, Stuart Hogg and Emily Scaratt.
According to PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore, the new line-up tries to embrace a broader audience group…
The reimagined talent line-up which is more inclusive and diverse will help connect with different audiences. Part of an ethos that is ‘right by the fans’. There’s a clear desire to ensure that the programming is less male dominated. A challenge when it comes to football at times.
In an interview with UK specialised publication Broadcast, Andrew Georgiou and Scott Young said coverage will be structured in a way it prioritises the sporting element, but also driving into a more American-style presentation, with more profiles of stars and a more conversational presentation. Some highlights are also moving exclusively to discovery+.
“When we re-imagine what BT Sport was to what TNT Sports is going to be, it will be a real point of difference in the narrative. We want to talk alongside people, and being relatable experts is a really key piece for us, and having a team of people who, through their passion for sport, engage content in storytelling. It’s not about us. It’s about the athletes. It’s about the teams and the managers, about what it took to get to the beginning of the competition, what it has taken to create a result.”
TNT Sports is available on discovery+ whilst retaining its availability on BT TV, Sky and Virgin Media. discovery+ subscribers can access TNT Sports through a new Premium tier (£29.99/mth, also including Eurosport and factual content), only available within the UK (in Ireland, the exclusive wholesale contract with Sky remains in effect there, but they distribute the channels to other operators, including Virgin and Vodafone).
The new tier will be available at no extra cost for BT and EE subscribers, and discovery+ will be also integrated into BT’s TV Box Pro and TV Box Mini STBs. This will be the case soon for Sky subscribers, with an update to the discovery+ app on Sky Q and Sky Entertainment OS (Glass and Stream) also coming later.
As for the BT Sport apps, they will be still available in a transitional basis, with these being fully decommissioned at the end of the year. discovery+ has already added many of the BT Sport app enhanced elements, even for Eurosport coverage, in preparation for the launch (pic from Pres Café):
According to Andrew Georgiou, the enhanced elements are being slowly added, with its full implementation being gradual:
Georgiou revealed that, “includes timeline markers, multi-cam views, being able to switch between different things, commentary. There’s all sorts of things that will we have developed in that app.
“You’ll be able to move between the linear consumption straight into your app on the same set top box that you’re viewing with the same control and you don’t have to leave Sky’s environment, you don’t have to leave the BT TV environment, but you’ll be able to access the discovery+ app on the same platform and move between those things, which is really important because there’s a lot more content on offer in a sports context than we can otherwise fit on for linear channels. So this is coming soon and we’re working with BT and Sky to deliver that as soon as we possibly can.”
We might see some additional presentation coming later on the day as UCL qualifiers are underway, but these are going mostly to be world feed affairs. We will wait and see…
Something extra: WBD Sports Europe is uploading to an ad-hoc Soundcloud page many of themes being used for TNT Sports’ coverage, even what it looks like to be an UEFA Champions League-specific theme. I don’t think it will be used exclusively for UCL coverage, but for all surrounding pro football coverage, including EPL and the other UEFA tournaments, but remember that UEFA strongly advises RHBs to stick with the official tournament presentation (including the UCL anthem).
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Apple TV’s MLS All Star Game:
Wimbledon:
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NBCUniversal launched its Paris Olympics campaign this week, with Dolly Parton performing a cover of Queen’s hits We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions.
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Sad circumstance (Daly was ok 
), but a look at the NWSL on Lifetime Network coverage elements:
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USA not winning the swimming so change the medal tally up to suit themselves. How embarrassing 
https://twitter.com/Braden_Keith/status/1684914480545742849?s=20
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They’ve always done it by total medals
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It’s also done during the Olympics
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Aside from rebranding the cable channels, TV Azteca is also launching Azteca Deportes as a dedicated 24-hour channel in Mexico.
In their own words:
In an event where executives from the television station were present, as well as strategic partners such as Multimedios, Samsung and Roku, Fernando Muñiz, director of Distribution and Strategic Alliances of TV Azteca, presented the new channel focused 100% on sports and which seeks to differentiate itself of the offer that exists in the market, thanks to the fact that it is a 24/7 signal.
“In this channel we dedicate ourselves 100% to sports, we are a sports entertainment signal, where we will have the best of the Mexican basketball, American football, baseball, boxing leagues, among others. We have our friends at AYM Sports as allies, with high-level productions” he mentioned.
For Rodolfo Ramírez, director of Azteca Deportes, this area has evolved, mainly in broadcast TV, which is why they take this growth to create a new window for sport exposure, through a different product, "which we are sure will be a success. We took on the challenge of building the brand in the digital field and the results have been wonderful, so we will continue doing what we know, with the passion and heart that moves us every day”.
The channel promo:
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I think the bigger blow-up came from World Aquatics (the old FINA) awarding their official “best swimming team” award based on total medals. But then, an award like that feels always up for conjecture.
The IOC in particular knows this has been a point of contention for many decades (more than a century?)… to the point where their official “we don’t officially condone ordering by medal tally at all” position is at the point where their past games archives on the web site puts the NOCs in alphabetical order by default.
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Big changes coming to Sky Sports News from tomorrow, coinciding with the start of the Premier League season, with Soccer Saturday getting a new host, Simon Thomas, after Jeff Stelling’s retirement, and a new layout which reminds of the former BT Sport Score service.
As part of the changes, the channel is getting a refreshed set (a more modular, dynamic and very minimalistic set), new fully automated production systems (Ross Overdrive, Vizrt and HDR-enabled Shotoku robotic cams) and a new graphics layout which will make its operations and presentation even closer to those of Sky News.
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The new look is on-air, designed by the Sky News creative team (integrated in the in-house Sky Creative Agency) led by Harry Ward, with the set refreshes from Jago Design. As expected, the new look is fully integrated visually with Sky News, but still with the many unique traits of Sky Sports’ brand elements.
The ticker and supers are fully aligned with Sky News (DOG and clock moved to the bottom left, 24-hour clock instead of 12-hour clock with date…), but the normal disposition of Sky News’ supers are used in SSN’s case for breaking news flashes. The TOTH sequence is also now close to that of Sky News, showcasing Sky Sports’ website and apps. The music used since 2013 (the SSN HQ era) has been retained, but remixed to have its instrumentation close to that of Sky News’ current theme.
The ticker is being currently used for transfer updates, alongside the obligatory deadline countdown. They still have their own name supers, but these now animated like those of Sky News. Additionally, the right side or the entire of the reverse L-bar can now collapse if extra information needs to be shown. The Soccer Saturday vidiprinter has also survived and adapted to the new look.
Specific timeslots and programming get special graphics and openers, including special dynamic headline sequences and some exciting 3D designs which are more aligned to Sky Sports’ brand.
To sum this summary, here are some additional studio set shots, featuring additional set dispositions and show-specific colors and duratrans…
(Video and most images below sourced from TV Newsroom UK)
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Premier League Summer Series underway currently in Atlanta. I wonder if these are the new graphics or just being used for the summer series.
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