NBC Sports English Premier League host/presenter Rebecca Lowe (ENG) spoke at the Street Soccer USA press conference in Sacramento, California on Wednesday, August 15, 2018. Lowe’s colleague, NBC Sports English Premier League studio pundit Kyle Martino (USA), is the National Board Chair of Street Soccer USA. Courtesy Rebecca Lowe via Instagram: @rebeccalowetv
By Oliver Tse
Email: workingnow88@workingnow88.com
Twitter: @workingnow88
Published on August 19, 2018. Updated with corrections on February 11, 16 and April 6, 2020
STAMFORD, Connecticut – Is NBC Sports English Premier League studio host/presenter Rebecca Lowe a selfish diva who does NOT want other women to have the opportunities in sports television broadcasting she received on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean?
In a podcast interview, released on August 7, 2018, with Toronto-based sports media critic Richard Deitsch of The Athletic and Rogers Media’s all-sports radio station CJCL-AM “Sportsnet Radio The Fan” 590, Rebecca Lowe EMPHATICALLY stated that she is AGAINST the idea of “all-female” special television broadcast teams working at men’s team sports events…
…such as the International Women’s Weekend special broadcast by U.S. predominately Spanish-language sports media giant Univisión Deportes of the Club América vs León Liga MX match on March 10, 2018 with play-by-play announcer Iris Cisneros, match analyst Ana Caty Hernández, and touchline reporter Cristina Romero among the 11 women assigned to the broadcast (which drew 1.255 million viewers in the U.S.):
From left to right: match analyst Ana Caty Hernández (MEX), reporter Cristina Romero (MEX) and play-by-play announcer Iris Cisneros (MEX) during the Fútbol Central halftime show of the Club América vs Club León Liga MX (Mexican First Division) fútbol match at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The telecast aired on U.S. free-to-air terrestrial broadcast television network Univisión with simulcast on U.S. Spanish-language all-sports pay-TV network Univisión Deportes Network (UDN) on Saturday, March 10, 2018. Courtesy Univisión Deportes.
…or the all-female TV broadcast team of Iris Cisneros, Ana Caty Hernández, and Gaby Fernández de Lara assembled by Televisa Deportes/Univisión Deportes President Juan Carlos Rodríguez (a fearless “go big or go home” executive who ALWAYS “worships at the Church of What’s Working Now”) to call the France vs Croatia Final Match of FIFA Men’s World Cup Russia 2018 on July 15, 2018, which drew 1.4 million viewers on Televisa Canal 9 (El Nueve) in Mexico:
…or the all-female TV broadcast team of Lisa Byington, Danielle Slaton, and Katie Witham calling the DC United vs New England Revolution match this Sunday night August 19, 2018 at 7:30pm Eastern Time on all-sports pay TV network FS1 (formerly FOX Sports 1):
Thank you Jenn! Best compliment we can get!
— Lisa Byington (@LisaByington) August 21, 2018
BEYOND excited for this Sunday!!!! First ever ALL-WOMEN’S broadcast team covering @MLS on @FS1 featuring @daniellevslaton @LisaByington and my girl @Katie_Witham. Tune in to watch these ladies S-L-A-Y! 7:30 ET. pic.twitter.com/bg0cuQ3LjS
— Rachel Bonnetta (@rachelbonnetta) August 17, 2018
Congratulations to the first ever all-female broadcast team in MLS history! Great job ladies! 💪 @LisaByington @daniellevslaton @Katie_Witham pic.twitter.com/csCXv7hP48
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 20, 2018
Rebecca Lowe’s controversial comments began after Richard Deitsch’s question at the 30:38 mark of the August 7, 2018 podcast:
Richard Deitsch: One thing, Rebecca, that I think will be a little bit of a ceiling breaker in soccer is when we see an all-women’s game broadcasting booth for a full season calling whether it’s MLS or some kind of global (men’s) game. What’s really great is we’ve obviously see Aly Wagner (the first female English-language television match analyst in the world to call Men’s World Cup matches when she called 13 matches for FOX Sports during FIFA World Cup Russia 2018) and Jenn Hildreth (play-by-play announcer of National Women’s Soccer League matches on Lifetime & ESPNEWS who is paired on most weekends with Wagner as the match analyst) and some other women who are getting pretty regular reps calling soccer in the booth, not just studio, not just on the sideline, but literally play-by-play and color. But that to me will be a ceiling-breaker when, and this is in no disrespect to (NBC Sports Premier League play-by-play announcer) Arlo (White) or anybody else, but when it’s two women actually calling let’s say a Premier League match-up on multiple weeks, that to me would be a pretty interesting ceiling.
Rebecca Lowe: It will, you are right, but we mustn’t push for it until it naturally occurs. Because if we are going to try to push for it in this moment, where we will have this whole weekend of women (on the weekend around International Women’s Day)…it must be a natural progression, it has to NOT be celebrated. In a funny way I don’t believe it should be celebrated. I don’t ever want to be perceived as a woman. I want to be perceived as a broadcaster. And I think that, you know, … we mustn’t just throw the men out. I mean, there is a place for a Robbie Earle who has played at … the Emirates against Arsenal. He can bring us something that I can’t bring you, and that Aly Wagner can’t bring you. As good as she (Wagner) is analyzing games, there is always going to be a place for somebody who has actually been on that field to play against this player or has been managed by this manager. We mustn’t lose sight of that. That’s want people want to hear, that kind of insight. Now, there is also a place for former women footballers who have also been in similar positions within a game wherever that may be in the world and have brilliant analytical minds, because they can teach us, and there is absolutely no reason why an Aly Wagner can’t do the Premier League. Absolutely, because she knows the game inside out. So that’s brilliant. Let’s bring in anybody with knowledge, anybody with insight, and anybody with experience. But we mustn’t push for it to happen. It must be organic.
Really, Ms. Lowe?
Fact: Rebecca Lowe got her start in sports television broadcasting after she won a special talent contest which aired on BBC One in the UK in November 2002. She had ZERO professional experience as an on-air sportscaster prior to winning the contest.
Related: Rebecca Lowe – A League of Her Own (Sactown Magazine, August-September 2017)
Would Rebecca Lowe have gotten to where she is today if that BBC One talent contest in 2002 did not exist? Would she have gotten her first paid professional opportunity as a sportscaster if she had to wait for that opportunity to occur “organically” or “naturally”?
Is Rebecca Lowe really going to tell Lisa Byington, who could ultimately become the first woman in the world regardless of nationality or language to call television play-by-play of both the NFL Super Bowl (as early as Super Bowl LIV on February 2, 2020 next opportunity will be Super Bowl LVII on February 5, 2023 if FOX Sports were to provide an alternate all-female broadcast booth on FS1 to complement the traditional all-male broadcast booth of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on FOX Network) and the Final Match of the FIFA Men’s World Cup (either 2022 or 2026), that Byington should not have accepted the play-by-play assignment of the August 19, 2018 MLS match on FS1 because 1) the broadcast was designed by FOX Sports MLS producer Shaw Brown, FOX Sports executives Judy Boyd, Mark Silverman and Eric Shanks to generate maximum publicity on a slow summer Sunday, 2) the only soccer Byington has called on TV prior to her first MLS assignment had been women’s matches, and/or 3) Byington uses American soccer coaching jargon in her broadcast which many viewers of International men’s soccer who don’t usually watch American women’s soccer would object?
Opening tease and entire overtime of the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights vs University of Wisconsin Badgers Big Ten Conference Women’s College Soccer match at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, New Jersey on October 1, 2017. Originally broadcast on all-sports pay TV network Big Ten Network (BTN). Play-by-play: Lisa Byington. Analyst/co-commentator: Glenn Crooks. Courtesy Big Ten Conference/FOX Sports.
Opening tease and highlights of the 2017 Big East Conference Women’s College Basketball Championship game between the Marquette Golden Eagles and DePaul Blue Demons at Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on March 7, 2017. Originally broadcast on all-sports pay TV network FS1 (formerly FOX Sports 1). Play-by-play: Lisa Byington. Analyst: LaChina Robinson. Courtesy Big East Conference/FOX Sports.
Highlights from the Indiana University Hoosiers vs Georgia Southern Eagles American College Football game at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana on October 1, 2017. Originally broadcast on all-sports pay TV network Big Ten Network (BTN). Play-by-play: Lisa Byington. Analyst/co-commentator: J Leman. Courtesy Big Ten Conference/FOX Sports.
Sportscaster Lisa Byington was profiled in an episode of the weekly magazine show “The Foundation: Northwestern Football” which aired on regional sports network NBC Sports Chicago on October 4, 2017. Courtesy Northwestern University/Big Ten Conference/NBC Sports Group.
Sportscaster Lisa Byington was featured in this interview by reporter Mark Kunz for the Sports Nightly program on cable-exclusive regional sports network Buckeye Cable Sports Network (BCSN). The interview was conducted at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan on February 1, 2018 and was broadcast on February 5, 2018. Courtesy Buckeye Cable.
Sportscaster Lisa Byington was interviewed by NBC affiliate WOOD-DT 8.1 “24 Hour News 8” Grand Rapids, Michigan Sports News Director Jack Doles during Big Ten Conference American Football Media Days Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile Hotel in Chicago on July 23, 2018. Byington attended Portage Northern High School in Portage, Michigan, where her father was the head coach of the girl’s varsity basketball team. Courtesy WOOD-DT/Nexstar Media Group.
Sportscaster Lisa Byington presents this feature on former Pennsylvania State University/Oakland Raiders/Los Angeles Raiders linebacker and current Big Ten Network American Football analyst Matt Millen. Originally broadcast on all-sports pay TV network Big Ten Network (BTN). Courtesy Big Ten Conference/FOX Sports.
Is Rebecca Lowe really going to tell Jacqui Oatley MBE, the first woman in the English-speaking world to call television play-by-play of English Premier League matches (for edited presentation on Match of the Day on British free-to-air terrestrial broadcast TV network BBC One on April 21 and December 8, 2007) that she is no longer qualified to call 1 English Premier League match each March for NBC Sports because Oatley hasn’t called television play-by-play of any matches from the gantry for several years?
February 10, 2020 Update #1: Jacqui Oatley called 7 FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 matches on site at Roazhon Park in Rennes, France for Host Broadcast Services (HBS) a.k.a. “The World Feed”, including the dramatic Thailand vs Chile Group F match on June 20, 2019 as well as the Germany vs Sweden Quarterfinal match on June 29, 2019.
Highlights from the Fulham FC vs Blackburn Rovers FC English Premier League match from Craven Cottage in London, England on April 21, 2007 as aired during Match of the Day on British free-to-air terrestrial broadcast television network BBC One. Play-by-play commentator: Jacqui Oatley (ENG). Courtesy Premier League/British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Highlights from the Everton FC vs Fulham FC English Premier League match from Goodison Park in Liverpool, England on December 8, 2007 as aired during Match of the Day on British free-to-air terrestrial broadcast television network BBC One. Play-by-play commentator: Jacqui Oatley (ENG). Courtesy Premier League/British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Sportscaster Jacqui Oatley (ENG) was featured in Episode 1 of the “Women In Football” documentary video series released in December 2018. Courtesy Twitter UK.
February 10, 2020 Update #2: Because the English Premier League has apparently passed on the all-female TV broadcast team idea for 2020, I anticipate the first all-female English Premier League TV broadcast on pay-TV networks Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland to be on Monday, March 8, 2021. Jacqui Oatley, who began hosting Sunday Supplement for pay-TV networks Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Football in the UK and Republic of Ireland on January 20, 2020, is expected to team up in the television gantry with former Doncaster Rovers Belles and England Women’s National Team forward Sue Smith who served as match analyst/co-commentator during English Premier League matches Wolverhampton Wanderers vs West Ham United on December 2, 2019 and Everton vs Burnley on December 26, 2019 for pay subscription Internet streaming video service Amazon Prime Video UK with play-by-play commentator Derek Rae. One would expect West Ham United, which plays in London Stadium (formerly London 2012 Olympic Stadium) and is lead by CEO Karren Brady, to be the home team on March 8, 2021 if West Ham were able to stave off relegation. Other possible host venues include Emirates Stadium (home of Arsenal FC) and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Because the English Premier League and the Football Supporters Association have agreed to a limit of 12 Monday Night matches each season, March 8, 2021 could be the beginning of a possible “Monday Night is Ladies Night” tradition on pay TV channel Sky Sports Premier League in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.
Great working with @suesmith8 on comms tonight at Molineux. #PLonPrime pic.twitter.com/6mVlzLGw6f
— Derek Rae (@RaeComm) December 4, 2019
The February 16, 2020 10:00 London Time edition of Sunday Supplement on premium pay subscription TV networks Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Premier League in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Presenter: Jacqui Oatley (ENG). Courtesy Sky UK.
Is Rebecca Lowe really going to tell Kelly Smith MBE, who has appeared as a studio pundit and “off tube” English Premier League match analyst on BT Sport (UK) since August 2017 and was responsible for stabilizing the studio desk with her consistently high-quality tactical analysis at FOX Sports (USA) during FIFA World Cup 2018 after she was promoted by Executive Producer David Neal from the late night show to the studio desk during the biggest match of each day, beginning with the second week of the tournament, that she is not qualified to call 1 English Premier League match each March for NBC Sports because Smith has never called a match at any level from the gantry?
Former English Women’s National Team forward Kelly Smith served as a studio pundit for FOX Sports (US) during FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 Canada from Vancouver, British Columbia. Courtesy FIFA/FOX Sports (US)
Former English Women’s National Team forward Kelly Smith served as a studio pundit during the BT Sport Score program which was broadcast on BT Sport (UK) in August 16, 2017. Courtesy BT Sport.
Is Rebecca Lowe really going to tell Channel 4 (UK) pundit during UEFA Women’s Euro 2017, 3-time Olympic gold medalist and 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup champion Heather O’Reilly, who has played high-pressure matches at two of the most famous “cathedrals” of English Football, namely Old Trafford in Manchester and Wembley Stadium in London during the 2012 Olympic Football tournament, that she is not qualified to sit with Ms. Lowe at the studio desk to analyze English Premier League matches?
2015 U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team World Cup Champion and 3-time Olympic Gold Medalist Heather O’Reilly (USA) served as a studio pundit during UEFA Women’s Euro 2017 Netherlands for British free-to-air terrestrial broadcast TV network Channel 4 (UK). Courtesy UEFA/Channel 4 (UK).
FOX Sports (U.S.) FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 studio pundit Heather O’Reilly appeared on FOX affiliate KCPQ-DT 13.1 “Q13 FOX” Seattle on July 3, 2019. Courtesy KCPQ-DT/FOX Television Stations, LLC.
What makes O’Reilly that much different from former Major League Soccer (MLS) player Kyle Martino, who has never played in the English Premier League but is part of the rotation of pundits NBC Sports uses for English Premier League studio shows. Martino has certainly proven his worth to NBC Sports as an English Premier League studio pundit over the years, as illustrated by his performance vs Robbie Earle in “manufactured debates”:
From left to right: NBC Sports English Premier League host Rebecca Lowe (ENG) conducted a “manufactured debate” between studio pundits Robbie Earle (JAM) and Kyle Martino (USA) regarding the hiring by Tottenham Hotspur FC chairman Daniel Levy (ENG) of controversial egomaniac José Mourinho (POR) as Tottenham’s newest manager (head coach) to replace Mauricio Pochettino (ARG) during the Premier League Mornings pre-match show which aired on U.S. all-sports pay TV network NBCSN on Saturday, November 23, 2019. Courtesy Premier League/NBC Sports Group.
If Arsenal win the Europa League, does that change anything with the Arsene Wenger situation? Rebecca Lowe, Robbie Earle and @kylemartino discuss. pic.twitter.com/YMXaFkJDBu
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) March 11, 2018
Is Rebecca Lowe really going to tell 2-time Olympic Gold Medalist and 1999 Women’s World Cup champion Kate Markgraf, who called the 2017 and 2018 NCAA Men’s Division I College Cup finals (on ESPNU with Glenn Davis) as well as the final of the 2017 United Soccer League (USL) Cup, a Division 2 professional soccer league where Lowe’s husband Paul Buckle was employed as a head coach (of Sacramento Republic FC) for 3 seasons (2015-17) before he departed “by mutual consent”, that Markgraf is not qualified to sit with Ms. Lowe at the studio desk to analyze English Premier League matches?
The 2017 United Soccer League (USL) Cup Final between Louisville City FC and Swope Park Rangers played at Slugger Field in Louisville, Kentucky, USA on November 13, 2017. Play-by-play: Mike Watts (USA). Match Analyst/Co-commentator: Kate Markgraf (USA). Touchline Reporter: Julie Stewart-Binks (CAN). Originally broadcast on U.S. all-sports pay-TV network ESPNU. Courtesy USL/ESPN, Inc.
Is Rebecca Lowe really going to tell Texas-born former Mexican Women’s National Team captain Mónica González, who has switched from English-language to Spanish-language TV sportscasting and is widely expected to be hired as a match analyst at NBC Sports’ Spanish-language sister organization Telemundo Deportes during FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019, that she is not qualified to sit with Ms. Lowe at the desk as a studio pundit to analyze 1 Premier League match in English for 1 day each year in March, despite the fact that González has experience as a match analyst for UEFA Champions League and German Bundesliga men’s matches, because Ms. Lowe does not believe González bring any value to the studio desk besides promoting Telemundo’s broadcasts of the 2019 Women’s World Cup?
Former Mexican Women’s National Team captain and Telemundo Deportes women’s fútbol match analyst Mónica González (MEX) presented highlights of FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2016 during an episode of the nightly sports news and entertainment program Titulares y Más which aired on U.S. free-to-air terrestrial broadcast TV network Telemundo on November 16, 2016. Courtesy Telemundo Deportes.
Highlights from the Bayer Leverkusen vs Darmstadt German Bundesliga match on November 5, 2016 as broadcast in the U.S. on Spanish-language all-sports pay TV network FOX Deportes. Play-by-play: Troy Santiago (MEX). Match Analyst/Co-commentator: Mónica González (MEX) . Courtesy Deutsche Fussball Liga/FOX Deportes.
Former Mexican Women’s National Team captain Mónica González was featured in an episode of American Latino TV, which aired on free-to-air terrestrial broadcast digital TV sub-channel LATV in 2014. Courtesy American Latino TV.
Going beyond soccer to other sports where special TV broadcasts involving all-female broadcast teams, including NFL Super Bowls LIII and LIV, are being considered by U.S. English-language TV networks, does Rebecca Lowe really believe she can tell NFL Hall-of-Fame TV broadcast journalists Andrea Kremer and Lesley Visser, face to face, that they are NOT qualified to call Super Bowl LIII as game analysts alongside play-by-play announcer Beth Mowins (for a possible alternative telecast on pay TV channel CBS Sports Network, with the primary telecast featuring Jim Nantz and Tony Romo airing simultaneously on free-to-air broadcast network CBS), because neither Kremer nor Visser have ever played a single down of American Football at any level?
From left to right: Andrea Kremer, Swin Cash, guest Michael Strahan, Dana Jacobson, and Amy Trask are featured in the August 14, 2018 episode of We Need to Talk which aired on all-sports TV network CBS Sports Network. The episode starts with video from induction weekend on August 4-5, 2018 at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, where Kremer became the 2nd woman to win the Pete Rozelle Radio and Television Award. Courtesy CBS Sports.
Profile video of legendary U.S. English-language sports television personality Lesley Visser. Courtesy Lesley Visser via YouTube.
On September 21, 2017, CBS News reporter Reena Ninan interviewed legendary sports television play-by-play announcer Beth Mowins, 10 days after she called play-by-play commentary of the Denver Broncos vs Los Angeles Chargers National Football League (NFL) game for ESPN (U.S.) Monday Night Football on September 11 and 3 days prior to calling play-by-play commentary of the Indianapolis Colts vs Cleveland Browns NFL game on September 24 for regional broadcast on selected free-to-air terrestrial broadcast television stations affiliated with the CBS broadcast network. Courtesy CBS News.
Sportscaster Beth Mowins was featured in Episode 5 of the “Unstoppable” documentary video series profiling women involved with the National Football League (NFL). The video was shot in the San Francisco Bay Area on August 23-24, 2018, while Mowins was assigned by the Oakland Raiders syndicated television network to call television play-by-play of the Oakland Raiders vs Green Bay Packers NFL pre-season game at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California. Courtesy NFL/Oakland Raiders/Marriott International via Facebook.
May I remind Ms. Lowe that one of her former colleagues at ESPN, Ireland-born soccer match analyst/studio pundit Tommy Smyth “with a Y”, was hired by Amazon Prime Video to team up with Scottish play-by-play announcer Derek Rae (who teamed up with Aly Wagner to call FIFA World Cup 2018 on FOX and has returned to NBC to call selected English Premier League matches for his second season) to call NFL Thursday Night Football games on an alternative “UK English” audio track. Smyth has never played American Football at any level, yet Smyth provided value on an alternative video stream that targets UK viewers who have easy access to online gambling websites because Smyth chose to emphasize gambling strategy in his analysis of NFL games instead of the “x’s and o’s” that the likes of Tony Romo (on CBS) and Cris Collinsworth (on NBC) would emphasize.
Screen capture from the studio punditry show ESPN Soccernet Press Pass, which aired on ESPN Africa, ESPN Australia, ESPN Caribbean, ESPN New Zealand and ESPN UK on June 16, 2012. From left to right: Rebecca Lowe (ENG), Tommy Smyth (IRL), Derek Rae (SCO), and Neil “Shaka” Hislop (TTO). Courtesy ESPN, Inc.
The boys are back for another exciting season of @NFL on @PrimeVideo. Make sure to join @RaeComm and @TommySmythESPN each Thursday night! pic.twitter.com/aMBC8C6ELq
— Jakub Wisniewski (@JWisniewski0628) September 27, 2019
The Final 23 seconds of the National Football League (NFL) game between the Oakland Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on October 17, 2017 as called by play-by-play commentator Derek Rae (SCO) and game analyst Tommy Smyth (IRL) for Internet streaming on the pay subscription service Amazon Prime Video. Courtesy NFL/Amazon Prime Video.
As legendary investor Warren Buffett said:
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and only 5 minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
Rebecca Lowe’s reputation as an English-language TV sportscaster on BOTH sides of the Atlantic Ocean is about to take a BIG hit, unless of course:
1. She keeps an open mind as she flies home from JFK Airport in New York City to Sacramento, California on JetBlue after she finishes her work at NBC Sports Group on Sunday August 19, 2018 and she WATCHES the live FS1 broadcast starting at 7:30pm ET (which is available to EVERY passenger on board JetBlue flights) featuring Lisa Byington, Danielle Slaton, and Katie Witham on the call, and…
2. Speak with as many people as possible while she is off duty from work during the early part of this week at her million-dollar home located at a private country club golf course in Northern California “Gold Country” (about 120 miles northeast of San Francisco), particularly her colleagues who have met me in person over past 23 years, including but not limited to former FOX Sports World VP/GM and current BT Sport Head of Content Simon Green, ESPN sports journalist/soccer host/former soccer play-by-play announcer Bob Ley, and of course Derek Rae, who took my advice and was able to convince FOX Sports World Cup Executive Producer David Neal that Rae could help Neal get more productivity and more value out of Aly Wagner than any other English-language soccer television play-by-play announcer in the world, and…
3. Rethink what she said to Richard Deitsch in the August 6, 2018 podcast before posting a response to this article on her own Instagram account: @rebeccalowetv or by using her weekly Sunday YouTube video program The Lowe Down.
February 10, 2020 Update: after her husband Paul Buckle departed United Soccer League (USL) club Sacramento Republic FC “by mutual consent” in February 2018, Rebecca Lowe decided to plant roots in Northern California Gold Country by purchasing a mansion with a spectacular view of Folsom Lake about 25 miles/40 km east of Sacramento (125 miles/200 km northeast of San Francisco) for $1.465 million in September 2018. Lowe subsequently sold her original house in the Sacramento area, located inside a gated country club golf course in the unincorporated community of El Dorado Hills, for $1.25 million at the end of 2018. In 2019, Lowe founded her own media production company to develop women’s lifestyle video programming and she has made frequent trips to NBC Entertainment offices in Universal City, California on weekdays when she is off duty from her English Premier League hosting assignments at NBC Sports Group International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Connecticut. NBC Sports Group now assigns Ahmed Fareed, Liam McHugh and Derek Rae to host English Premier League studio shows on most Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
NBC Sports English Premier League host Rebecca Lowe (ENG) invited her colleagues Robbie Mustoe (ENG) and Robbie Earle (JAM) with their spouses to her mansion in Northern California Gold Country on July 7, 2019. From left to right: Robbie Earle, Robbie Mustoe, Rebecca Lowe, Caroline Mustoe, Sandra Earle and Lowe’s husband, former United Soccer League (USL) Sacramento Republic FC Head Coach Paul Buckle (ENG). Photo courtesy Rebecca Lowe via Instagram. Video courtesy Thrive Real Estate/Glenn Rose Photography via Vimeo. Audio from “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” courtesy Rysher Television Program Enterprises. Theme music “Come With Me Now” composed by Bill Conti.
Sports TV executives and broadcasters on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean are watching how Rebecca Lowe “plays her hand”.
Just because Rebecca Lowe instructed NBC Sports Group Vice President of Global Physical Security Eddie Maldonado to contact me via mobile telephone on August 3, 2018 for the purpose of asking me to stop sending any more emails with my comments to NBC Sports Group executives and talent, that doesn’t mean I will “fold my hand”.
I did put Mr. Maldonado “to the test” by asking him to contact the Legal Department at NBC Sports Group put the cease-and-desist order IN WRITING, but he informed me that our telephone conversation was sufficient.
My “B.S.” detection meter redlined immediately.
Is Rebecca Lowe that selfish, that fragile and that insecure to have to resort to such a feeble, ineffective, and weak tactic to keep LEGENDARY 44-year-old British sportscaster/play-by-play commentator Jacqui Oatley, by far the most visible LEADER associated with the Women In Football organization in the United Kingdom, from appearing on English Premier League television broadcasts on NBC and NBCSN in the United States?
As Bob Ley taught me 23 years ago, the only way my comments on sports television issues will be effective is for me to send my comments directly to the executives in charge, or to publish those comments in a public forum. Ley and I both understood that comments posted on Internet forms are processed by low-level customer service representatives or interns and will rarely, if ever, reach the executives in charge.
In 2018, anyone in the U.S. can exercise his/her 1st Amendment rights by having total editorial control of his/her own blog, at a cost of under $40/year.
I am not “folding my hand”. Instead, I am going ALL IN.
Your move, Rebecca.
