Sports Media with Richard Deitsch

Episode 243 of the Sports Media Podcast features a conversation with Boston Globe sports media writer Chad Finn. He is followed by Fred Segal, the author of Freezing Cold Takes: NFL. Football’s Most Inaccurate Predictions And The Fascinating Stories Behind Them. Since 2015, Segal has run the popular Old Takes Exposed account on Twitter. In this podcast, Deitsch and Finn discuss what Amazon’s huge ‘Thursday Night Football’ debut viewership number means; Amazon getting 11.8 million viewers on its own for the main broadcast and 13 million when you include the local broadcasts; Amazon’s first-party measurement, across all platforms, saying it averaged 15.3 million viewers in total; how to view the issues some viewers had; the PR push from Amazon and the NFL; broadcasting Aaron Judge’s record homer run and more. Segal discusses why he wanted to turn this content into a book; how he approached the research for this; his favorite NFL stories in the book;  the exploding growth of  Old Takes Exposed; how sports media people have responded over the years; the idea of monetizing opinion with no accountability, 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 242 of the Sports Media Podcast features Anna Wolfe, an investigative reporter writing about poverty and economic justice at Mississippi Today. In this podcast, Wolfe discusses her eye-opening and vital reporting on an alleged massive criminal scandal in which prominent Mississippi officials misspent or stole millions in welfare funds intended for the nation’s poorest residents; the involvement of Brett Favre; the unfortunate truth that it took the star power of Favre to bring national attention to the case; the text messages of former Gov. Phil Bryant to Favre; what happened when Wolfe asked Favre questions by text in 2020; auditors finding that nonprofit leaders misspent at least $77 million in welfare funds and whether that number is actually low; dealing with Favre’s lawyer; where Favre’s potential criminal liability stands; the role of celebrity and sports celebrity in this story; the challenge of this type of reporting; the comparison of the cost of a volleyball stadium versus child care for 920 families, 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 241 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features a conversation with Fred Gaudelli, the executive producer for Thursday Night Football on Prime Video, where he leads the TNF game production team headlined by Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit, and Kaylee Hartung, and Pierre Moossa, the lead director of Thursday Night Football on Prime Video. In this podcast, Gaudelli and Moossa discuss their evaluation of Amazon’s first regular-season broadcast, the Chiefs’ win over the Chargers; their specific roles for Thursday Night Football; how to build an NFL media production from scratch; what worked and what needs to be improved on; viewer complaints; the technology they have inside and outside their production truck; whether things would have been different if the analyst was Troy Aikman as opposed to Kirk Herbstreit; viewership expectations; what production meetings are like with Michaels and Herbstreit; whether felt like being at the precipice of something revolutionary; 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 240 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests. First up is a conversation with Boston Globe sports media writer Chad Finn and Deitsch on the first week of NFL broadcasting. In this podcast, we offer our thoughts on Joe Buck and Troy Aikman’s ESPN regular-season debut; Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen’s first game as Fox’s top NFL team; Ian Eagle and Charles Davis; Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth, Greg Gumbel and Adam Archuleta and what we anticipate from Amazon’s first game. We also discuss Amazon viewership potential. That conversation is followed by Alex Flanagan, who is the senior vice president, partner, and agent for The Familie Sports Marketing and Talent Agency. Flanagan discusses her fascinating transition from working as a broadcaster for NBC, the NFL Network and ESPN to becoming a talent agent; how and why the transition happened; how she ended up joining The Familie agency; what her current job is; the challenge of building a talent base; representing Kimberley A. Martin, Britt Ghiroli and Sloane Martin among other clients; her personal experience with agents; what she hopes to do heading forward 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 239 of the Sports Media podcast features a conversation with Lindsay Jones, a senior editor for The Ringer where she helps lead their NFL coverage and and Jenny Vrentas, a sports reporter for The New York Times with a focus on enterprise and investigations. In this podcast, Jones and Vrentas discuss their respective roles; the challenges of reporting and writing challenging NFL stories; moving from The Athletic to the Ringer for Jones; whether NFL reporters will get increased access; Vrentas’s reporting on Deshaun Watson and how she worked on the story; being cynical about how NFL teams investigate and vet prospects; the climate of investigative reporting for NFL stories; the cognitive dissonance of doing  NFL content; why we think the Bills are rightful; Super Bowl favorites; expectations for Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers this season; Russell Wilson’s move to Denver; the fate of the New York-based NFL teams; why covering the Chargers, Bills, Chiefs and Browns would be interesting, 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 238 of the Sports Media podcast features a conversation with Richie Zyontz and Rich Russo. Zyontz and Russo are the lead producer and director, respectively, for Fox’s top NFL team featuring Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen, Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi. In this podcast, Zyontz and Russo discuss what an NFL game producer and director does each week; what it has been like for them to go from Joe Buck and Troy Aikman to Burkhardt and Olsen; how they found about the Buck and Aikman moves; how to create a working relationship with a new play by play voice and analyst; if broadcasting a Super Bowl makes it feel like a different working year; being in the unique place of having an analyst in waiting in Tom Brady; what their current relationship is like with Brady; traveling on the Madden Cruiser with John Madden; Zyontz’s favorite Madden story; the best NFL food cities; Zyontz’s new column highlighting members of his crew; 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 237 of the Sports Media podcast features a conversation with Michael Grady, who was recently announced as the new voice of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Bally Sports North, and Anish Shroff, who in March was named the radio play-by-play announcer for the Carolina Panthers NFL team. In this podcast Grady discusses how he landed the Timberwolves job; his six years with the YES Network in New York where his jobs included Brooklyn Nets' sideline reporter, pregame and postgame host and occasional play-by-play voice; what it’s like to replace a popular broadcaster; interviewing with Alex Rodriguez and other Timberwolves’ owners; being behind Ian Eagle and Ryan Ruocco in Brooklyn; the quality of Sarah Kustok as an analyst; how you prepare to call a new team; the prospects of the T-Wolves this season; what will happen with the Nets; the passing of his mother, Mavis, and more. Shroff discusses how he landed the Panthers job; the precedent set by other ESPN broadcasters who also call NFL games; the advantage of living in Charlotte; expectations for the Panthers and Baker Mayfield this year; calling college sports for ESPN including men’s college lacrosse; being a community ambassador in Charlotte; how former Panthers’ radio voice Mick Mixon has made the transition easier; 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 236 of the Sports Media Podcast features a conversation with Leah Hextall, a play by play broadcaster for ESPN’s NHL coverage. Hextall was the first woman to call play by play for a nationally televised NHL game when she was part of Sportsnet’s first all-female broadcast team in March 2020. In this podcast, Hextall talks about the presentation she made in June titled “Not One Of The Boys” for an event held by The Coaches Site;” how when people ask her what her first full season calling games nationally was like, she tells them she survived; getting death threats; social media venom; being told she was hired only for her gender; the role of the bench reporter in hockey; leaving the business at age 37 to work for the premier of Manitoba; growing up in a famous hockey family; her goals for her second year at ESPN; her desire to call women’s hockey again, and much 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 235 of the Sports Media Podcast features a media roundtable with Chad Finn of The Boston Globe and Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal. In this podcast,  Finn, Karp and Deitsch discuss first impressions of Amazon’s new Thursday Night Football broadcast; realistic expectations for Amazon’s game and studio broadcast; Amazon’s PR rollout; whether future realignment will increase interest in college football this season; Fox making its Urban Meyer hire official; the media impact of Serena Williams leaving tennis; the women’s college basketball title game moving to ABC; Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and former Golf Channel President Mike McCarley launching a sports media and technology company called TMRW Sports; whether Fox will cover with any weight human rights violations in Qatar re: the World Cup, 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 234 of the Sports Media Podcast features a conversation with David Law, Matt Roberts and Catherine Whitaker, the three hosts of The Tennis Podcast. In this podcast, Law, Roberts and Whitaker discuss how their podcast came to existence and the long grind to build an audience; having a global audience and how that impacts content; the impact of being profiled by the New York Times and being called ‘the conscience of the game;’ being represented  by Billie Jean’s company BJK Enterprises; the influence of the podcast on the sport; the impact of Catherine’s interview with Pam Shriver; their expectations of Serena Williams at this year’s U.S. Open; discussing the topics of the moment including Novak Djokovic not playing at the Open, 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