Seen On Screen: Fox Deportes Celebrates 20 Years; TNT To Host Inaugural NBA Awards Show in ’17

Seen on Screen provides a roundup of recent sports-programming news, including new original programs and game-schedule announcements. In this week’s edition Fox Deportes marks its 20th year in broadcasting, TNT will host the first-ever NBA Awards show in June, AXS TV Fights signs multiyear extension with CES MMA, NBC’s Thursday Night Football unveils new theme music, NFL Network has a new unscripted primetime show, NBC Sports will launch an automotive quiz show, CSN Chicago will present six hours of World Series celebration.

Fox Deportes celebrates its 20th birthday as the leading supplier of Spanish-language sports content, with a diverse portfolio and exceptional digital platform. When it launched Nov. 1, 1996, the network was the first Spanish-language sports network in the U.S. It will be celebrating the milestone by unveiling new graphics and music. Emmy-winning composer Jeff Beal has composed new theme music, as well as other tracks developed in collaboration with the design team to capture the essence of the network. The new graphics are designed to add a more vibrant colors to the graphics while maintaining the Fox style. Each property and show will display a different color, giving each its own identity. Fox Deportes’ birthday month is highlighted by some of its premier properties and events, including the World Series, MLS Playoffs, the Thanksgiving Day NFL game, and UFC and UEFA Champions league coverage.

…TNT will air the first-ever NBA Awards show on June 26, 2017. Held in New York City, the event will be televised exclusively by TNT and will feature current and former NBA players and coaches. The inaugural show will recognize players, teams, coaches, and other members of the basketball community for their accomplishments and performances during the 2016-17 season. It will feature the announcement of the league’s awards, including Kia MVP Award, Kia Defensive Player of the Year Award, NBA Rookie of the Year Award, NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, Kia Most Improved Player Award, and Coach of the Year. It will be the first time the NBA has announced these awards in an official setting, as the NHL and NFL do; in previous seasons, the awards were announced separately throughout the postseason. Additional awards, the venue, and the presenters will be announced at a later date.

…AXS TV Fights has signed a new multiyear deal with CES MMA, keeping its status as the sole North American broadcast home for the premier East Coast MMA organization. The extension includes at least six scheduled events in 2017. The deals with CES MMA, Lion Fight Muay Thai, and Legacy Fighting Alliance gives AXS TV 45 events to broadcast live in 2017, more than any other network. The Providence, RI-based mixed-martial-arts organization will finish the 2016 calendar with CES MMA 39 on Nov. 4, headlined by a fight between former middleweight champion Chuck O’Neil and challenger Wilfredo Santiago Jr.

…NBC’s Thursday Night Football presented its new theme music during its coverage of the Falcons-Buccaneers game last night. Composed and produced by Grammy-nominated producer/songwriter Jimmy Greco, the theme is titled “Can’t Hold Us Down” and was performed by the string section from Broadway’s Hamilton. NBC’s TNF is set to kick off Nov. 17 with NFC Champion Carolina Panthers hosting rival New Orleans Saints.

…NFL Network will debut primetime program Tackle My Ride, an unscripted reality series premiering Tuesday Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. ET. Co-hosts former Pro Bowl linebacker and Super Bowl Champion LaMarr Woodley and Demented Customs founder and master car builder James Torrez surprise deserving football fans with ultimate fan-car makeovers by their hometown NFL stars. Tackle My Ride is courtesy of Executive Producer Michael Strahan and Leftfield Pictures. The show calls on current NFL players, including New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul and Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden, and their respective teams to help deserving fans transform an everyday vehicle into a custom, team-inspired dream ride. Each week, viewers go inside the players’ garages, learn fans’ stories, and get a behind-the-scenes look at Torrez’s highly creative auto-restoration shop.

…NBC Sports Group is set to debut Shotgun, a high-octane automotive quiz show that tests contestants’ skills at answering questions while riding in the passenger seat of a professional race car. Hosted by NASCAR on NBC’s Rutledge Wood, the show invites six contestants to ride “shotgun” as professional drivers race around four courses at Irwindale Speedway, in Irwindale, CA. The last contestant standing after four rounds wins $25,000. In a first-of-its-kind launch for NBC Sports Group, the eight-episode series will debut digitally — on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app — with the television premiere on NBCSN a few weeks later. The first four episodes will be available on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app on Sunday Nov. 6, following NBC’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race coverage from Texas Motor Speedway. The second four episodes will be available Sunday Nov. 13, after NBC’s NASCAR Sprint Cup playoff race from Phoenix. A one-hour TV premiere will air on Saturday Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. ET, immediately following NBCSN’s coverage of the NASCAR XFINITY Series Championship from Miami. An encore presentation will air Sunday Dec. 11 on NBC. Shotgun is produced by Profiles TV’s Bertram Van Munster and Elise Doganieri, creators of The Amazing Race.

…Following the Chicago Cubs’ historic World Series victory, CSN Chicago will present more than six straight hours of celebratory programming. Beginning at 6:30 a.m. CT, CSN’s “Celebration of the Century” coverage gets under way with a 2½-hour replay of Wednesday night’s postgame edition of Cubs Postseason Live. At 9 a.m., live coverage begins with the presentation of the Chicago Cubs World Series Championship Parade & Rally, covering the multi-bus parade from Wrigley Field, throughout the streets of Chicago, to Hutchinson Field in Grant Park (it will also be live-streamed on CSNChicago.com and the NBC Sports app). At 6 p.m., CSN will replay Wednesday night’s historic MLB on FOX Game 7 win.