Where let’s continue our #goodnews week with the expansion of men’s and women’s March Madness 🏀 to add 12 more games that no one was asking for!
What’s that? Work on the disaster of inequities in payments to college athletes, or the vast shortcomings in athlete transfer portal rules? No, thank you — the NCAA clearly has its priorities properly lined up.
So, enjoy your latest joke in college sports and yet more “play-in” games for 8 more subpar college hoops programs to now be able to say they “made the tournament” come 2027 . . . and another day of sports programming added to the docket that will get a collective yawn outside of the gambling “community.”
Oh right — don’t forget the additional $50M a year going to the NCAA from rights holders CBS and TNT for the new games, ahem. The NCAA has, in turn, allowed them to now sell booze marketing partnerships for the sport played by a vast majority of people under 21.
So, ya see — the NCAA is working on college sports payment issues! Enjoy your new brackets in March.
PLUS:NETFLIX is getting the Australian NFL kickoff-week game, according to The Athletic. The NINERS vs. RAMS game will air at 8:30 p.m. ET in the U.S. on Thursday, Sept. 10. NBC is expected to handle the game’s production.
NBC kicks off the season the night before on Wed. Sept. 9, in Seattle.
SPEAKING OF: According to the WSJ,Rupert Murdoch pitched Trump earlier this yearon the need to keep NFL games on broadcast TV (I hear he owns one?) rather than on streaming services, as the league opens up deal conversations.
Last month, the DOJ opened an investigation 👀 into whether the league should retain its longstanding antitrust protection, should such developments transpire.
Not that NFL games leaving broadcast for streaming would benefit consumers, IMO, but it’s always great to see “capitalism” at its finest.
OH: Pretty sweet lineup for Colbert next week (the 2nd to last week):
Monday, May 11
The hosts of “Strike Force Five” — Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers & John Oliver
A special Broadway performance featuring Annaleigh Ashford, Christopher Jackson, Bernadette Peters, Ben Platt & Patrick Wilson
AI use at the company has increased by over 600% in the past 3 months alone.
THEN: Jane Fonda’s Committee for the First Amendment is holding a Concert for the First Amendment in NYC on June 14 #FlagDay with Bette Midler, Patti Smith, Rufus Wainwright, Joy Reid and more. Tix avail here, and proceeds will go toward the committee’s work.
Mark Ruffalo and Matt Stolleralso wrote an NYT Opinion piece published yesterday on why state AG’s should be encouraged to work to block the WARNAMOUNT deal on anti-trust grounds.
