ESPN revealed programming plans for all 64 matches of the 2014 FIFA World Cup this summer across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. Spanning June 12-July 13, content will include pre-match shows, halftime and post-match segments with ESPN on deck for 43 World Cup matches, while ESPN2 will air 11. ABC, meanwhile, carries 10 matches beginning with Colombia/Greece at 11:30a on Saturday, June 14. In addition, the tournament will conclude on ABC with the title match Sunday, July 13, at 2:30p. Play begins with the opening match on ESPN on Thursday, June 12 with Brazil/Croatia at 3:30p while US matches start on June 16 at 5:30 against Ghana.

ESPN’s coverage of every match will be preceded by a 30-minute pregame show, including teams walking onto the pitch, national anthems and ceremonial handshakes. Meanwhile, special editions of SportsCenter will air between match telecasts on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, while World Cup Tonight recaps the day’s action and ESPN FC World Cup Encore offers condensed versions of the action.

Speaking of the Winter Games, TiVo reports that, according to its data, the top five moments from the Winter Games were boosted by a big night on Feb. 8. Here they are:
1)  02/08 10:16p-Team USA’s Ashley Wagner consults the scoreboard after delivering a short program performance in Women’s Figure Skating to Pink Floyd’s "Shine on Your Crazy Diamond," keeping her team in the running for Bronze.
2)  02/08 10:22p-Russia’s Yulia Lipnitskaya begins a spin that ends in a vertical spinning split with one leg on the ice and the other held vertically over her head.
3)  02/02 9:46p-Max Parrot of Canada finishes his Men’s Slopestyle run, temporarily moving him into second place behind Team USA’s Sage Kotsenburg.
4)  02/13 9:56p- Jeremy Abbott, US figure skating champion, falls while attempting a quadruple toe loop in the Men’s Figure Skating Short Program.
5)  02/08 9:36p- Team USA’s Sage Kotsenburg finishes three nearly perfect jumps in his second and final run in the Men’s Slopestyle competition with his 1260-degree flip.

Despite a terrific race, a six hour, 22-minute weather delay took a toll on FOX Sports’ coverage of the 56th running of the DAYTONA 500. The event averaged a 4.0/8 in the metered markets up against the Olympics but still managed to retain 69% of its pre-rain delay audience throughout the interruption. As a result, the 2014 DAYTONA 500 posted a 5.6/10 fast national household rating/share, averaging 9.3 million viewers. Due to the delay, the race ended up being broken out into two parts: earning a 6.3/15 with 10.1 million viewers from 1:30-2:17p, and 5.5/9 with 9.1 million viewers from 8:25-11:23p. The top five markets included: Greensboro (17.5/26), Orlando (13.2/21), Greenville (13.0/20), Richmond (12.0/18) and Jacksonville (11.8/18). On the digital front, mobile visits to the NASCAR section on FOXSports.com rose 24% versus last year, accounting for 30% of total NASCAR traffic. 

The Supreme Court decided not to take up Tennis Channel’s petition versus Comcast, which sought to mandate that Comcast place the channel on the same tiers as its own sports channels. In a statement, Tennis Channel representatives wrote that "We are disappointed that the Supreme Court chose not to hear the case. This is not, of course, a decision on its merits, and not entirely surprising given the Court’s crowded docket. There remain a number of available options for Tennis Channel in the case, and we are considering our next steps in light of these options."

CBS Sports filled out its studio roster for The NFL Today by locking in Bart Scott as a studio analyst for the pregame show. Scott was elevated from his role last season as a studio analyst on CBS Sports Network’s weekly Sunday pre-game show That Other Pregame Show. He now joins James Brown, Bill Cowher, Boomer Esiason and recently named Tony Gonzalez on the program.

FOX Sports entered a partnership with Burton Snowboards that will see the 32nd Annual Burton US Open Snowboarding Championships presented by MINI air live on FOX Sports 2 on March 7 and 8. The deal serves as part of a larger partnership between Burton Snowboards and FOX Sports, with additional coverage of Burton’s Global Event Series on FOX Sports 2 and FOX Sports Regional Sports Networks throughout the year. Veteran snowboard TV host Preston Strout calls the play-by-play, while Tom Monterosso, Snowboarder Magazine Editor, provides analysis from the booth.

ESPN Films’ 30 for 30 series is set to continue with Requiem for the Big East on Sunday, March 16 at 9p after Bracketology on ESPN. The film explores the rise of the Big East Conference, and how in less than a decade under founder and Commissioner Dave Gavitt, it became the most successful college sports league in America. Following the premiere, ESPNU will air Big East Extras, a special featuring bonus material such as extended highlights and interviews from the film.
 
Utah Jazz CEO Greg Miller will take part in the Feb. 28 edition of CBS’ Undercover Boss where he will work among Jazz employees in four different departments. The Utah Jazz is the first NBA franchise to be featured on the show.

Bellator MMA is beefing up its international presence. The MMA promotion locked in a broadcast alliance with OSN, the leading pay-TV network in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. OSN will begin airing Bellator events immediately, starting with this Friday’s Season 10 premiere in a multi-year deal. In addition, FOX Sports Latin America announced today that fans in the region will now be able to watch the company starting Friday. The partnership originally called for all live Bellator content to begin airing in 2015.

Bright House Networks announced that new Dodgers channel, SportsNet LA, will be available to Bright House Networks Standard customers in Bakersfield starting today as the new regional sports network launches. The network will also launch in Bright House Networks Orlando, Tampa, Birmingham and Indianapolis service areas in March, and in its Detroit service area in April.
 

CAA Sports has acquired Inside Sports & Entertainment Group. The corporate hospitality, event management, and marketing company will now operate as a subsidiary of the agency’s sports division. ISEG handles corporate hospitality, event management, experiential marketing, integrated marketing, corporate appearances, and digital services, among others. Corporate customers include Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Verizon, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, American Express, and more.

Manchester City Football Club locked in a new partnership with iON Cameras that will see the company become City’s Official Global Sports Action Camera Partner. Over the course of the multi-year partnership, iON will provide City with cameras and state-of-the-art software to capture unique behind-the-scenes training footage for fans. In addition, iON cameras will also be used to enhance supporters’ match-day experience on and off the pitch, through the installation of iON fan booths in BT City Square, and be used for performance analysis.

The Charlotte Bobcats have partnered with Charlotte-based 10 Foot Wave, which specializes in place-based digital solutions, to incorporate their FanConnect platform within Time Warner Cable Arena. FanConnect, which is installed in more than 50 college venues, combines sponsor messaging with live game content, real-time stats, out of town NBA scores and social media feeds that are all delivered in high-definition on the television screens found throughout The venue.

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: Not counting Johnny Manziel, name one Heisman Trophy winner not to be selected in the NFL draft since the debut of the Super Bowl. Answer: Charlie Ward, Jason White. Kudos: Michael Dittelman-SportsOnEarth.com/NY; Mike Lee-BPN/NY; JR Podvesker-Comcast Spotlight/NY; Heath Price-Khan-WWE/NY; Rich Dubroff-CSNBaltimore.com/Baltimore; Jack Valente-InStadium/Detroit; Melissa Pattillo-Turner Sports/Atlanta; Jeff Crehan-Media Storm LLC/Norwalk; Gretchen Brady-KDAF/Dallas; Kevin Micklo-Pinnacle Advertising/Chicago; Victor Cates-UT Martin/Martin; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles local/LA; Doug Verb-ACTION Sports America/Las Vegas; Miguel Velasco-FOX Sports/LA.

Roberta Caploe: Editorial Director @robertacaploe
Diane K Schwartz: Senior Vice President, Media Communications Group

E-mail [email protected] or call Trish Pihonak at 203-899-8459 for rates and specs for Job Openings.

Are you looking for a job? Post your Situation Wanted Ad here — Email [email protected] for specs.