CBS Sports has been actively featuring European football throughout this season, encompassing the prestigious Champions League alongside the Europa League and Europa Conference League. However, their coverage of the latter two tournaments hit a pause last Thursday due to a fire alarm, which compelled the commentary teams to vacate the premises. As a result, listeners endured over 20 minutes without the GOLAZO Show. Subsequently, the crew relocated their setup outdoors in chilly conditions, resorting to microphones and cell phones for broadcasting. Lead host Nico Cantor took to social media to address the incident.
This isn’t the inaugural instance of CBS’s GOLAZO Show encountering a minor disruption while presenting European football. In a prior incident in May, the U.S. broadcaster diverted attention from the Champions League match between Real Madrid and Manchester City in favor of coverage related to Donald Trump. Such occurrences are uncommon for CBS, which prioritizes live sports programming and news within its TV schedule, albeit they can occur sporadically.
CBS reportedly invested $250 million (£198m) to secure broadcasting rights for the Champions League, featuring renowned analysts like Kate Abdo, Jamie Carragher, Thierry Henry, and Micah Richards. However, during Thursday’s broadcast, Cantor was accompanied by former USMNT star Charlie Davies and U.S. soccer analyst Chris Wittyngham.
CBS anticipates resuming coverage of European football in just under two weeks, ideally devoid of any further setbacks. Until then, they will revert to their regular coverage of Serie A and South American football on a weekly basis.