The Pulse, The Athletic’s daily sports newsletter, said there were multiple playoff games in both the NBA and NHL last night and broke them into interesting games and interesting results. It also said had a new plan for its afternoon programming, with SportsCenter staying in the old Around the Horn slot at 5 p.m. ET and Peter Schrager expected to host a new 2 p.m. ET show.
That programming note landed on the same day Ted Turner’s family announced that he had died at 87. Turner founded and later built TBS and TNT, and he also owned the Hawks and Thrashers at different points, leaving his name tied to the sports and cable business is now trying to outmaneuver in the afternoon. The timing matters because a year ago Around the Horn left the airwaves, and is now trying to fill that space with a different mix at a time when live sports still dominate the day.
The newsletter’s playoff roundup pointed to a busy night ahead, with the NBA conference semifinals scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on Prime Video, Cavaliers-Pistons listed as the early game at 7 p.m. ET and Lakers-Thunder set for 9:30 p.m. ET. In the NHL, Hurricanes at Flyers was scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on TNT and HBO Max. That made the day feel like a clean split between the future is trying to build in daytime and the live inventory driving the business at night.
The friction is that the newsletter was not just about games and TV windows. It also carried background discussion about college coaching contracts and buyouts, including Matt Baker’s blunt point that a coach fired for underperforming at a job worth tens of millions can still leave with a large payout, and his remark that he is willing to walk away with a $0 buyout to coach at School X. That is the same sports economy is chasing: expensive, competitive and built on leverage, whether the subject is a coach, a broadcaster or a playoff broadcast slot.
For now, appears ready to hold onto the old Around the Horn hour while pushing a new face into the afternoon, and the night schedule shows why the networks are making their bets. Live games keep the audience coming back, and the companies around them keep rearranging everything else to hold on to it.
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