It’s been over a year since COVID affected what we do on an everyday basis. Businesses were shuttered, people were laid off, and it seemed as though it was no end in sight. The one business that also suffered a hurt, local television news, in particular, the sports department.
Having coverage of local sports is what drives a sports department in TV. While national gets all of the buzz, the heartbeat of sports on local news is local sports. Bryan Salmond, who is the Sports Director at NBC affiliate KSNV in Las Vegas had to adjust the way he covered sports, and the way his department covered sports during this time.
“We actually ended up working harder and doing more stuff and being more relevant than we probably were before the pandemic hit,” said Salmond.
One thing that had been missing for many months on sportscasts were highlights. However, Salmond reiterated that, even with the lack of highlights, sports never skipped a beat.
“Honestly, it was easier than you think (producing without highlights),” Salmond proclaims. “any kind of news involving hockey, the NBA, the NCAA, tournament, which they had three tournaments going on in Las Vegas at that time, all of that national news was local news.”
For many, including local media, the harsh reality of COVID has been brutal. The company that owns KSNV, Sinclair Broadcasting, just completed a round of layoffs that had huge effects on many newsrooms across the country. KSNV’s were one of those, and in tow, the sports department was one of those that suffered a loss. Sports reporter Amber Dixon, who had been with the station for 8 years, was laid off, leaving Salmond and Sports Anchor Jesse Merrick as the two lone people to cover the massive number of sports that’s going on in Vegas.
“We went from a three-person department to two people…come October, post pandemic, post losing a person, it’s going to be tough! Two people can’t do this anymore.”
While there are several high-profile sports returning to action in Las Vegas, the bread and butter of the city hasn’t seen as much success. Both boxing and mixed martial arts, while having events in the city, has lost many high profiled events to other places. Just recently, one of the best boxers on the planet, Super Middleweight Champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez fought in Texas and in Florida in a span of 90 days. Heavyweight Champions Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua plans to meet somewhere in Saudi Arabia in early summer, while the UFC has held many events outside of its home headquarters, primarily UFC 257, featuring the returning Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier, and the upcoming UFC 261, featuring Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman defending his title in a rematch against Jorge Masvidal, with that bout in Florida. Salmond believes that, more than anything, is the thing that is missing from the city.
“The Fight Capital of the World is almost no longer the Fight Capital of the World. The pandemic is a big part of it, but even before the pandemic, a lot of big fights weren’t coming to Las Vegas for whatever reason.”
There have been many stations that has been hurting for content over the past year. Make no mistake about it, however, Salmond and his team has flourished in it, possibly more than ever. Focusing more on profile pieces helped the sports department continue to give back to the community. Now, more than ever, local sports will have a huge impact on the community going forward.
1216 Sports Radio Network 