The Mannings Give TV Sports Yet Another Alternate Viewing Option

By BY KEVIN DRAPER from NYT Sports ESPN has the quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning. CBS has the slime and SpongeBob allure of Nickelodeon. A boxing upstart even got Trump. For viewers, it’s ever more options beyond just watching the game.https://nyti.ms/3CsuFNc

ESPN Cancels Nichols’s Show After Her Remarks About a Colleague

By BY KEVIN DRAPER from NYT Sports Rachel Nichols said in a recorded conversation that Maria Taylor, who is Black, was tabbed to host 2020 N.B.A. finals coverage because the network “felt pressure” on diversity.https://nyti.ms/3mDOn3X

Rachel Nichols Out for N.B.A. Finals Coverage on ABC

By BY KEVIN DRAPER from NYT Sports Comments made by Nichols that were caught on tape caused tremendous upheaval within ESPN over the past year. Nichols, who is white, suggested that a Black colleague, Maria Taylor, had been selected for a marquee job because of her race.https://nyti.ms/3yttYkF

N.H.L. Returns to ESPN in a 7-Year Deal With an Emphasis on Streaming

By BY KEVIN DRAPER from NYT Sports The agreement assures hockey a higher profile on SportsCenter and gives ESPN the perfect sport for its streaming ambitionshttps://https://nyti.ms/2PRCTvg

NBC Sports Network Will Shut Down to Bolster Peacock Streaming Service

By BY KEVIN DRAPER from NYT Sports NBCSN was the No. 2 sports channel on cable last year, but coverage of the N.H.L., the English Premier League and NASCAR is now moving to Peacock and the USA Network.https://nyti.ms/3qJI4uq

Grown-Ups Loved the N.F.L. on Nickelodeon. But What About Children?

By BY KEVIN DRAPER from NYT Sports The cable channel aired a slime-filled version of the Bears-Saints wild-card game on Sunday, to the delight of many adults. But the goal was to convert children into football fans.https://nyti.ms/3bphGl4

SEC Reaches $3 Billion Deal With Disney, Drawing CBS Ties Toward an End

By BY KEVIN DRAPER AND ALAN BLINDER from NYT Sports The Southeastern Conference is poised to become the richest conference in college football after it struck a television deal with Disney, which owns ABC and ESPN.https://nyti.ms/2II7qIM

After Much Sparring, Dan Le Batard Is to Leave ESPN in January

By BY KEVIN DRAPER from NYT Sports Le Batard, a radio- and television-show host, had recently criticized his bosses for laying off one of his producers, and he has bashed the network’s reluctance to allow commentary on politics.https://nyti.ms/2Vxj5Ne

If a Dunk Echoes Across an Empty Gym, Is It Still Must-See TV?

By BY KEVIN DRAPER from NYT Sports Fans have long been prized by leagues for their big spending on tickets and overpriced beer. Now, amid the pandemic, spectators deserve appreciation for making sports entertaining.https://nyti.ms/3iLBmjt

ESPN Employees Say Racism Endures Behind the Camera

By BY KEVIN DRAPER from NYT Sports In meetings and conversations among colleagues, ESPN employees have criticized the career pipeline and diversity of top leadership, eliciting a promise from executives to do better.https://nyti.ms/3eptv8u

For This N.B.A. Rookie, Reality TV Is an Escape That Feels Like Home

By BY SCOTT CACCIOLA from NYT Sports Rui Hachimura, a Washington Wizards forward, has found comfort and meaning in the hit Japanese reality show “Terrace House.”https://nyti.ms/2X7fM15

An Exhausting War Over a Lack of Live Sports Is Starting. Consumers Are Losing.

By BY KEVIN DRAPER from NYT Sports Some providers break out sports fees on bills. With seasons on pause because of the coronavirus, it’s another reminder to customers of what they’re paying for but not getting.https://nyti.ms/2R6lTis

When Coronavirus Turns Every Sports Channel Into ESPN Classic

By BY KEVIN DRAPER from NYT Sports Replays of games that already happened. Documentaries that you might have missed. Yipes, no wonder the few dozen sports-only channels have a problem.https://nyti.ms/2UeBCwz

PGA Tour’s New TV Deal Indicates Value of Sports Rights Continues to Grow

By BY KEVIN DRAPER from NYT Sports Golf’s current deal runs through 2021, but the tour wanted to secure an agreement sooner than that in the rapidly evolving TV and streaming landscape.https://nyti.ms/2Q1w2fT

Divisive Comments by a Hockey Institution Prompt Calls for His Firing

By BY IAN AUSTEN from NYT Sports Many Canadians say that Don Cherry, who has offered his bombastic opinions on television for nearly 40 years, has finally gone too far.https://nyti.ms/2Q7xyhm

New Cable Network for A.C.C. Heightens Arms Race in College Sports

By KEVIN DRAPER from NYT Sports The ACC Network is owned by ESPN with revenues and costs split with the Atlantic Coast Conference. Its launch comes against a backdrop of changing viewership and big money to air college sports.https://nyti.ms/2NyXykH

NBC and Twitter to Team Up on Limited Live Olympics Coverage

By KEVIN DRAPER from NYT Sports Twitter will show live coverage, highlights and a daily studio show from the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.https://nyti.ms/2MfikFg

ESPN Host Bob Ley Retires After Nearly 40 Years With the Network

By KEVIN DRAPER from NYT Sports Ley was described as the conscience of ESPN and pushed for hard news and sober reporting on the leagues.https://nyti.ms/2xgtMaK

TV Sports Anchors’ Predicament in the Age of Social Media: Their News Is Not New

By ALEX WONG from NYT Sports Anchors like Scott Van Pelt from ESPN’s “SportsCenter” are trying to find fresh ways to draw audiences now that Twitter and Instagram have broken TV’s stranglehold on highlights.https://nyti.ms/2Er8yeT

ESPN’s New Boss Changes Course, in Step With the N.F.L.

By KEVIN DRAPER from NYT Sports Jimmy Pitaro pledged a “resetting” of the network’s relationship with the N.F.L., but is reining in talent and placating the league a winning bet?https://nyti.ms/2O6JtrM