After the nominations have been pulled together and the votes have been tallied, we’re proud to announce the winners for the Second Annual People’s Sports TV Awards To Be Named And Trademarked Later. Or, the People’s Sports TV Awards for short.
This year’s version represented an expanded field of award winners. Not only have we honored the best personalities and television shows in sports, but we’ve also paid tribute to the best newsbreakers, reporters, rising stars, and entertainers.
The winners have been decided based on a combination of your votes along with the votes of our 24 panelists consisting of AA staffers and experts from all over the sports media world.
The votes of the panel and the readers were weighted equally to determine the award recipients.
And now, the virtual envelopes please…
1) Best Live Event Coverage
Winner: Sunday Night Football – NBC
Second: NCAA Tournament – Turner/CBS
Third: EPL on NBC
It was a clean sweep for the dominant brand in American primetime television as Sunday Night Football swept the panel and fan vote. SNF’s ratings have led it to the top of primetime network TV, but everything about its production is worthy of top billing. From the announcing booth to the studio and especially the work from the truck, SNF stands alone as the best in sports television.
2) Best Sports Documentary
Winner: League of Denial (PBS Frontline)
Second: Requiem for the Big East (ESPN 30 for 30)
Third: Hillsborough (ESPN 30 for 30)
It’s a golden age of sports documentaries, but perhaps none had the cultural and sporting impact that Frontline’s League of Denial had. The ensuing controversy with ESPN pulling out of the film just before its airdate led to even more hype and publicity for it. The concussion crisis in the NFL and sports is still unfolding, and the investigative work of League of Denial was a major step in the evolution of that story.
3) Best Studio Show
Winner: Inside the NBA (TNT)
Second: College GameDay (ESPN)
Third: Football Night in America (NBC)
While we award the Top 3 in each category, this is really a two horse race and has been for quite some time. Turner’s NBA show and ESPN’s college football pregame are head and shoulders above the rest of the class. This year, it’s Inside the NBA who holds the slight edge over College GameDay for our expert panel and readers. Unfortunately, we have no data on how the people of San Antonio voted.
4) Best Daily Show
Winner: The Dan Patrick Show (NBCSN/Audience)
Second: Pardon the Interruption (ESPN)
Third: Outside the Lines (ESPN)
PTI and OTL had support from our readers and the panel respectively, but DP’s total votes from both ensured the victory in a very closely contested category. It’s not easy to pull off a radio simulcast on television and make it entertaining, but each and every weekday Patrick and his merry band of Danettes provide the best watch/listen in morning sports talk. In a world where sports talk can easily go off the rails, DP delivers the perfect mix of humor and insight.
Continue reading The Second Annual People’s Sports TV Awards Winners
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