Amid continued controversy in the sports industry about the roles of women, sports, athletes and leagues, Tuesday will see the launch of CBS Sports’ high-profile new series We Need to Talk, a nationally-televised all-female weekly, hour-long sports show that will run in primetime at 10p on CBS Sports Network. Each week, the series will offer a slate of announcers that include the likes of CBS’ own Lesley Visser, Amy Trask, Tracy Wolfson, Dana Jacobson and Allie LaForce as well as notable names such as Andrea Kremer, Laila Ali, Lisa Leslie, Dara Torres, Swin Cash, Summer Sanders, and Katrina Adams. Behind the cameras, the weekly program will be led by Coordinating Producers Emilie Deutsch and Suzanne Smith. Amy Salmanson and Julie Keryc will produce with Smith directing. The rotating group of panelists will take on the headline-grabbing topics and the news from across the sports spectrum including the NFL, MLB, college football and basketball, NBA, NHL, golf, tennis, auto racing and much more.

Cynopsis Sports chatted with Suzanne Smith and CBS Sports President David Berson about the series, its reception and how it will look to make history.

Berson on the development of the show: We’ve been discussing and developing this content for a long time and have been really focused on it in the past six months. Interestingly, while the show has been in development for a really long time, I think the news we’ve seen in the past couple of months shows that there is a need for a show like this in the sports landscape. We feel the time is right and long overdue and that CBS is really the right place for it. Our team has a lot of women who are at the top of their game both on-air and off. We are thrilled to showcase all of these core CBS people and also to welcome these women from other media companies and leagues.

Smith on talent: The thing I liked about it is that the people on the panel are smart, experiences in sports and are passionate about what they do. They look at things from a different point of view, not just because they are women, but because of the experiences that they have had. We have women who won multiple gold medals and trained for years; we also have women who have been at the top of the position in both TV and sports. It is a unique group that is put together and the opinions that are going to come out of this and the facts and experiences that they rely on are going to be unprecedented.

On content: The show is an hour, airing on Tuesday nights on CBS Sports Network from 10-11p. On any given night there will be six to seven segments, depending on content and what’s going on in the world of sports. Of course the issues at the forefront of sports with the NFL going on, we have excellent people to talk about that to not only give their opinions, but to take their story to the next level and add another layer to the story. With that said, the whole show is not going to be serious issues, we’re going to have fun on the show, we’re going to have different segments such as ‘Turn Back Tuesday,’ where they will share experiences and stories from these women that will be great to listen to. Of course, we are going to have a social media segment that will see both serious issues as well as some fun.

On diversity: I think that no matter who did this show, you have to have Leslie Visser on the panel. She’s been the pioneer for women and sports and has the pulse on what’s happening in both world issues and sports issues. The fact that she is part of the CBS Sports family is good for us. To take it a step further, what we are trying to do is to get diversity in so many ways, with different experiences and perspectives. I welcome anybody and everybody who wants to be part of the show, no matter the network, to come in a do it because it is a matter of what we are talking about. We’ve gone out and gotten the best of the best in their field and I think it is important to do that.

Berson on early reactions to the show: Ever since we announced this, both internally and externally, we have received universal support and enthusiasm. Once news of the show started to spread, it has been amazing and really rewarding in how many people from across the industry congratulated us and thanked us and wanted to be part of the show. I think this series is poised to be something really special and address sports in a way we’ve never seen before.

Speaking of Jeter’s last home game, the Orioles/Yankees matchup handed YES Network with its most-viewed game telecast ever, averaging 1.25 million viewers in the New York DMA according to Nielsen via a 10.84 average TV Household rating.

Continuing the Jeter theme, FOX Sports 1 offers fans a special program, Derek Jeter: A Night 2 Remember, which will serve as “a cinematic journey through his final home game as a New York Yankee.” The program was produced by Major League Baseball Productions and FOX Sports Originals and airs tonight at 7:30p, offering an in-depth look at Jeter at Yankee Stadium, and along with elements from YES Network’s extensive coverage and that of MLB Network.

Golf Channel emerged a winner from the 2014 Ryder Cup, which marks the network’s first time providing coverage of the international matchup. Day One coverage, which spanned 2:30a to 1:27p delivered a 0.52 household rating across 11 hours of coverage, peaking at a 0.81 for the last hour, according to Nielsen Fast Nationals.

Despite another blowout, CBS and NFL Network’s broadcast of Thursday Night Football on Sept. 25 delivered an overnight household rating/share of 11.2/19 in the 56 metered markets. That is up 87% from last year’s comparable game on NFL Network and over-the-air-stations within the two team markets.

Meanwhile, following the NFL’s latest foray in London, Marketing Week reports that the league is now eyeballing the chance to extend its international presence to Germany, Asia and Latin America in upcoming seasons. The report states that plans will be made over the next four months. Mark Reeves, International Commercial Director for the NFL, told Marketing Week: “We’re going to be looking at other markets [next year]. Germany will be one of them because there’s a strong fan base. There’s also more we can do in Brazil where it’s a growing market for sport in general as well as having the advantage of being essentially in the same time zone as the US for live games. We’re focusing on [five] markets where we have offices  Canada, China, Japan, Mexico and the UK.”

On the local front, Chicago’s Comcast SportsNet added Bears cornerback Charles “Peanut” Tillman and former Bears head coach Dave Wannstedt to the roster where they will serve as contributors for the channel. Tillman will make weekly panel appearances on SportsTalk Live, while Wannstedt will make weekly appearances every Thursday night throughout the NFL season on SportsNet Central.

ESPN Radio New York 98.7FM overhauled its lineup, with a new schedule debuting today. The schedule will include Lupica, a new two-hour show hosted by Mike Lupica that runs from 1-3p on weekdays. Ryan Ruocco and Dave Rothenberg will also host a new daily program from noon-1p with Ruocco also adding his perspective to The Michael Kay Show as he becomes an additional contributor to the four-hour show. Bill Daughtry will now add daily SportsCenter updates to his repertoire from noon-3p on weekdays with The Bill Daughtry Show doubling in length to four hours every Saturday, starting Oct. 4.

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: (Courtesy Golf Channel) At the 2014 Ryder Cup, U.S. Captain Tom Watson is leading his second team after prevailing in 1993. Who is the last U.S. Captain to lead multiple teams to victory? Answer: Arnold Palmer (1963, 1975). Kudos: Marc Wollis-NBC Sports Group/NY; Aymon DeMauro-Discovery Communications/NY; Tim Buckman-NBC Sports Group/Stamford; Matt Sautter-OpenTV/Golden; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/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.

Copyright Cynopsis 2014