1. Solely a sports activities media nerd with nothing occurring of their life would get fixated on what I’m about to level out, however I can’t assist myself.
Ratings are in for the 2 Week 18 Saturday video games that aired final weekend on ABC/ESPN.
To nobody’s shock, the numbers had been superb. Chiefs-Broncos generated 19.1 million viewers within the 4:30 p.m. window, whereas 20.3 million folks watched Cowboys-Eagles at 8 p.m.
The Cowboys will at all times draw a big quantity irrespective of the place and after they play, and the Chiefs these days are a draw due to their enjoyable offense. However that is nonetheless excellent viewership for a Saturday, which is a useless evening for TV ratings.
ESPN, although, is placing some further spin on these numbers that’s simply downright laughable. The community carried the video games beneath its Monday Night time Soccer umbrella. For those who watched the video games, the broadcasters saved referring to it as a “Saturday version of Monday Night time Soccer.”
Because of that distinction, ESPN is now lumping within the ratings for the 2 Saturday video games with its MNF numbers.
In a press launch to tout the viewership success of each contests, ESPN dropped ridiculous nuggets equivalent to:
- Cowboys-Eagles: Most-Watched MNF Sport Since 2009; Third Greatest in ESPN Period.
- Chiefs-Broncos: ESPN’s Fifth-Greatest Most-Watched MNF Sport.
- Monday Night time Soccer: Doubleheader Saturday elevated MNF regular-season viewership to a median of 14,182,000 viewers a recreation (19 video games), the very best regular-season viewership for ESPN since 2010 and the third-best since 2006.
THESE GAMES WERE NOT PLAYED ON MONDAY NIGHT!!! It is a complete apples-and-oranges comparability.
Once more, within the grand scheme of life, ESPN utilizing humorous enterprise and chicanery to fudge ratings is hardly essential or related. Nevertheless it exhibits that anybody can spin ratings to suit any narrative they’d like.
2. Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett IV appeared on Good Morning America Tuesday and positively appeared like he had been celebrating his nationwide title recreation victory in a big means.
3. ESPN’s David Pollack eschewed the X’s and O’s evaluation for final evening’s Alabama-Georgia recreation and gave us a special form of breakdown.
4. The Alabama radio name of the Georgia interception and run again for a landing to finish the sport was hysterical.
5. For my fellow degenerate gamblers on the market, this is a must-read story about a bit shadiness that came about with some Draymond Inexperienced prop bets a few nights in the past.
6. This week’s SI Media Podcast, which dropped Thursday afternoon, is a roundtable version that includes Al Michaels and Tom Rinaldi on the profession of John Madden.
Michaels, who labored with Madden for seven seasons, and Rinaldi, who was a director on the latest Fox Sports activities documentary about Madden, share behind-the-scenes tales, give us perception into Madden’s character and focus on among the memorable relationships Madden had all through his profession.
Every part from Madden’s worry of flying to the Madden Cruiser to his partnership with Pat Summerall and rather more is roofed.
Following Michaels and Rinaldi is the weekly “Traina Ideas” section with Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY TV in New York. This week, Sal and I speak about his bout with COVID-19, response to a Wizards broadcaster making an harmless mistake, Kirk Herbstreit’s latest controversial feedback and the very best issues we watched over the vacations.
You possibly can take heed to the podcast under or obtain it on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher.
You can even watch the SI Media Podcast on YouTube.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: On this date, Jan. 11, 2004, the “Ben’s Birthday Get together” episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm aired, and we discovered Larry’s true emotions about skewers and the “Blissful Birthday” tune.
Make sure you make amends for previous editions of Traina Ideas and take a look at the Sports activities Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Stitcher. You can even observe Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.
