Sports Media with Richard Deitsch

Episode 374 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Sue Bird, the five-time Olympic gold medalist, four-time WNBA champion, and the host of “Sue’s Places,” an ESPN+ original series that features Bird exploring the history and traditions of college basketball. The series is currently in the middle of a 10-episode run. In this podcast, Bird discusses athlete-owned media and the production company she and her fiancee, the soccer great Megan Rapinoe, recently formed; the influence of LeBron James on athlete-owned media production companies; how she views the traditional sports press; the Steph Curry versus Sabrina Ionescu 3-point shooting contest and Kenny Smith’s comments; why it was important for Ionescu to shoot from the NBA 3-point line;  how “Sue’s Places” became a series; traveling to meet Caitlin Clark, Dawn Staley, Natasha Cloud, and The Hawk at St. Joe’s; the future of “The Bird and Taurasi Show” at the Women’s Final Four; why Clark captured the public’s attention from her perspective; how Bird projects Clark in the WNBA; what Bird would do if she had Clark’s decision; being marketed as a straight girl next-door in her 20s; whether an openly gay star basketball player in college can have the same endorsement potential as someone who is marketed as the girl next door; playing in Russia; potential replacements for UConn coach Geno Auriemma; where she hops her media companies are in five years and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 373 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Kristen Lappas, the director of “Giannis: The Marvelous Journey.” The film debuts Feb. 19 on Prime Video. Lappas works as a director and producer with Words + Pictures and previously worked as a feature producer for ESPN and ESPN Films. In this podcast, Lappas discusses telling Antetokounmpo’s story; how the project came to her; filming in Greece with her subjects; why the Antetokounmpo ended up trusting her; how to navigate the journey of the family versus focusing on his NBA play; the wisdom of Antetokounmpo as a subject, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 372 of the Sports Media Podcast features CNBC media reporter Alex Sherman. In this podcast we discuss the Super Bowl viewership averaging 123.7 million viewers across television and streaming platforms; why the game was up seven percent; Paramount Global announcing layoffs shortly after the game; how much of the bump in viewership should be attributed to Taylor Swift interest;  ESPN, Fox and WBD plans to launch a joint sports streaming service this fall; the key question for pay TV distributors such as Comcast, Charter and DirecTV regarding the partnership; what a potential price point can be; whether Alex is bullish or bearish on the standalone ESPN DTC product coming in 2025; the College Football Playoff reported agreement with ESPN on a six-year, $7.8 billion rights extension, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 371 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Kenny Smith, who is in his 25th year as studio analyst for Inside the NBA. He will be in Indianapolis this weekend for WBD's coverage of the NBA All Star Game. In this podcast, Smith discusses his basketball consumption; why Inside The NBA has sustained its excellence over the years; the upcoming All-Star Game; why the Celtics are the best team he has seen this year; the NBA’s upcoming media rights deals; the brilliance of Giannis Antetokounmpo; the return of Doc Rivers to coaching; the ceiling for Victor Wembanyama; current NBAers who could succeed in television; his picks for the greatest defenders he faced, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this featured clip of our longform interview with WBD “Inside The NBA” analyst Kenny Smith that will publish on Feb. 14, the analyst offers his thoughts on how Inside The NBA has impacted other studio shows including alt-casts. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 370 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Noah Eagle, who will serve as the play by play voice along with analyst Nate Burleson for Nickelodeon’s broadcast of the Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11. He also is the play-by-play voice of Big Ten Saturday Night – the primetime Big Ten Football game — on NBC and stream live on Peacock as well as college basketball and tennis broadcaster. In this podcast, Eagle discusses the biggest challenge for you when it comes to the Nickelodeon broadcast; how he prepares for it; how you interact with animated characters as a broadcaster; calling a sporting even for kids; how much of the broadcast about explanation; calling future NFL broadcasts; doing college football; being the son of a famous sports broadcaster, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 369 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Tim Kawakami, who covers the San Francisco 49ers and other Bay Area teams as a columnist for The Athletic. He is also the host of “The TK Show” podcast and its various feeds. In this podcast, Kawakami discusses challenges and fun of covering the Niners; what kind of access he gets to Brock Purdy and Kyle Shanahan; what is unique about covering a Bay Area sports team; why the Niners have such interest in his area; what he sees for sports podcasts heading forward and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 368 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Nate Taylor, who covers the Kansas City Chiefs for The Athletic. In this podcast, Taylor discusses challenges and fun of covering the Chiefs; what kind of access he gets to Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce; the best talkers on the team; how Taylor Swift has impacted the coverage this season; how he finds and pursues stories; what he expects Las Vegas to be like for Chiefs coverage; how much pressure there is on game days; and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 367 of the Sports Media Podcast features Sports Media Watch editor and founder Jon Lewis. In this podcast, Deitsch and Lewis discuss the NFL’s Championship Game viewership; Super Bowl viewership expectations; Taylor Swift impact; Greg Olsen; what ESPN will do with its NBA teams; Netflix and niche sports, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode 366 of the Sports Media Podcast features ESPN NHL broadcasters Ray Ferraro and Sean McDonough. They will call the NHL All Star Game on February 3 at 3PM ET on ABC. In this podcast, Ferraro and McDonough discuss the challenges of broadcasting an All-Star Game; what access viewers will get; why viewership is up this year in the NHL; the difference between Canadian and U.S. broadcasts; which players at ice level stand out above the rest; the speed of hockey broadcasts; the best teams in the league so far; whether we see more gambling information in game broadcast; the prospect of NHL plays competing at the Olympics and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices