Sports Media with Richard Deitsch

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

Episode 304 of the Sports Media Podcast features Rolling Stone chief TV critic Alan Sepinwall. In this podcast, Sepinwall discusses his writing process; the importance of a series finale; how he puts together recaps for shows such as “Succession” and “Barry”; the value of seeing the show in advance; whether it is smart to predict what happens to characters when writing recaps; writing about “The Sopranos” and “Mad Men”; whether he wants to hear from the people he writes about; dealing with PR people; how he thinks about the Star Wars universe 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

Episode 303 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features The Ringer Editor At Large Bryan Curtis and Ben Strauss, sports media reporter for The Washington Post. In this podcast, we discuss The Pat McAfee Show move to ESPN will his show will air live weekdays on ESPN, the ESPN YouTube Channel, the ESPN App and ESPN+; why ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro brought McAfee to ESPN; how McAfee’s show might or might not change; morale at ESPN amid layoffs; why politics won’t be any issue for McAfee’s show but other things might be; whether McAfee will continue to use non-ESPN insiders, 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

Episode 302 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Mark Shapiro, the President and COO of Endeavor, the Hollywood entertainment and sports giant. In this podcast, Shapiro discusses what makes someone a differentiator in sports media talent in 2023; why WWE was the right property for Endeavor; the domestic rights deals for WWE’s Raw and Smackdown programming coming up in 2024; how the WWE can expand within the Endeavor ecosystem; working with WWE CEO Nick Khan; how Mark sees the legacy companies heavily into sports streaming; Netflix becoming part of the sports ecosystem; the nexus of sports gambling and media; the strategies Apple, and Amazon have used in sports; why Adam Silver is in such an advantageous position with the upcoming NBA rights negotiation; the upcoming college football playoff negotiation; how ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro recalibrated ESPN’s relationship with the NFL; the explosive growth for women’s sports 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