Sir Nick Faldo, Longtime CBS Sports Golf Analyst, to Retire

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSix months after the members of Crosby, Stills & Nash asked Spotify to pull their music from the streaming service, the folk-rock group’s songs have returned to the platform as of Saturday.The trio in February had joined a protest by former bandmate Neil Young, who demanded that his music be removed from Spotify because of the company’s distribution deal with popular podcaster Joe Rogan, who was accused of spreading false information regarding COVID-19 and vaccines on “The Joe Rogan Experience.”On Saturday, in reply to a Twitter user who asked Crosby why his music was back on Spotify, the musician said, “I don’t own it now and the people who do are in business to make money.” I don’t own it now and the people who do are in business to make money https://t.co/TwyI2z2y1w— David Crosby (@thedavidcrosby) July 2, 2022In March 2021, Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artist Group acquired Crosby’s catalog, which included his publishing and recorded music rights, including his solo work, as well as his work with the Byrds; Crosby & Nash; Crosby, Stills & Nash; and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.Crosby, Stills & Nash in February statement had said, “We support Neil and we agree with him that there is dangerous disinformation being aired on Spotify’s Joe Rogan podcast. While we always value alternate points of view, knowingly spreading disinformation during this global pandemic has deadly consequences.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorA second NBCUniversal sports cable outlet is getting ready to finish its game.NBCUniversal has notified cable and satellite operators that it intends to shut down its Olympic Channel, devoted largely to content associated with U.S. Olympic athletes, on September 30, according to a company spokesperson.

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Studios has won a competitive auction for the buddy comedy pitch package Foreign Relations. Kat Coiro is directing a star vehicle for Nick Jonas (Jumanji; The Next Level, Kingdom and the upcoming Jersey Boys Live!) and Glen Powell, who played one of the hotshot pilots in Top Gun: Maverick. Charlie Kesslering (Turned On) will write the script, and Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman’s Brownstone are producing, as is Brownstone’s Alison Small, Jonas and Powell. Deadline recently revealed it as a hot project.

A Sri Lankan restaurant in Hale has been named ‘best fine dining restaurant’ at the annual Asian Restaurant Awards. Sigiriya, in Hale Village, scooped the gong at the ceremony at the Hilton in Manchester this week.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCharissa Thompson, a regular presence at Fox Sports, is broadening her horizons.The sportscaster, known for hosting “Fox NFL Kickoff” on Sundays during the NFL season, will also be working Thursday nights. Amazon’s Prime Video has selected Thompson to host its pregame, halftime and postgame coverage of “Thursday Night Football,” of which the first season under its aegis will launch this fall.

In a bit of good news, Bam Margera has been found.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorSome people gird for battle by putting on armor. Tony Dokoupil just bought a second pair of dress shoes.“I’ve had the same pair of brown, beat-up, nasty dress shoes — my good shoes.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorMadison Avenue’s growing interest in sports and streaming video helped Fox Corp. nab new ad dollars amid a softening market.The owner of the Fox broadcast network, Fox Sports and Fox News Channel expects an uptick in advertising commitments made in advance of its next programming schedule, according to a person familiar with the matter, as the company becomes the latest media outlet to wrap negotiations in the industry’s annual “upfront.”Advertisers were interested in Tubi, Fox’s ad-supported streaming hub; the company’s sports events; and its Fox News programming, this person said, among other offerings.The company could see an uptick of volume committed to its primetime broadcast schedule in the mid-single-digit percentage range.

Richard Cooper has been named as the new head of football administration at Bolton Wanderers as Simon Marland's successor.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe hottest place to be in TV may not be traditional television, but Paramount Global was able to make the medium seem pretty cool.Paramount Global has largely completed its upfront sales negotiations. And while the company saw its volume of advance advertising commitments rise most significantly for digital venues like Pluto and Paramount Plus, ad dollars committed for the traditional primetime schedule on the CBS broadcast network rose as well, according to a person familiar with current negotiations  The company expects at least a 10% rise in volume for its primetime schedule, this person says.  In 2021, CBS may have seen its primetime commitments total between $2.03 billion and $2.64 billion, according to Variety estimates, compared with $2.03 billion and $2.51 billion in 2020.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Nina Kravitz and more.Put together by the organisers of Spain’s Bilbao BBK Live, the inaugural edition of the Spanish festival takes place September 1-3, 2022 in the town of Mijas, just south of Malaga.Arctic Monkeys, Liam Gallagher, Chemical Brothers and Kraftwerk were previously confirmed as headliners, with other names on the bill including Marc Rebillet, Röyksopp, Hot Chip, Chet Faker and Blossoms.Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds will now headline alongside Chemical Brothers and Kraftwerk on the Friday (September 2).

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTV’s dollars are migrating to digital, just like its viewers.The CW has wrapped upfront negotiations, according to a person familiar with the matter, and expects a rise in advance ad commitments for its digital venues, but sees its primetime broadcast schedule take in similar volume to last year’s market.Variety estimates that CW may have seen primetime volume come in between $440.8 million and $626.9 million, in 2021, compared with $440.8 million and $$597.1 million in 2020More to come….

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFX has long been known for iconoclastic dramas like “The Shield” or “The Americans” that feature flawed protagonists and inventive plots. Next year, it may serve up more of those things — but not from scripted series.In 2023, FX will start showing spring football games from the XFL, the startup league backed by Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia. Under a pact unveiled recently, FX and its corporate siblings at Disney will televise XFL games between 2023 and 2027.In its earlier days as a startup under the former News Corp.

Nico Santos, from “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Superstore,” will star in Marvel Studios’ “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” in an unspecified role.Stantos joins an already sprawling ensemble, including the returning cast Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sylvester Stallone and Elizabeth Debicki, as well as new stars Will Poulter, Chukwudi Iwuji, Maria Bakalova and Daniela Melchior.Writer-director James Gunn recently wrapped production on the film, which is currently scheduled to debut on May 5, 2023.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTV’s upfront market is starting to close and ad dollars seem harder to collect.NBCUniversal expects the volume of advance advertising commitments secured in the annual haggle to be “in the same range as last year,” according to Jeff Shell, CEO of the Comcast owned unit. He said that declines due to “cord cutting were offset by pricing and Peacock for us,” during remarks made at an investor conference organized by Credit Suisse.