 It’s back to the future, SportsCenter-style for NBC. Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann will hook back up on television for NBC's "Football Night in America", which airs on Sundays. The last time Patrick and Olbermann did “The Big Show� 11 years. Since then Olbermann has gone on to MSNBC and Patrick to his own syndicated radio show and Sports Illustrated. As reported by Bloomberg News: Patrick's deal with NBC Sports includes working on "Football Night in America" and the years that the network has the Super Bowl, as well as covering the Olympics beginning in 2010. Patrick is contractually prevented from working on NFL telecasts and the Olympics in Beijing for a year. NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol had spoken a year ago to ESPN execs about Patrick, and it seemed to be OK. But Ebersol said that in talking to ESPN chief George Bodenheimer and ESPN executive vp John Skipper, things changed a bit after they realized Patrick would be reuniting with Olbermann. ESPN invoked a contract provision that kept Patrick from working on "They had a right, buried in the boilerplate of the deal, to keep him off of TV for a year, said NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol. Patrick left ESPN last year after 18 years of doing "SportsCenter" and hosting a daily show on ESPN Radio.
NBC will be loaded with veteran television talent. Added to Patrick and Olbermann will be host Bob Costas, Cris Collinsworth, and contributors Jerome Bettis, Tiki Barber and Peter King.
OTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK
Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed