Here are some topics in the news this week on the TV and media beat:
Nicole Briscoe deleted her Twitter account and is no longer active on that social media application. This was surprising because she had a large following and was a great example of someone deeply involved in motorsports.
Briscoe is a fulltime co-host of the NASCAR Now program on ESPN2 and the wife of IndyCar driver Ryan Briscoe, who races for Team Penske.
We are told that leaving Twitter was a personal decision on her part. Her husband is still very active on Twitter as are many other IndyCar drivers. While Twitter is fun and informative, the demands of real life sometimes curtail the time available for social media interaction.
The good news is that the NASCAR Now program still has a very active Twitter account, as do many other ESPN personalities connected with the NASCAR coverage.
Speaking of NASCAR Now, there are no afternoon (5PM ET) shows this week. Instead, Shannon Spake hosts late night shows Tuesday through Friday.
Little League Baseball coverage left only the 5 to 6PM timeslot open and ESPN chose to put the ridiculous Sports Nation show on and bump NASCAR Now. This decision absolutely defies logic.
ESPN executives recently indicated that ESPNEWS was due for an overhaul. The first round of changes were just released. Instead of re-airing afternoon shows like NASCAR Now in primetime, ESPNEWS is going to host a mind-blowing seven additional hours of SportsCenter daily.
As the blending of online and TV content continues to evolve, ESPN is going to feature the new ESPN.com regional websites on this expanded SportsCenter coverage. Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas now have their own ESPN branded websites for sports news. Once again, NASCAR is nowhere in this picture.
SPEEDtv.com is going to offer live streaming of the press conference from Kentucky Speedway at 2PM ET on Tuesday. Lots of dignitaries on hand as SMI Chairman Bruton Smith is expected to make it official that a Sprint Cup Series race will be coming to the facility in 2011.
ESPN has chosen to take only one team of booth announcers to Michigan. Marty Reid, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree will again do double duty on the Nationwide and Cup Series. Qualifying and practice is split this weekend between ESPN and SPEED.
Finally, Tuesday finds Krista Voda hosting Race Hub from Roush Fenway Racing as the SPEED studio for this program undergoes what is being described as a renovation. SPEED has made a major commitment to four hours of Race Hub each week and a new set is a nice way to change the currently disjointed look of the program.
Update 10AM ET: SPEED today confirmed that Steve Byrnes is going to be stepping into the Monday through Thursday fulltime role as the host of Race Hub next week. Byrnes is a veteran who works very well in a studio setting. There is no news of how this might affect Byrnes' current assignments in the field that range from Trackside to hosting practice and qualifying coverage.
Any additional updates will be added to this post during the day on Tuesday. Please feel free to offer your comments on any of the topics mentioned above. To add your opinion, just click on the comments button below.
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