Premiere Episode Tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME^®

“It remains to be seen if it was the right call.  I mean the jury is still out.”

- Kobe Bryant on Mike Brown firing

“So I have this straight, what you are saying is the league and Roger Goodell (are) trying for a pub grab.”

-Jim Rome on Ed Reed suspension and appeal

LOS ANGELES (November 21, 2012) – JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME premieres tonight with an all-star lineup including one-on-one interviews with Los Angeles Lakers’ world champion Kobe Bryant, Green Bay Packers Super Bowl champion quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and actor Matthew Perry.  Plus, Rome hosts a roundtable with NFL running back Tiki Barber, Hollywood and Sports Executive Peter Guber, and veteran NBA point guard Derek Fisher.

JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME, in its first season on SHOWTIME, airs Wednesdays with multiple replays each week on SHOWTIME and SHOWTIME EXTREME^® and availability on SHOWTIME On Demand.

The new, one-hour series will showcase Rome’s trademark style and opinions that have made him one of the most famous and outspoken sports broadcasters of his generation.  Weekly episodes will feature a combination of provocative monologues and interviews, along with in-depth features and profiles of relevant and influential figures in the world of sports and entertainment.  The series is produced by GENERATE ENTERTAINMENT, INC.

Following are excerpts from this week’s episode:

 

KOBE BRYANT INTERVIEW CLIP – http://sports.sho.com/videos/1244

ROME: Did a change have to be made regarding (Mike) Brown?  Was that the right call?

 

BRYANT: It remains to be seen if it was the right call.  I mean the jury is still out.  At the time we were obviously playing pretty bad.  In this day and age the coach is going to get the brunt of the blame as it pertains to that.  So it remains to be seen whether or not it was the right call.  I think depending on how we play going forward that will probably be the deciding factor.

ROME: Magic Johnson said recently that, “I don’t believe in Jim Buss.  He has already made two critical mistakes.” From where you’re sitting, do you think that Jim Bus is in over his head?

BRYANT: I don’t think so.  I value Magic’s opinion as we all do.  He’s been the face of this franchise for so many years.  I mean he’s the Laker legend.  So I think when he speaks it holds a little bit more weight and carries more significance then when other people speak about the organization.  But I can only speak from personal experience and my dealings with Jim; he’s been great with me outside of the Mike Brown hiring which I didn’t know anything about.  You know everything else we have just kind of been in constant communications, constant dialogue about it.  He’s made some incredible moves this offseason and hasn’t been afraid to pull the trigger on some trades that at first initially might raise an eyebrow but he believes in doing the right thing by the organization and so far it seems to be working.

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION CLIP – http://sports.sho.com/videos/1245

ROME: So I have this straight, what you are saying is the league and Roger Goodell (are) trying for a pub grab.  It’s a PR ploy.  They’re not looking to have something stick, it’s just publicity.  Is that what you’re saying?

BARBER: Not exactly but perception is everything, especially when you’re catering to mothers and wives who have kids that are going to play the sport.  It’s not everything but they knew that Ed Reed was not going to be suspended for this week.  It was going to get overturned on appeal, as it did.

GRUBER: Unless they are authentic, unless their feet, tongue, heart and wallets go the same direction, the commissioner and the whole league, they will be perceived as inauthentic.  They can’t keep this as the gold standard unless they do that.  I don’t think they fail to realize this isn’t show-show, its show business, and that business is best served if the athletes are safe and the teams are safe and if it is successful in the marketplace.  And that’s a quality that I think they are betting on.

BARBER: But the problem is, it’s not going to change.  They have to know that it’s not going to change. Ed Reed’s not going to not hit people the way he does now.  Ryan Clark, safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is not going to not hit guys.

GRUBER: Ah, they all play by the golden rule here; he who has the gold makes the rule.  When they take your gold away, you’re in trouble.

BARBER: But it’s nonguaranteed contracts.  You stop doing that all the sudden he doesn’t have the edge anymore.  Someone else is going to come up and take your job and you’ll be sitting on the sideline wishing you were getting a concussion instead of sitting at home with no paycheck.

GRUBER: Things change and Goodell’s the commissioner and that league can make a change.

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About Showtime Networks Inc.:

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME^®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ and FLIX^®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2^™, SHOWTIME^® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME^®, SHOWTIME BEYOND^®, SHOWTIME NEXT^®, SHOWTIME WOMEN^®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE^® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD^™, THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND^® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ ON DEMAND, and the network’s authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME^®. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel^™. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV^®.

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“JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME” ANNOUNCES ALL-STAR GUEST LINEUP FOR FIRST SHOW PREMIERING WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21^st at 10PM ET/PT

Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, Green Bay Packers’ QB Aaron Rodgers, Acclaimed actor Matthew Perry and Hollywood & Sports Exec Peter Guber To Go One-On-One With Host Jim Rome

LOS ANGELES, November 16, 2012 – JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME, the new one-hour series set to premiere on Wednesday, November 21^st at 10:00 PM ET/PT, has announced an all-star lineup of guests for its premiere episode.  Los Angeles Lakers’ world champion Kobe Bryant; Green Bay Packers Super Bowl champion quarterback Aaron Rodgers; acclaimed actor and sports enthusiast Matthew Perry and legendary Hollywood producer and sports franchise owner Peter Guber, will all sit down with host Jim Rome to discuss a wide range of sports and entertainment related topics ranging from the Los Angeles Lakers new coach and off-season acquisitions to the Green Bay Packers push towards a playoff berth.

Earlier this year, Rome signed a multi-year deal with CBS to contribute across multiple CBS Corporation platforms.  The partnership paved the way for ROME, a half-hour daily show airing on the CBS Sports Network, and The Jim Rome Show on CBS Radio beginning in January, 2013.

Previously, Rome served as host of “Jim Rome is Burning” on ESPN, as well as “The Last Word with Jim Rome,” televised nightly on Fox Sports Net.  Rome began his radio career at KTMS, Santa Barbara as the “$5 dollar-an-hour” traffic reporter and covered UC Santa Barbara’s sports. He left KTMS for San Diego’s all-sports station, XTRA Sports 690.  Rome continues to host a highly-successful daily, live sports radio show from Southern California.

JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME will be produced by GENERATE ENTERTAINMENT, INC.

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New One-Hour Series Hosted by the Acclaimed Sports Broadcaster To Premiere on Wednesday, November 21st at 10 PM ET/PT

LOS ANGELES, November 8, 2012 – Continuing to expand on his multi-year deal with CBS, JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME will make its premiere on Wednesday, November 21^st at 10 p.m. ET/PT.  The new, one-hour series will showcase Rome’s trademark style and opinions that have made him one of the most famous and outspoken sports broadcasters of his generation.  Weekly episodes will feature a combination of provocative monologues and interviews, along with in-depth features and profiles of relevant and influential figures in the world of sports and entertainment.  The show will tape in Los Angeles.  The announcement was made today by David Nevins, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc.

“We’ve been very focused on increasing the amount and profile of sports programming on our air at SHOWTIME,” said Nevins.  “Jim Rome is someone I’ve listened to for years; he is one of the top voices in the American sports world, and bringing him to the network in a fresh and premium format is a key part of accomplishing that goal.”

“Jim Rome’s sensibilities and perspective on the hottest topics in sports and entertainment make him a natural fit for this network,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports. “JIM ROME ON SHOWTIME delivers on our promise to bring the most compelling and provocative programming to our subscribers.”

Rome has hosted numerous television programs over the last two decades, including his current series, ROME on CBS Sports Network.  Previously, Rome served as host of “Jim Rome is Burning” on ESPN, as well as “The Last Word with Jim Rome,” televised nightly on Fox Sports Net.  Prior to “The Last Word with Jim Rome,” he spent a two-year stint hosting ESPN2’s “Talk2,” a nightly one-hour interview show. Rome began his radio career at KTMS, Santa Barbara as the “$5 dollar-an-hour” traffic reporter and covered UC Santa Barbara’s sports. He left KTMS for San Diego’s all-sports station, XTRA Sports 690.  Rome continues to host a highly-successful daily, live sports radio show from Southern California.

The series will be produced by GENERATE ENTERTAINMENT, INC.

Award-winning CBS News and CBS Sports reporter Armen Keteyian will become a full-time correspondent for the new SHOWTIME Sports magazine 60 MINUTES SPORTS.

Jeff Fager, CBS News chairman and executive producer of 60 MINUTES, said in his announcement that Keteyian will also continue to contribute occasionally to CBS News daily broadcasts.  “Armen is the perfect correspondent for our new program,” said Fager, who is also the co-executive producer of 60 MINUTES SPORTS.  “He has the reporting experience in news, sports and at 60 MINUTES to bring us high quality 60 MINUTES stories for the new SHOWTIME edition.”

Few can equal Keteyian’s decades of experience as a sports journalist, beginning in print as an investigative reporter at the most prestigious sports print magazine, up through network news and cable television sports assignments at the highest levels, including CBS Sports’ THE NFL TODAY and 60 MINUTES.  Expanding beyond sports, Keteyian reached a new level in his career as Chief Investigative Reporter for the CBS EVENING NEWS, where he was nominated five times and won three Emmy awards since joining the broadcast in 2006.

In addition to Keteyian, the monthly 60 MINUTES SPORTS will feature on-air talent from 60 MINUTES and CBS Sports.  It will be produced by the same 60 MINUTES team that produces the CBS news magazine on Sundays and offer the same first-class investigations, interviews, features and profiles that have been the hallmark of 60 MINUTES for decades. The unique programming partnership between CBS News and CBS sister cable company, SHOWTIME, was announced last month and will debut on SHOWTIME in January 2013.  60 MINUTES SPORTS will be co-executive produced by Bill Owens, the Executive Editor of 60 MINUTES.

Keteyian, an 11-time Emmy award winner, was honored last year for his revealing story about personal information stored on resold copiers that can be mined by identity thieves.  In September 2010 he won for “Rape in America: Justice Denied,” a five-month 2009 investigation into the startling backlog of tens of thousands of rape kits. In 2008 he revealed the shockingly high suicide rates of veterans, another Emmy winner.

From December 1997 to March 2006,  Keteyian was a special features reporter for CBS Sports in New York, where he roamed the sidelines during top NFL games and covered the league for THE NFL TODAY.  He also regularly covered the NCAA Basketball Tournament and anchored the network’s award-winning coverage of the Tour de France. During that period, through a special arrangement with HBO, he was also a featured correspondent for HBO Sports’ magazine show “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.”

In July of 2002, HBO Sports, as part of its highly acclaimed “Sports of the 20^th Century” series, aired a documentary co-produced and co-written by Keteyian entitled “A City on Fire: The Story of the ‘68 Detroit Tigers.”

Prior to joining CBS and HBO, Keteyian worked as a network correspondent for ABC News in New York for eight years (1989-97). During that time he wrote and reported more than 400 stories on a wide variety of sports-related issues for “World News Tonight with Peter Jennings,” “Nightline,” and other ABC News broadcasts. Prior to joining ABC News,  Keteyian worked as a writer-reporter for Sports Illustrated in New York for seven years (1982-89), specializing in investigations. While there he reported on subjects ranging from corruption in college football and basketball, to sports gambling in America, to point shaving scandals, to the widening use of steroids in professional and amateur sports.

Keteyian has also written or co-written nine books including, Why You Crying, The New York Times bestselling autobiography of actor/comedian George Lopez. Among his previous books are: Money Players: Days and Nights Inside the New NBA, a critically acclaimed account of the rise of the NBA under David Stern; the New York Times bestseller Raw Recruits;  and the autobiographies of baseball great Catfish Hunter and Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary.  Keteyian is currently writing a major book on college football for Doubleday expected to be published next year.

He began his career as a sports and feature writer in San Diego, where he was graduated cum laude from San Diego State University in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.  Keteyian was a starting infielder on the university’s baseball team.   Born and raised in Michigan, he now lives with his wife Dede in New York City and Fairfield, CT.

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SHOWTIME SPORTS^® AND CBS SPORTS COLLABORATE

ON PRODUCTION OF “LT: THE LIFE AND TIMES,”

A DOCUMENTARY ON LIFE AND CAREER OF

LAWRENCE TAYLOR

Produced in Association With NFL Films, Documentary Focuses on Taylor’s
Hall of Fame Career, His Turbulent Life Away from the Game, and Life Today

“LT: The Life and Times” Directed and Produced By CBS Sports’ Emmy-Award Winning “A GAME OF HONOR” Production Team

TRAILER FOR REVIEW ONLY—PLEASE DO NOT SHARE OR POST

http://sports.sho.com/videos/1178

 

NEW YORK (Oct. 11, 2012) — LT: The Life and Times,  a feature length documentary film chronicling the spectacular on-field Hall of Fame NFL career of Lawrence Taylor, as well as his tumultuous off-field life, comes to SHOWTIME^® in early 2013. The documentary will be the first-ever in-depth look focusing on Taylor’s life with never-before-heard stories from Taylor, his family, his former teammates and coaches on his playing days with the Giants, his infamous off-field activities and the troubling times that have plagued him throughout his life.

Today, Taylor is a husband, father and grandfather who credits the support system of his family as the reason he is alive. For the first-time, LT: The Life and Times reveals insights from Taylor’s current wife, ex-wife and children, who speak about the ups and downs of life with Lawrence Taylor.

When making the announcement yesterday on INSIDE THE NFL on SHOWTIME, Taylor said of the documentary, “When they first approached me with it I said, ‘No way.  I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to put my life on display.’  But hell, my life is already on display so I decided to go with it and see how it turns out.”  He continued, “I’m looking forward to seeing (and) hearing some of the stories because a lot of the stories I don’t remember… It’s like anything else, football, you think that is your whole world but it’s not really.”

The production of LT: The Life and Times will be a collaboration between SHOWTIME Sports and CBS Sports in association with NFL Films. In addition to this documentary, SHOWTIME, CBS and NFL Films have partnered for the past five years on the Emmy^®-Award winning show INSIDE THE NFL.

LT: The Life and Times will be directed and produced by CBS Sports’ Emmy-Award winning production team from A Game of Honor. CBS Sports’ Creative Director, Pete Radovich, Jr. who directed A Game of Honor, also will direct LT: The Life and Times. Radovich and CBS Sports Coordinating Producer Steve Karasik will co-produce LT: The Life and Times.

 

About Showtime Networks Inc.
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME^®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ and FLIX^®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2^™, SHOWTIME^® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME^®, SHOWTIME BEYOND^®, SHOWTIME NEXT^®, SHOWTIME WOMEN^®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE^® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD^™, THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND^® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ ON DEMAND, and the network’s authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME^®. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel^™. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV^®.

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