STVR Sports Business/Media for Monday, December 18, 2017

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"In a year filled with previously unimagined media headlines we are once again forced to deal with perhaps the biggest one yet.” --@JimMIller on John Skipper's resignation.

John Skipper resigns, cites substance abuse addiction; George Bodenheimer to serve as interim leader.
SBJ, SI, NYT, The Ringer, Recode

I'm with Jim Miller, this is the most unimaginable headline for me so far. I'm still stunned. And my heart hurts.

I wish John Skipper nothing but the best.

On Twitter at least, more than a few people are waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I badly want those folks to be wrong, but given the year of headlines we've had I can't really fault anyone for thinking there's a > 0 chance of another shoe. I hope that's wrong and that there's no chance of another shoe, but I understand.

In the SBJ link above John Ourand discusses possible replacement candidates. He has Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in the mix.

Coincidentally, the second chapter of Jim Miller's Origins podcast launched today with a 90 minute episode titled "ESPN & Social Media: A Troubled Marriage"

Over 90 minutes of interviews with more than 20 on-air personalities and executives including John Skipper.

Jerry Richardson to sell Carolina Panthers

On Sunday, Sports Illustrated published a damning investigative report on Carolina Panthers' owner Jerry Richardson.

Hours later, Richardson announced he was selling the team.

This raised concerns for some over whether the team will remain in Charlotte. That's no fun to think about.

What's the value of an NFL franchise in 2017? That's a parlor game everyone loves!

Easy prediction: a lot closer to $3 billion than $1 billion. Not quite as easy: probably closer to $3 billion than $2 billion.

NFL Ratings:

Saturday games, per John Ourand:

Bears-Lions: 5.2 million viewers
Chargers-Chiefs: 6.9 million (I have this up ~57 percent versus last year's Dolphins/Jets game that drew 4.385M -- last year there was only 1 game on Saturday and it was the Saturday night game)

Sunday windows overnight ratings:

CBS regional: 6.7, down 39% vs 2016
CBS national: 17.0, tops for this season* & +8% vs '16
Fox regional: 11.6, down less than 1% vs '16
SNF: 12.3, down 20% from Bucs-Cowboys a year ago.

*per @Paulsen_SMW it would've ranked as the 3rd best overnight of the 2016 season and the 7th best of 2015.

2026 North America World Cup bid in peril due to falling U.S. popularity?

(Barstool, of all places, now seems like the model of C-suite stability.) -- Bryan Curtis from "The Legacy of John Skipper and the Future of ESPN"

"While the agreement with Top Rank is minuscule compared with other broadcast rights deals, so far it has provided ESPN with good value. Last year, for instance, including the playoffs and finals, ESPN paid the N.B.A. roughly $3.40 for each person who watched one of its N.B.A. telecasts. For the Lomachenko-Rigondeaux fight, ESPN paid Top Rank slightly more than a dollar per viewer." - Kevin Draper in "Checking In on ESPN’s Big Bet on Boxing. (Yes, Boxing.)"

“This is an exciting day for NBC Sports. We have been streaming Sunday Night Football on numerous platforms since 2008, but as a result of this agreement, 2018 will be the first time we can stream primetime television’s No. 1 show on all digital platforms, creating a more seamless viewing experience for NFL fans,” said Rick Cordella, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Digital Media, NBC Sports Group on NBC acquiring full mobile rights streaming for Sunday Night Football.