TV Schedule, Sunday July 31

Auto Racing:

Formula One: Hungarian Grand Prix 6:30am on Speed Channel
Sprint Cup: Brickyard 400 12pm on ESPN
NHRA Drag Racing: Fram-Autolite Nationals 10pm on ESPN2 (same day tape)

Bull Riding: PBR Tour 7pm on VERSUS (same day tape)

Golf:

European PGA Tour 7am on Golf Channel
Women's British Open, Final Round: 8am on ESPN & Highlight show @ 3pm on ABC
PGA Tour: Greenbrier Classic, Final Round 12pm on TBS & 2pm on CBS
U.S. Senior Open, Final Round: 2pm on NBC
Nationwide Tour: Utah Championship Final Round 6pm on Golf Channel (same day tape)

Horse Racing: Haskell Invitational 4pm on ABC

MLB Baseball:

Kansas City @ Cleveland 1pm on FS Kansas City
Boston @ Chicago White Sox 1pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago & TBS (subject to blackout on TBS)
Houston @ Milwaukee 1pm on FS Wisconsin
Minnesota @ Oakland 3pm on FS North
Chicago Cubs @ St. Louis 7pm on ESPN

Soccer:

Dublin Super Cup: Airtircity XI vs. Celtic FC 8am on FOX Soccer
Summer Friendlies: Aresnal vs New York 10am on FOX Soccer
FIFA U-20 World Cup: Coast Rica vs Spain 2:45pm on ESPNU
WPS: Atlanta @ Philadelphia 5pm on FOX Soccer
FIFA U-20 World Cup: Australia vs Ecuador 5;45pm on ESPNU

Tennis:

WTA Tour: Citi Open 12pm on Tennis Channel
WTA Tour: Bank of the West Classic 2pm on ESPN2
ATP Tour: Farmers Classic 4pm on ESPN2

Swimming: World Championships 12pm on NBC

WNBA Basketball:

Minnesota @ San Antonio 2pm on NBATV
Los Angeles @ Indiana 5pm on NBATV

X Games: 4pm on ESPN & 6pm on ESPN2

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional MLB telecasts outside of Iowa.

NFL Network viewership triples and NFL.com traffic doubles post lockout

With the lockout finally over and the free agent frenzy in full swing, NFL Network & NFL.com is putting up big numbers in viewership and web traffic.

According to The NFL, an average of 186, 000 fans each day tuned in during day time hours from the end of the lockout on Tuesday through Thursday and an average viewership over 200,000 in prime time during the same period with Thursday viewership peaking at over 400,000 viewers.  NFL.com and mobile apps had an increase of 143% in traffic generating 5.7 million log ins.

NFL Network will provide continuous coverage of the free agency frenzy all weekend.  For more information, please visit the Web Site linked above.

TV Schedule, Saturday July 30

Arena League Football: Orlando @ Jacksonville 11pm on NFL Network (same day tape)

Auto Racing:

Formula One: Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying 7am on Speed Channel
Sprint Cup Series: Brickyard 400 Final Practice 9am on ESPN2
Nationwide Series: Kroger 200 Practice 10:30am on ESPN2
Sprint Cup Series: Brickyard 400 Qualifying 1pm on ESPN2
Nationwide Series: Kroger 200 Qualifying 3:30pm on ESPN2
NHRA Drag Racing: Fram-Autolite Nationals Qualifhing 4:30pm on ESPN2 (same day tape)
Nationwide Series: Kroger 200 6:30pm on ESPN

Bull Riding: PBR Tour 7pm on VERSUS (same day tape)

Golf:

European PGA Tour 7:30am on Golf Channel
Women's British Open, Third Round: 9am on ESPN
PGA Tour: Greenbrier Classic (Third Round) 12pm on Golf Channel & 2pm on CBS
US Senior Open, Third Round: 2pm on NBC
Nationwide Tour: Utah Championship 5:30pm on Golf Channel (same day tape)

Horse Racing: The Diana 4pm on VERSUS

MLB Baseball:

Chicago Cubs @ St. Louis 3pm on FOX
Boston @ Chicago White Sox 6pm on WGN
Kansas City @ Cleveland 6pm on FS Kansas City
San Francisco @ Cincinnati 6pm on MLB Network
Minnesota @ Oakland 9pm on FS North

Soccer:

Asia Trophy: Chelsea vs Aston Villa 7:30am on FOX Soccer
Dublin Super Cup: Inter Milan vs Celtic 10:30am on FOX Soccer
Barcelona vs Manchester United 6pm on ESPN2
MLS: Los Angeles vs Vancouver 6:30pm on FOX Soccer
FIFA U-20 World Cup: Colombia vs France 7:45pm on ESPNU

Swimming: World Championships 12pm on NBC

Tennis:

WTA Tour: Citi Open 1:30pm on Tennis Channel
ATP Tour: Farmers Classic 4pm on Tennis Channel & 9:30pm on ESPN2
WTA Tour: Bank of the West Classic 11:30pm on ESPN2 (same day tape)

Top Rank Boxing: 9pm on FS Midwest & FS Wisconsin

WNBA Basketball: Phoenix @ New York 6pm on NBATV

X Games: 1pm on ESPN, 3pm on ABC, 8pm on ESPN2 & 9pm on ESPN

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional MLB telecasts outside of Iowa.

TV Schedule, Friday July 29

Auto Racing:

Formula One: Hungarian Grand Prix Practice 7am on Speed Channel
Sprint Cup: Brickyard 400 Practice 12pm & 2pm on Speed Channel
Camping World Series: AAA Insurance 200 Qualifying 3:30pm on Speed Channel
Camping World Series: AAA Insurance 200 6:30pm on Speed Channel

Boxing: Friday Night Fights 8pm on ESPN2

Golf:

European PGA Tour: 8am on Golf Channel
Women's British Open: Second Round 8am on ESPN
PGA Tour: Greenbeir Classic (Second Round) 2pm on Golf Channel
U.S. Senior Open, 2nd Round: 2pm on ESPN2
Nationwide Tour: Utah Championship (Second Round) 5:30pm on Golf Channel

MLB Baseball:

Kansas City @ Cleveland 6pm on FS Kansas City
Pittsburgh @ Philadelphia 6pm on MLB Network
Boston @ Chicago White Sox 7pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Chicago Cubs @ St. Louis 7pm on FS Midwest & WGN
Houston @ Milwaukee 7pm on FS Wisconsin
Minnesota @ Oakland 9pm on FS North

MLS Soccer: Colorado @ Philadelphia 6:30pm on FOX Soccer

Sports Radio on TV:

Dan Patrick Show: 8am on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest & FS NNorth
Mike & Mike in the Morning: 5am on ESPN2
The Herd: 9am on ESPNU

Tennis:

ATP Tour: Farmers Classic 2pm on Tennis Channel & 6pm on ESPN2
WTA Tour: Bank of the West Classic 4pm on Tennis Channel
WTA Tour: Bank of the West Classic 10pm on ESPN2

WNBA Basketball: Indiana @ Washington 6pm on NBATV

X Games: 2pm & 6pm on ESPN, 12am (Saturday) on ESPN2

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional MLB telecasts outside of Iowa.

Notes from BTN President Mark Silverman's presser with the Big 10 Media

Long day coming to an end and thanks to the wonderful DVR, i've been watching the BTN's coverage of Big 10 Media Day, looking especially for comments from Nebraska Coach Bo Pelini as well as comments from BTN President Mark Silverman and the direction of BTN this coming year. Below is the notes that I took during Silverman's address to the Big 10 press corp.

*BTN will soon have wide distribution across major Nebraska Cable TV providers & Dish Network subscribers in Nebraska.

*Today's presentation was in letterbox format on SD TV's, expect that for sports coverage this fall.

*New graphics, studios, logos, etc. will debut this fall.

*BTN is currently available in 80 million homes, half of that comes from outside of the Big 10 footprint.

*Reason for the name change to "BTN" is what Big 10 executives and fans often refer to the channel.

*A look at the fall schedule:

Monday: The Pulse, Big 10 Breakdown, and Live B1G (how students and alumni give back to the community)
Tuesday: The Next Level, B1G's Best, and Big 10 Icons (Keith Jackson returns to host and this year will focus on Big 10 Coaches)
Wednesday: Big 10 Football & Beyond
Thursday: BTN Live (fan interactive show), Tailgate 48 (retool of the Friday night tailgate show), and Step Into My Office
Friday: The Pulse & B1G Football Report

*The reworked TV deal with ABC & ESPN will allow for more "co-exists" during what used to be exclusive 2:30 & prime time windows on ABC & ESPN.

*Addition of Nebraska makes BTN more nationally relevant.

*BTN has no interest at this time in televising high school football.

*Could be some overlap between BTN & other TV partners during the upcoming basketball season.

*Creation of a Big 10 Hockey Conference with hockey crazed states in Minnesota & Wisconsin will further help to grow the BTN.

*Due to restrictions of bandwith, there will be no spill over channels for basketball.

*This day and age, live sports is "DVR proof" and that will further continue to grow the BTN.

BTN announces the launch of "BTN2GO"

Last night, I speculated that the BTN was going to make an announcement on some sort of mobile streaming app and today, we have the announcement.

According to a Press Release form the BTN, BTN2Go will be a live 24/7 multi-platform extension of BTN and will launch just in time for the fall sports season.

BTN2Go will be available at no additional cost through those video providers who carry BTN and will be available online as well as the iPad and iPhone.  There is no mention if the service will be available to Android users.

For more information, please visit the Web Site linked above.

TV Schedule, Thursday July 28

ARCA RE/MAX Racing: Ansell Protective Gloves 200 7pm on Speed Channel

Canadian Football League: BC @ Winnipeg 7pm on NFL Network

College Football Media Days:

Big 10 Media Day: 10am on BTN
Whip-around coverage: 10am on ESPNU

Golf:

European PGA Tour: 8am on Golf Channel
Women's British Open, First Round: 8am on ESPN
PGA Tour: Greenbrier Classic (First Round) 2pm on Golf Channel
US Senior Open, First Round: 2pm on ESPN2
Nationwide Tour: Utha Championship (First Round) 5:30pm on Golf Channel

MLB Baseball:

NY Mets @ Cincinnati 11:30am on MLB Network
Chicago Cubs @ Milwaukee 1pm on WGN
Kansas City @ Boston 12:30pm on FS Kansas City
San Francisco @ Philadelphia 6pm on MLB Network
Houston @ St. Louis 7pm on FS Midwest
Minnesota @ Texas 7pm on FS North

Soccer:

Juventus vs Lup Deportivo Chivas USA 7pm on ESPN2
CONCACAF League: Atlanta FC vs FC Dallas 9pm on FOX Soccer

Sports Radio on TV:

Dan Patrick Show: 8am on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest, & FS North
Mike & Mike in the Morning: 9am on ESPN2
The Herd: 9am on ESPNU


WNBA Basketball:

Phoenix @ San Antonio 11:30am on NBATV
Los Angeles @ Atlanta 6pm on NBATV

X Games: 6pm on ESPN

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional MLB telecasts outside of Iowa.

BTN to announce a mobile app tomorrow?

Tomorrow is a big day for the Big 10 Conference. It marks the start of Big 10 Media Days and it was previously announced that new on-screen graphics and music for the BTN would make their debut at Big 10 Media Days. 


Well, an executive with the BTN just dropped this little hint via Twitter of a potential BTN mobile app that could be announced tomorrow:


"Look for #BigTenNetwork to make a little news of our own tomorrow. Can you say BTN2G

Fox Sports announces their college football broadcast teams

Fox Sports has announced their college football broadcast teams for the 2011 college football season. As expected, the team of Gus Johnson & Charles Davies are Fox Sports # 1 team. Below is a complete listing of talent that will be calling the action on multiple Fox platforms this fall. According to numerous reports, former Minnesota Coach Tim Brewster will act as a second analyst, providing more than your typical sideline reports.

Fox College Football (FX package): Gus Johnson, Charles Davis and Tim Brewster
Pac-12 on FSN: Announcer Craig Bolerjack, analyst Joel Klatt and sideline analyst Petros Papadaikas
Big 12 on FSN: Joel Meyers, Joel Klatt/Brian Baldinger and sideline reporter Jim Knox
Big 12 on FSN: Joel Meyers, Brian Baldinger and Jim Knox
CUSA on FSN: Ron Thulin, JC Pearson and Jeremy Bloom
Big 12 on FSN/CUSA on FSN: Bill Land, Dave Lapham and Emily Jones.

Pac-12 Conference announces the creation of the Pac-12 networks

The Pac 12 Conference today, in connection with some of the nation's leading cable companies today announced the formation of the Pac 12 Networks.

According to the  Pac-12, regional specific channels will be created within the Pac-12's footprint and a national feed will be made available outside of the Pac-12 footprint.  The Pac-12 Networks will broadcast 850 events per year with 350 events on the national feed and the remaining 500 on the regional feeds.

When the Pac-12 Network launches in August of 2012, it will be available to nearly 40 million homes across the United States.  For more information, please visit the Web Site linked above.

More than 400 college football games to be shown across multiple ESPN platforms

ESPN today has released their schedule of televised college football games for the upcoming season and the schedule is quite HUGE.

According to a Press Release, over 400 games across a wide number of ESPN platforms raging from ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 to ESPN3.com to over the air regionally televised games will be shown this year.  In addition, ESPN's Goal Line channel will return on select cable systems as well.

Some of the highlights this year from the Web Site linked above include:

·  BCS & bowls: ESPN outlets will present all five of the BCS games, highlighted by the Allstate BCS National Championship, as part of its schedule of 33 bowl games.

·  ACC: The first year of a 12-year agreement with the Atlantic Coast Conference providing ESPN extensive rights to games for Saturday, Thursday and Labor Day telecasts across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3.com.

·  BYU: The first year of an eight-year agreement for exclusive rights to BYU home football games across multiple ESPN platforms.

·  Prime-time action: ESPN will offer Saturday night action across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU and weekly ESPN and ESPNU Thursday prime-time telecasts.

·  Reverse mirror: As many as 12 Saturday afternoon windows will offer “reverse mirror” coverage in which two games from ABC’s split national telecasts are televised regionally on ESPN or ESPN2 and ESPN3.com, providing fans with coverage of both games on one of the outlets.

For more information, including a complete schedule as well as information on college football on ESPN's mobile apps, please visit the Web Site linked above.

Universal Sports is now available on DirecTV

Just saw a tweet from DirecTV on Twitter that Universal Sports is now avaiable as a free preview on channel 625 for all customers until September 30th, at which time Universal Sports will move into the Sports Pack.

TV Schedule, Wednesday July 27

College Football Media Days: Whip-around coverage 12pm on ESPNU

High School Basketball: AAU Supershowcase 6pm on ESPNU

MLB Baseball:

Detroit @ Chicago White Sox 1pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Kansas City @ Boston 6pm on FS Kansas City
San Francisco @ Philadelphia 6pm on ESPN
Chicago Cubs @ Milwaukee 7pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago & FS Wisconsin
Houston @ St. Louis 7pm on FS Midwest
Minnesota @ Texas 7pm on FS North

Soccer:

Barclays Asia Trophy: Blackburn vs. Aston Villa, 5am on FOX Soccer
Barclays Asia Trophy: Kitchee vs. Chelsea 7:30am on FOX Soccer
Audi Cup, third-place game: Teams TBA 11am on FOX Soccer
Audi Cup, championship game: Teams TBA 1:30pm on FOX Soccer
CONCACAF League: Real Esteli FC vs. Toronto FC 7pm on FOX Soccer
MLS All-Star Game: MLS All-Star's vs Manchester United 7:30pm on ESPN2

Sports Radio on TV:

Mike and Mike in the Morning: 5am on ESPN2
Dan Patrick Show: 8am on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest, & FS North
The Herd: 9am on ESPNU
Scott Van Pelt: 2pm on ESPN2

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional MLB telecasts outside of Iowa.

NBC Sports adds an additional NFL preason game to it's schedul

With the NFL having to cancel this year's Hall-of-Fame Game which was going to be televised by NBC Sports, it was announced today that NBC Sports as added an additional pre-season game to it's schedule.

According to a Press Release from NBC Sports, the San Diego at Dallas game has been moved to August 21 and will be televised on NBC at 7pm (CT).

MLB Network to have 12 hours of trade deadline coverage

With the MLB trading deadline on the horizon, MLB Network is going to have blanket coverage.  According to a Press Release from the MLB Network, nearly 12 hours worth of trading deadline coverage will be shown on the MLB Network July 30 & 31.

The Trade Deadline is July 31 at 3pm (CT) and coverage begins on the MLB Network with coverage beginning July 30 at 10am (CT) and ten hours of coverage on July 31 beginning at 10:30am (CT).

For more information, please visit the Web Site linked above.

BTN to air Big 10 Media Day

The 2011 college football unofficially gets under way this week as several conferences are holding their Media Days and the BTN will be in Chicago this week to cover the Big 10 Media Day.

According to a Press Release from the BTN, nearly 5 hours of live coverage will be shown on the BTN with coverage beginning at 10am (CT).

For more information, including a schedule of when Big 10 coaches are to address the media, please visit the Web Site linked above.

TV Schedule, Tuesday July 26

College Football Media Days:

Big 12 Media Days: 11am on FS Midwest
Whip-around coverage: 12pm on ESPNU

High School Basketball, AAU Showcase: Georgia vs Texas 6pm on ESPNU

MLB Baseball:

Boston @ Kansas City 6pm on FS Kansas City
San Francisco @ Philadelphia 6pm on MLB Network
Chicago Cubs @ Milwaukee 7pm on FS Wisconsin & WGN
Detroit @ Chicago White Sox 7pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Houston @ St. Louis 7pm on FS Midwest
Minnesota @ Texas 7pm on FS North

Soccer:

Audi Cup: Internacional vs. Barcelona 11am on FOX Soccer
Audi Cup: AC Milan vs Bayern Munich 1:30pm on FOX Soccer
CONCACAF: San Francisco vs Seattle 7pm on FOX Soccer
World Football Challenge: Juventus vs. Club America 7pm on ESPN2,

Sports Radio on TV:

Mike & Mike in the Morning: 5am on ESPN
Dan Patrick Show: 8am on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest, & FS North
The Herd: 9am on ESPNU
Soctt Van Pelt Show: 2pm on ESPN2

WNBA Basketball:  Seattle @ Phoenix 9pm on NBATV

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional MLB telecasts outside of Iowa.

NFL releases 2011 nationally televised pre-season games

With the NFL lockout coming to an end, it's time to turn our collective attention to the 2011 season with training camps opening this week.

The NFL recently released a revised schedule of nationally televised pre-season games.  According to the NFL, the first nationally televised pre-season game will be Thursday, August 11 with Seattle visiting San Diego at 7pm (CT) on ESPN.

For a complete schedule, please visit the Web Site above.  In the coming days, i'll be posting pre-season TV information for the regional teams.

NASCAR Sprint Cup returns to ESPN this weekend

Last week, ESPN announced it's broadcast team for their portion of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule, well today we have more information from ESPN and their broadcast plans

According to a Press Release from ESPN, of the 17 final races of the season, 14 will air on ESPN and 3 races will be on ABC.  In addition, ESPN2's nightly NASCAR news & information show, NASCAR Now will broadcast starting Thursday from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

For more information, including ESPN's online feature, RacingNow! feature, please visit the Web Site linked above.

25 hours of X Games coverage on multiple ESPN Platforms

The 17th Annual X Games is right around the corner and multiple ESPN platforms are teaming up for 25 hours of coverage.

According to a Press Release from ESPN, X Games 17 begins on July 28.  New this year will be ESPN's coverage across several platforms including TV, internet, and mobile as well as social media.

For more information, including a schedule, please visit the Web Site linked above.

TV Schedule, Monday July 25

College Football Media Days:

Big 12 Media Days: 11am on FS Midwest
Whip around coverage: 12pm on ESPNU

MLB Baseball:

Kansas City @ Boston 6pm on FS Kansas City
Pittsburgh @ Atlanta 6pm on ESPN
Detroit @ Chicago White Sox 7pm on Comcast SportsNet Chicago
Houston @ St. Louis 7pm on FS Midwest
Minnesota @ Texas 7pm on FS North

Sports Radio on TV:

Mike & Mike in the Morning: 5am on ESPN2
Dan Patrick Show: 8am on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Midwest, & FS North
The Heard: 9am on ESPNU
Scott Van Pelt Show: 2pm on ESPN2

World Cup Softball Championship: TBA 8pm on ESPN2

Disclaimer: All times are Central and blackouts are likely for regional MLB telecasts outside of Iowa.