After an eventful Week 18, the NFL regular season has concluded, and we’re heading into the postseason. During Sunday Night Football, the Wild Card Round schedule was announced, with one team in its usual timeslot and Amazon Prime Video receiving arguably the most intriguing matchup of the weekend. Let’s dive into the biggest sports media news from the weekend.
Sports Media Weekend News Roundup
NFL’s Wild Card Weekend Schedule Released
The NFL announced the Wild Card weekend schedule on Sunday evening, with the Houston Texans once again kicking things off with a home playoff game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The NFL Wild-Card Round playoff schedule is here. 🏈📺 pic.twitter.com/DiL23YTUIL
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 6, 2025
The Texans have made the playoffs eight times since becoming an expansion franchise in 2002, and in every postseason appearance, they’ve played at 4:30 pm EST during Wild Card weekend.
Other highlights include Amazon Prime Video broadcasting the lone divisional matchup featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, and Jayden Daniels making his playoff debut on Sunday Night Football. Additionally, Tom Brady will call his first playoff game as a broadcaster, with the Green Bay Packers facing the Philadelphia Eagles.
Fox, Skip Bayless, Others Sued on 14 Counts Including Sexual Battery
Skip Bayless, Joy Taylor, and Fox Sports executive Charlie Dixon have been named in a lawsuit filed by a former Fox Sports hairstylist.
The lawsuit alleges that Bayless offered $1.5 million for sex, alongside claims of harassment and discrimination. Dixon is accused of physical misconduct, while Taylor allegedly mocked the stylist’s ethnicity. The suit describes a hostile work environment and retaliation for reporting the incidents.
Front Office Sports on Sunday afternoon was the first to report.
ESPN Re-Signs NFL Draft Analyst Jordan Reid
With the NFL season over, fans of the 18 teams not making the playoffs are now focused on the 2025 NFL Draft. Ahead of draft season, ESPN has re-signed NFL draft analyst Jordan Reid to a new contract.
Per ESPN’s press release, Reid’s scouting and analysis will continue on ESPN.com and ESPN+, and he will make appearances on the network’s studio shows during the NFL Draft season.
Before joining ESPN, Reid was a writer and scout for The Draft Network, his first sports media job after serving as a football coach at North Carolina Central University.
Amazon’s NFL Ratings Rose 13% in 2024
In its third season carrying Thursday Night Football, Amazon Prime Video saw an average audience of 13.2 million viewers per game, up from 11.6 million in 2023.
Including Amazon’s Black Friday game, the average rises to 13.5 million viewers, a 13% increase from last season.
After a successful regular season, Amazon will carry its first playoff game this weekend, featuring what might be the NFL’s biggest rivalry.
