Episode 314 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features James Andrew Miller, the best-selling author of books on CAA, ESPN, Saturday Night Live, and HBO. In this podcast, Miller discusses ESPN’s recently senior management moves and how that impacts viewers and listeners; the emerging power of Norby Williamson and Dave Roberts; the ESPN layoffs; how Jim anticipates the Pat McAfee show will fit into the ESPN ecosystem; whether this is ESPN’s management. Group heading forward; long-term changes for ESPN’s business and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, 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 313 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Washington Post sports columnist and feature writer Sally Jenkins. Her latest book is “The Right Call: What Sports Teaches Us About Work And Life.” In this podcast, Jenkins discusses the precepts in her new book; studying greatness; decision-making as a mechanism that can be trained like anything else; failure as a precondition for success; talking with Peyton Manning, Steve Kerr, Laird Hamilton, Jill Ellis, Muffet McGraw, and others for the book; what Jenkins learned from Pat Summit; the importance of conditioning, practice, discipline, candor, culture, failure, and intention; where Novak Djokovic stands alltime in tennis; why the PGA Tour-LIV Golf story really matters and what sports-washing really is; the future of sports journalism and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, 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 312 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Apple/MLS lead analyst Taylor Twellman and Sports Media Watch founder and editor Jon Lewis In this podcast, Twellman discusses what Messi coming to America means for MLS; how MLS/Apple will attempt to capitalize on Messi’s arrival; why Twellman thinks this is bigger than Pele playing in the U.S; the broadcasting challenges surrounding Messi’s arrival; what kind of access Messi will provide sports media; what is realistic in terms of Messi’s health and form; how Messi will be covered by other outlets; his impact on the 2026 World Cup; the MLS broadcasting experience for Twellman so far, and more. Lewis discusses the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Final viewership; wha trends we think are notable and worth thinking about medium term; the impact of the 18-49 demo; the impact Messi can have on MLS and media. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, 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 311 of the Sports Media Podcast features CBS Champions League host Kate Abdo. In this podcast, Abdo discusses why she decided to sign with CBS Sports/Paramount+ exclusively for the long-term; how the deal with CBS Sports came together; what is unique about covering the Champions League; why the four-person studio team of Abdo, Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher, and Micah Richards has worked so well; the show’s ability to morph from light topics and tactics to racism and security issues in soccer; how Abdosees her role on that show;Manchester City's immediate future; Messi coming to play in MLS; covering boxing at the highest level; working the 2023 Concacaf Nations League Finals and more.  You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, 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 310 of the Sports Media Podcast features a roundtable discussion with Sports Media Watch founder and editor Jon Lewis; and Austin Karp, managing editor/digital of Sports Business Journal. In this podcast, we discuss the Heat and Nuggets series matching the average audience from last year’s Celtics-Warriors series; the upcoming media rights for the NBA; the top-down view of PGA Tour agreeing to partner with Saudi-backed LIV Golf; any viewer backlash; Leo Messi to Miami and what that means for MLS/Apple; Stanley Cup Final viewership; the first time the Stanley Cup Final has aired entirely on cable since being on ESPN in 1994; Chris Licht getting removed by CNN; MLB viewership for the first third of the season, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, 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 309 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests. First up is Kevin Van Valkenburg, the editorial director of No Laying Up and a former ESPN and Baltimore Sun staff writer. He is followed by Chad Mumm, the executive producer of Full Swing, the PGA Tour series for Netflix. He is the chief creative officer of Vox Media Studios. In this podcast, Van Valkenburg discusses the seismic news on The PGA Tour, LIV Golf and DP World Tour announcing they would merge commercial operations under common ownership; why this happened; morally squaring how PGA Tour officials recruited the 9/11 families to be part of their fight, only to cut them loose when a better deal became apparent; the PGA Tour media rights deals through 2030 with CBS, NBC and ESPN and what this means; what future TV opportunities could exist under this framework; how he sees this being covered, and more. Mumm discusses the seismic news and how he views it as both a fan and filmmaker; having cameras rolling at both a players’ home and the RBC Canadian Open when the announcement was made; not being given advance warning; how this will change the story arc; the impact of “Drive To Survive” on his show; the number of hours they have shot for the show; how potential episodes will exist for Season 2; what a Season 3 might look like and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, 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 308 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features ESPN Women’s College World Series broadcasters Beth Mowins and Michele Smith. The two (along with Jessica Mendoza and Holly Rowe) will call the Women’s College World Series on ESPN and ESPN+ this week. In this podcast, Mowins and Smith discuss the evolution of women’s softball coverage; the biggest challenges for a broadcaster covering the women’s World Series; Mowins calling her 29th WCWS and Smith in her 19th year; the challenge for Smith in finding a post-playing career in softball; how the production has increased over the years; the chemistry between the announcing group; the dominance of Oklahoma Softball and what that means for the sport; the challenge of getting softball talked about away from game windows; whether the WCWS finals should be on ABC and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, 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 307 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Caitlin Thompson, the co-founder of Racquet, a tennis-focused media company with a flagship quarterly print magazine, and the co-host of The Racquet Magazine Podcast with Rennae Stubbs. In this podcast, Thompson and Deitsch discuss the most interesting players today; whether tennis needs a 1-2 rivalry at the top such as Iga Swiatek versus Aryna Sabalanka; how Thompson formed Racquet and the challenges of running a tennis media brand; how she views coverage of tennis today from the broadcast end to the lack of legacy publications covering the sport daily; the nightmare of watching the French Open because of multiple broadcast entities; her biggest issues with ESPN as a dominant tennis career; the sport hurting itself by who it doesn’t credential and limiting highlight access; what tennis Twitter is like and more.  You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, 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 306 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features ESPN/ABC NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy. The broadcaster will call the NBA Finals, starting on June 1 on ABC. In this podcast, Van Gundy discusses the new NBA Finals tipoff time; the changes he would make to speed up the game; calling games for ESPN for 16 years; how people view the Nuggets, and how an NBA appearance will impact that; chatting with Dave Chappelle in L.A; his assessment of Victor Wembanyama; the future media rights for the NBA; the growth of the WNBA, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, 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 305 of the Sports Media Podcast features The Athletic senior NBA writer Sam Amick and ESPN WNBA analyst LaChina Robinson. In this podcast, Amick discusses his recent piece “Could LeBron James actually retire? Seems unlikely, but the leverage game may have begun”; what a post-LeBron NBA universe looks like far as content; the Nuggets in the NBA Finals; Mike Malone’s us-against-the-world-view; LeBron as the most successful 21st century athlete given social media, and more. Robinson discusses the increased WNBA coverage in 2023; people in the space who are covering the league; the next steps for the WNBA as a content play; potential cities for expansion carving out a career covering women’s basketball; being represented by powerhouse agent Nicole Lynn and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, 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