Front Office Sports, the sports-business publication backed by former CNN CEO Jeff Zucker’s RedBird IMI, is set to launch a daily syndicated show focused on the industry beginning this September.
According to a report by Todd Spangler in Variety, Front Office Sports Tonight will premiere September 14 in 85% of markets across the country on stations owned by companies including Fox, Hearst, Nexstar Media, Sinclair, Gray, Scripps, Sunbeam, American Spirit, and Lockwood. The show will air on Fox-owned and-operated stations in many of the largest U.S. markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
The program will focus on “the most important cultural, entertainment, and business stories in the world of sports,” and air six 30-minute episodes per week.
Details about exactly what time the show will air were not available in the report and could presumably vary by market. However, the 7 p.m. hour seems to be a likely candidate, at least for the Fox-owned stations airing the show. Most of Fox’s O&Os air a 30-minute TMZ show during that hour, and Front Office Sports Tonight could fill the other half of that hour nicely, before national primetime programming begins at 8 p.m.
Zucker did not reveal how much Front Office Sports was investing in the program, nor the exact financial arrangement between the outlet and the various station groups prepared to air the show. The former CNN executive was also mum on who exactly will appear on the show. Zucker will be one of the Executive Producers on the show.
“The company will be announcing new hires for the program, including talent and a showrunner,” Zucker told Variety, adding, “Front Office Sports Tonight also will tap into the site’s existing reporting staff, featuring on-the-ground segments from its journalists.”
Sports programming has become particularly vital to the health of linear television, and sports business is an ever-growing niche that has captured the attention of many regular sports fans. “The timing is ideal,” Zucker said of the show. “Sports and information is what’s really driving broadcast television these days.”
The 70-person company, backed by a joint venture between Gerry Cardinale’s private-equity firm, RedBird Capital Partners, and the United Arab Emirates-funded International Media Investments (IMI), has made a deliberate pivot to video in recent years with the launch of Front Office Sports Studios. A television show is a natural next step.
The company has also struck numerous content partnerships with entities including the NFL, PGA Tour, and WWE, which could shape some of the show’s coverage.
Whether a growing online audience for sports-business content can translate into traditional television remains to be seen. But there’s no denying that interest in sports-related business is booming, and Front Office Sports is looking to capitalize on it.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.