Sports Media Digest- June 13, 2012

http://sportsmediajournal.com/ NBC Sports Reports a Successful Stanley Cup Playoffs- NBC Sports reports that the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the first which all games were telecast nationally, NBC and NBC Sports Network combined to average 1.403 million viewers, up four percent vs. last year (1.355 million). The NBC Sports Network alone averaged 1.030 million viewers, the highest audience for a single cable network since 2002 (ESPN; 1.295 million viewers). SiriusSM Radio to Broadcast U.S. Open- SiriusXM Radio will have live coverage of the U.S. Open beginning tomorrow. Live play-by-play, provided by ESPN Radio, will air Thursday and Friday (1:00 – 8:00 pm ET) on SiriusXM channel 85 and Saturday and Sunday (4:00 – 10:00 pm/conclusion ET) on SiriusXM channel 84. Leading into the play-by-play, SiriusXM’s Matt Adams and Brian Katrek will host the U.S. Open Preview Show live from The Olympic Club (Thursday and Friday from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm ET; Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00 pm ET). SportsCenter and espnW to Unveil the Top 5 in the Top 40 Female Athletes- ESPN’s SportsCenter and espnW will continue to count down the Top 40 Female Athletes of the past 40 years. The top five will be revealed beginning next Monday during the 11:00 p.m. ET edition of SportsCenter. Athletes to be profiled (in alphabetical order) are: Mia Hamm, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Lisa Leslie, Martina Navratilova, and Annika Sorenstam. E:60 and The Sporting Life with Jeremy Schaap will Murrow Awards- ESPN has announced that the network has won two 2012 Edward R. Murrow Awards. E:60 won the Outstanding Sports Reporting award in the Television Network category for “Angel in the Outfield”, the story of Christina-Taylor Green, a nine-year old Little League baseball player who was shot and killed in January, 2011, in Tucson, Arizona. ESPN Radio’s The Sporting Life with Jeremy Schaap won the Audio Sports Reporting award in the Radio Network/Syndication Service category for the E:60 feature “Hero”, the story of boxer Francisco “Paco” Rodriguez, who died in Philadelphia in 2009 from injuries suffered in the ring. NBCSN Has MLS on Sunday- The NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) will feature the New York Red Bulls at the Chicago Fire on its MLS match of the week on Sunday. Arlo White and Kyle Martino will call the game with Russ Thaler handling the pre-game, halftime and post-game segments. Action begins Sunday at 5:00p.m. ET. NBC Sports Group Signs Deal to Cover U.S. Pro Challenge Cycling- The NBC Sports Group has reached a multi-year agreement to telecast the U.S. Pro Challenge, one of the largest cycling races in the world. The deal, which lasts through 2014, will include 29 hours of race coverage over seven days beginning Monday, August 20. New for 2012, coverage on NBC has been extended to include two hours on Saturday, August 25 and Sunday, August 26, more than any other cycling domestic cycling event. Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, the undisputed voices of cycling will be on site in Colorado to provide observations and insight for each day of NBC and NBC Sports Network’s coverage. Former cyclist Bob Roll will serve as the in-race reporter.