Episode 75: Apple, the Pac-12 and the future of media rights

The Pac-12’s on-again and off-again negotiations for its next round of media rights take center stage on this week’s podcast, as hosts Andrew Marchand and John Ourand discuss which media companies are interested in doing a deal and which ones aren’t. Marchand reported that Apple has emerged as a potential landing spot for the Pac-12, leading the hosts to dissect Apple’s sports media strategy.

Other topics on this week’s pod include the NBA’s All-Star Game performance, MLB rule changes and the first weekend of the XFL. Marchand and Ourand talk about the TV production innovations they like most from the XFL and the USFL, which starts its second season in April. This episode has a Mailbag segment where the hosts answer questions from email and Twitter. Marchand and Ourand offer a tribute to longtime MLB broadcast Tim McCarver, who died Feb. 16.