Bob Costas Very Unhappy About Being Asked to Read a CNN Promo During MLB Playoff Game
Bob Costas, a veteran sportscaster known for his candidness and distinctive voice, recently became the center of attention after a hot-mic incident during Game 2 of the American League Division Series between the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees. While reading a promotional script for CNN, he was heard expressing skepticism about the promo, stating, “Puts me in a very difficult spot,” unaware that he was still broadcasting. This moment went viral and highlighted his apparent discomfort with the CNN advertisement, particularly given that both CNN and the sports network he works with, TBS, are owned by the same parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. The incident added to the ongoing criticisms surrounding CNN, especially following their announcement of introducing a paywall on their site, which many have compared unfavorably to the short-lived CNN+ streaming service.
Highly acclaimed and longtime sportscaster Bob Costas is known for a number of things.
The 72-year-old Costas is outspoken, frank and unafraid of being politically incorrect. That’s to say nothing of his iconic and recognizable voice and cadence. Costas is also an Emmy award winner to boot.
After a viral hot-mic moment on Monday, you can apparently add “not a fan of CNN” to the list of things Costas is known for.
Costas was on the call during Game 2 of the American League Division Series game between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, with the Royals up 4-1 (Kansas City would win the game to tie the ALDS at 1-1), Costas was caught in a now-viral clip where he appeared to disparage the CNN promo he was just forced to read as part of the broadcast.
(The game aired on TBS, which is owned by the same parent company that owns CNN.)
The brief clip caught Costas first asking about the CNN promo, before adding some unexpected commentary that prompted Awful Announcing to put out a post on social media platform X reminding the sportscaster that his mic was on:
Your mic is on, Bob. pic.twitter.com/29PKqNYPNm
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 8, 2024
“CNN promo?” Costas was heard saying at the beginning of the clip.
After a long pause, a very unenthused Costas then said, “Puts me in a very difficult spot.”
It’s unclear why Costas is audibly perturbed by the CNN promo.
Warner Bros. Discovery owns both CNN and Turner Sports (the latter of which Costas is a part). The sportscaster has made plenty of appearances on the news network as a contributor in the past.
While Costas’ disdain with the CNN promo went viral for how peculiar it was, it’s probably not something CNN wanted to hear from a member of a sister network.
Costas’ audio gaffe comes on the heels of a widely panned report that CNN is shifting its business model to include paywalls on its site.
Many critics of this new plan have likened CNN’s paywall initiative to that of the disastrous CNN+ — a streaming service that lasted for about a month.
It’s like the CNN+ fiasco never happened
— Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) October 1, 2024
“It’s like the CNN+ fiasco never happened,” one critic bitingly posted to X, in response to the paywall announcement by CNN pundit Brian Stelter.
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