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Rogers Finds Right Guy In Brace

Jason Barrett

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As Rick Brace takes over as president of Rogers Media, he will have the undivided attention of both those who work for him and those he works for.

The trepidation of the people who work for him was evident over the past week when everyone contacted declined to speak about him on the record. While new bosses often mean change among the employees, this is especially so at Rogers Communications Inc., where turnover is practically part of the culture.

And since Brace, who took up his new position on Monday, spent most of his 40-year career at TSN, the rival network to Rogers’s Sportsnet, more than a few staffers are worried about changes, especially since he has a reputation as a hard-nosed, no-nonsense boss.

While one person who spoke to Brace about his new job came away convinced that he does not plan any major changes, at least not right away, this could not be confirmed. Brace himself declined to be interviewed.

Any worries among the people like Rogers chief executive officer Guy Laurence, who hired Brace to replace Keith Pelley (who left to become commissioner and CEO of the European Tour, a professional golf circuit), are confined to the performance of Rogers Media’s holdings such as the Toronto Blue Jays and, in particular, Sportsnet.

Rogers placed a huge bet on the NHL with its $5.2-billion, 12-year broadcast contract with the league. Despite Laurence’s claim of a 10-per-cent profit on the deal itself in its first year, poor ratings, because of the collapse of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are expected to be in rebuilding mode for several years, do not bode well for the future.

While Brace is well versed in running sports properties, he is also considered an expert in advertising sales and the business side of television. The latter skills probably appealed to Laurence, as Rogers Media lost $32-million on revenue of $464-million in its last quarter, partly because of hockey-related expenses as well as the continuing trend of viewers moving away from television to other forms of media.

But this is the first time in his career that Brace will lead such a large and important business unit. While he has been the president of the TSN and CTV networks, much of his career was as the second-in-command to a division CEO.

The appointment was something of a surprise, as Brace faded from prominence in broadcasting after BCE Inc. became the majority owner of CTV and TSN in 2011. BCE brought in a new slate of executives and Brace wound up as head of specialty channels and CTV production for Bell Media before leaving the company in 2013.

“He’s the right guy at the right time for Rogers,” said Ivan Fecan, who was president and CEO of TSN’s former owner CTVglobemedia and appointed Brace president of TSN in 1998. “They made a big investment and now they need to make it work.”

First, though, industry watchers are curious to see how Brace’s relationship works with his most important department head, Scott Moore, Rogers’s president of Sportsnet and NHL. Canadian television sports broadcasting is a small world and while Moore and Brace were both at the CBC early in their careers, their last direct contact was seven years ago in a nasty fight over the rights to Hockey Night In Canada’s storied theme song.

The relationship between the CBC and the theme’s composer, Dolores Claman, was long strained and it fell apart when the rights to the song came up for negotiation in 2008. Moore, who was executive director of CBC Sports at the time, offered Claman $1-million to buy the theme outright. She demanded at least $2.5-million and talks stalled.

That is when Brace, who was president of CTV by then, entered the picture along with Fecan. They offered Claman the sort of money she wanted and the famous theme song went from the CBC’s Hockey Night In Canada to TSN in perpetuity. It was front-page news across Canada.

While Moore could not be blamed for the loss of the song, it was still his painful duty to explain to the media what happened. There were also harsh words between him and Brace. Moore accused Brace and Fecan of interfering in the CBC’s negotiations with Claman.

“Their move capitalized on a lot of publicity and had the added benefit of making a competitor look bad,” Moore wrote in a blog post on CBC.ca. “I hope it ends up being worth the money for them at the end of the day.”

Brace called Moore’s accusation “ludicrous” and insisted that CTV did not talk to Claman until the CBC said it was withdrawing from the negotiations. “They made a decision. They announced it to the world. And they walked away,” he told The Globe and Mail.

Fecan just laughed when he was asked how the contretemps would affect the working relationship between Brace and Moore.

“It’s all good sports,” he said. “It’s a small broadcasting community in the sports area. Everybody knows each other. You’re colleagues one day, competitors the next, and vice versa.

“I have no idea either [how they will get along], but I think they’re both grown-up people.”

Credit to The Globe and Mail who originally published this article

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Colorado Rockies & DirecTV Reach Agreement to Carry Games on TV

“Colorado sports fans have made DIRECTV the top destination for their favorite local teams. We will continue to work with MLB…so fans can get their games.”

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Colorado Rockies

Breathe easy, Rockies fans — you will be able to watch your club on linear TV this year. At the buzzer, DirecTV and the Colorado Rockies agreed on terms to distribute the team’s games throughout its local service.

Starting today, DirecTV Choice subscribers across Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Southern Idaho, Western Nebraska, and Northern New Mexico can now watch the Rockies on a special channel simply titled, “ROCKIES.” The games will be available on DirecTV and DirecTV STREAM via channel 683.

“Colorado sports fans have made DIRECTV the top destination to get all their favorite local teams,” said Rob Thun, chief content officer of DIRECTV. “We will continue to work with MLB, the NBA, NHL, and other top leagues and their local franchises so the most avid fans can get the games they want while other customers have more choice over the content they want to pay to have in their homes.”

Reports just days ago out of Colorado said there were “no guarantees” the Rockies would not find a TV home in time for Opening Day following the sunsetting of AT&T SportsNet. The only other way to watch the team is to use its direct-to-consumer Rockies.tv streaming service, which fans say is too pricey for a team that lost 103 games last season. Luckily, the team was able to secure a TV home for 2024, though the future is still uncertain.

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Erin Andrews Reveals Infertility Journey in Emotional ‘Today Show’ Interview

FOX reporter Erin Andrews sat down with ‘The Today Show’s’ Kristen Welker to discuss her journey, how Welker’s own journey inspired her, and more.

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Erin Andrews

FOX reporter Erin Andrews shared her story of infertility and surrogacy with NBC’s Today Show. Last summer, Andrews and her husband welcomed a baby boy via surrogate after trying for a decade to get pregnant via IVF, during which she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2016. Today, she sat down with Kristen Welker to discuss her journey, how Welker’s own journey inspired her, and more.

Andrews says Welker’s announcement on the Today Show made her think a baby could be possible. “I remember Kristin Welker’s announcement on your show,” Andrews said last year, “and I actually watched that the morning Mac was born, because that just hit me.”

When they finally sat down, Welker asked Andrews why her journey resonated with the sports reporter so much:

“Because I see myself in you. Kristen, the video of you moderating debates after you’re waiting on bad news or maybe you just received it, that’s me. I can tell you every stand-up I’ve done at a football game where I’ve gotten the news that it didn’t work. I’d be talking about Tom Brady going for this record and my record is that I still was failing…I would have chest pains every time I was waiting for the call if it worked, and I knew it wouldn’t work.

Erin Andrews on ‘Today’

Andrews knew surrogacy was the only path to having a child. Although her family’s first attempt failed, her second attempt was a success, and she got to hear her child’s heartbeat for the very first time. The pair discuss the complex emotions that come with surrogacy, saying that bonds with their child could be affected because they didn’t carry their child. However, Welker assured Andrews that those feelings go away once you can talk to your child.

Once her son was born in June, who Andrews called, “a miracle,” she then talks about her child glowingly, talking about how he is just like mom — vocal. “He’s all me,” she says.

Andrews supports Baby Quest, a non-profit that grants money to families in need of IVF or surrogacy to have a baby but don’t have the funds to pursue these expensive treatments. Both Andrews and Welker acknowledged how difficult and unattainable their journies are for some families — and Andrews even used the NFL’s “My Cleats, My Cause” initiative to raise awareness for her cause.

“People don’t need to feel embarrassed that they have a surrogate or are looking for other help,” Andrews said.

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Curt Menefee and Joel Klatt to be Lead Fox Sports UFL Broadcast Team

Curt Menefee, Joel Klatt, and Brock Huard will make up the first XFL on FOX announce team, while Kevin Kugler, Devin Gardner, and Jake Butt are the #2 team.

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FOX is ready for the United Football League (UFL) season and recently announced its broadcast lineup for the upcoming season. Curt Menefee returns to the booth alongside Joel Klatt to make up the primary UFL commentary team. Joining Menefee and Klatt from the sidelines will be former NFL and University of Washington QB Brock Huard.

Menefee and Klatt will call the season-opening matchup between the defending two-time USFL Champion Birmingham Stallions and the reigning XFL Champion Arlington Renegades on Saturday, Mar. 30 at 1 p.m. ET. The second team of Kevin Kugler and former Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner will call the second game of the day when the St. Louis Battlehawks take on the Michigan Panthers at 4:00 p.m. ET on FOX. Former Denver Broncos tight end Jake Butt will man the sidelines for that game.

Former NFL and USC QB Mark Sanchez was also mentioned in the FOX news release but details of his involvement were not made clear.

The UFL season kicks off on FOX this weekend and continues over on ESPN. Both networks will split coverage of the league all season long.

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