TNT to follow two top groups at PGA Championship
MEDIA NOTES
Beginning at noon Thursday, TNT’s coverage of the PGA Championship
will feature Jordan Spieth, Sergio Garcia and Bubba Watson, who tee off at 12:25 p.m., and the three major winners this year — Dustin Johnson (U.S. Open), Henrik Stenson (British Open) and Danny Willett (The Masters) — who tee off at 12:45 p.m.
Thursday’s expanded PGA.com “Featured Groups” will cover those two groups and Jason
Day, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy, who tee off at 7:30 a.m. at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J.
TNT will televise 18 hours of live action, noon to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. TNT commentators include hosts Ernie Johnson and
Brian Anderson, who will be calling his first PGA Championship, analysts
Ian Baker-Finch and Billy Kratzert, on-course
analyst Mike Weir and reporter Amanda Balionis.
CBS will handle the bulk of the final two rounds, with coverage 1p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Jim Nantz will serve as anchor, working with lead analyst Nick Faldo. Hole reporters include Ian
Baker-Finch (17th), Gary McCord (16th), Frank Nobilo (15th), Verne Lundquist (14th) and Bill Macatee (13th). Dottie Pepper and Peter Kostis will serve as on-course reporters.
In addition, CBS also will broadcast highlights of the early from 11:35 p.m. to 12:05 a.m. Thursday and Friday with Macatee and Baker-Finch.
For the first time, CBS will use Smartcart at a PGA Championship. The 72-inch mobile screen attached to a golf cart for broadcast applications, will be used to analyze and telestrate a myriad of data, including golf swings, difficulty of holes and scorecards. Trackman also will be used on various holes, tracing live tee shots by showing apex, ball speed, distance and curve.
SHORT TAKES
NFL Media has reached an agreement with Sony Interactive Entertainment for national distribution of NFL Network and NFL RedZone on PlayStation Vue, the Internet-based live TV service that is available on TV-connected and mobile devices.
NFL Nation’s New York Giants reporter Dan Graziano has been named a National NFL Insider for ESPN and will contribute to several NFL shows and “SportsCenter.” New ESPN NFL analyst Matt Hasselbeck will make his first studio appearance on Wednesday’s “NFL Live” (2 p.m., ESPN) alongside his brother and colleague, Tim Hasselbeck, who has been a studio analyst with ESPN since 2008.
ESPN’s coverage of The Basketball Tournament resumes Saturday with the semifinal games in the $2 million winner-take-all event. After more than 300 teams applied to play in TBT 2016, just four teams remain. Midwest champion Always a Brave plays Team Colorado, featuring University of Colorado alumni, in the first semifinal (4 p.m., ESPN). At 6 p.m., 2015 TBT champion Overseas Elite plays top-seed City of Gods, featuring former NBA lottery picks Michael
Sweetney and Dermarr Johnson. The championship game will be at 6 p.m. Monday on ESPN. All games will be played at Fordham’s Rose Hill Gym in The Bronx, N.Y. Doug Sherman, analyst Fran Fraschilla and reporter
Jeff Goodman will call the games.
ESPN will televise the 2016 AT&T MLS All-Star Game at 6:30 p.m. Thursday from San Jose, Calif. The game will feature a team of Major League Soccer All-Stars playing against English Premier League powerhouse Arsenal FC. Adrian Healey, analyst Taylor Twellman and
reporter Monica Gonzalez will call the match.