Sports Media with Richard Deitsch

Episode 223 of the Sports Media Podcast features a roundtable with Chad Finn, a sports media writer and general sports columnist for the Boston Globe and Sports Business Journal managing editor/digital Austin Karp. In this podcast, Karp and Finn discuss MLB viewership at the All Star Game; baseball’s decision to sign deals with so many different media partners; can the Home Run Derby outdraw the All-Star Game; why younger people like the Home Run Derby more than the MLB All Star Game; where do we stand in the post-Tiger Woods world as far as media interest; will LIV Golf get a deal (we think yes); an examination of the USFL viewership; John Ourand’s report that ESPN is hiking the price of its ESPN+ by 43% starting next month and what it means; will you watch ESPN’s Derek Jeter doc; the future of the ACC, 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 222 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests. First up is Fox Sports reporter and producer Tom Rinaldi, who served as an executive producer, writer, and host of an eight-part podcast series titled “Wesley.” The series examines the heartbreaking story of Lyman Wesley Bostock Jr., who was murdered in-season during the height of his MLB career. Rinaldi is followed by Zak Keefer, a senior writer who covers the Colts for The Athletic and is the host of a six-part series from on the rise and surprising retirement of Andrew Luck. In this podcast, Rinadi talks about “Wesley” and why he wanted to re-examine the story of Bostock Jr.; why this story has haunted him for years;  the what ifs of  Bostock’s life;  what happened on Sept. 23,1978 in Gary, Indiana; on Bostock being a .311 hitter in four major league seasons; the trial of his killer; the 30+ interviews he did for the podcast; how he will judge success; being on the sidelines with a mostly new NFL group (Kevin Burkhart, Greg Olsen and Erin Andrews); when he was informed that Joe Buck and Troy Aikman were leaving; discovering Tom Brady was hired by Fox Sports; the bigness of the NFL; the advantages of covering college football for an NFL job, and more. Keefer explores a fundamental question: How did one of the greatest quarterback prospects of all-time end up walking away from the game before he turned 30 years old; why Luck decided not to participate in the podcast; how to tell the story of a football career via audio; the takeaway on Luck’s career; why teams still contact Luck to play 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 221 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests — ESPN director and producer Russell Dinallo and host and reporter Jeremy Schaap. In this podcast, Dinallo and Schaap discuss the story of Barry Bremen, a Detroit-area novelty goods salesman who in the late 1970’s was known as “The Great Imposter.” Bremen pulled off sports pranks that included crashing the 1979 NBA All-Star Game to shoot layups on the court with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, and Dr. J , crashing baseball’s 1979 All-Star Game  and shagging flies in the outfield for 30 minutes, and posing as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader at a Cowboys-Washington game. The stunts landed him on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, the David Letterman Show and the Today Show. Bremen died of cancer in 2011 but that’s where the story begins in many ways. More than three dozen people have now learned that Bremen is their biological father, through sperm donation. They found out about each other – and Bremen – through genetic testing and the painstaking efforts of one of the children to track their lineage. “The Great Imposter and Me” debuts on July 12, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN and will be available for on-demand streaming on ESPN+. 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 220 of the Sports Media Podcast features Monica McNutt, a host, analyst, and reporter for ESPN and MSG Networks with a specialty in basketball. In this podcast, McNutt discusses the challenges of live sports television; the differences in covering the NBA and WNBA; the preparation for being a Draft interviewer; working multiple jobs as a 20-something in sports media and how to react if you get a break; LaChina Robinson and others as mentors; not changing her look or her personality when she landed on national television; representation in the space; being recognized as an opinionist and what that means; Draymond Green and the new media; her basketball career at Georgetown and playing against Brittney Griner and Maya Moore, 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 219 of the Sports Media Podcast features Andy Staples, a senior writer for The Athletic covering college football. He is the host “The Andy Staples Show And Friends,” a podcast about college football and also a host of College Sports on SiriusXM. In this podcast, Staples discusses the seismic move of USC and UCLA heading to the Big Ten; why we are heading for two super leagues with the SEC and Big Ten; what this means heading forwards for the Pac-12, Big-12 and ACC as far as media rights; how we see what will happen with the Big Ten media rights; why Apple could be a very interesting partner for a set of Big Ten football games; why ESPN’s leverage for the Big Ten has been reduced; the massive rights deal increase coming for the Big Ten; the future of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament; how some of the smaller sports will be impacted; networks paying players 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 218 of the Sports Media Podcast features ESPN investigative reporter and senior writer T.J. Quinn, In this podcast, Quinn discusses his reporting on WNBA star Brittney Griner being detained in Russia; where the Griner criminal trial stands right now; Griner facing 10 years in prison if convicted on charges of large-scale transportation of drugs; the strategy of the Griner camp on promoting her story; how the Department of State must manage a potential prisoner swap; how media coverage in the U.S. might be different if Griner was male and played a major male sport; whether Russia is off the table forever as a destination for U.S athletes; which experts can help educate you on Griner’s case; activism in the WNBA 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 217 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests. First up is Lindsey Adler, a senior writer for The Athletic covering the New York Yankees. She is followed by Sports Business Journal motorsports and combat sports reporter Adam Stern. In this podcast, Adler discusses what it’s like covering a team that has the potential to make sports history; if there is pressure on covering a team like the Yankees because every game has magnitude; whether people are more interested in reading about a winning team; how winning impacts things for reporters such as subscriptions and page views; the competitiveness of the Yankees beat; how front office people and players look at where she works versus other publications; how access has been this year and the difference from last year; women covering baseball who are under-35; the influences of Suzyn Waldman and Sweeny Murti for her; whether MLB will or should make a statement on the Roe decision and more. Stern discusses why F1 has agreed to renew its rights deal with ESPN through 2025; why Amazon and Comcast executives and Netflix did not get the product; how ESPN will advance the product in the future; what F1’s growth potential is in the U.S.; the importance of a U.S. driver to the growth; the importance of races being on linear television; the explosion of F1 podcasts; where he sees NASCAR’s viewership heading forward; whether a Drive To Survive show for IndyCar can move the needle, 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 216 of the Sports Media Podcast features a conversation with Jimmy Pitaro, the Chairman and top executive at ESPN. In this podcast, Pitaro discusses his interest in extending media rights deals with the NBA and Formula One — and why that’s important to his company; how he views ESPN’s current relationship with the NFL and why getting into the Super Bowl rotation matters beyond viewership and finances; breaking down ESPN’s recent NFL rights deal; ESPN’s definitive interest in the Big Ten Conference rights; how ESPN’s SEC deal impacts inventory when it comes to interest in the Big Ten and Pac-12’s upcoming inventory; the intersection of sports and politics and sports and culture at ESPN and how he views that with regard to ESPN employees; the odds the NBA takes some of its premiere content and sells it exclusively to an online outlet; how ESPN views opportunity in the sports gambling space; why ESPN’s viewers want and expect ESPN to be in the sports gambling space; his family’s obsession with the Yankees and love of baseball; running parallel paths of a linear television business and ESPN’s direct-to-consumer business; ESPN unequivocally wanting back in World Cup rights; whether someone in his position should be part of talent negotiations; how many emails gets a day; 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 215 of the Sports Media Podcast features Michael McCann, a legal analyst and senior sports legal reporter at Sportico and a Professor of Law at the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law, where he is Director of the Sports and Entertainment Law Institute. In this podcast, McCann discusses why coverage of the intersection and sports and legal has increased multifold; how he distinguishes between his legal read on something versus how he might feel morally about it. Del Rio from a sports law vantage point; the legal questions here since a coach or executive is neither an employee of  the NFL nor in a players' union; PGA Tour suspensions of LIV golfers and what legal fallout may come of that; the new reporting that found DeShaun Watson booked message appointments with at least 66 different women from the from fall 2019 to spring 2021; whether the Browns can void the Watson trade if they wanted to; Johnson v. NCAA, which is before the Third Circuit, and why is this case is extremely important; at least 12 states enacting legislation banning transgender students from participating in sports teams at public high schools and what that means legally; the NCAA women’s basketball tournament and what recourse players have on media compensation; 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

We’re sharing a preview of the new podcast, Legacy of Speed, from Pushkin Industries. Legacy of Speed follows the transformation of a San Jose State track program in the 1960s. What started out as a second-tier state college no one outside of California had ever heard of, quickly became known as the home to Speed City. The guidance of one coach and his unconventional techniques launched the careers of the fastest sprinters of the day. Host Malcolm Gladwell, a competitive runner himself, traces the journeys of those sprinters, who went on to ignite a boycott movement and protest the 1968 Summer Olympics. It’s a story about athletes who dared to take a stand, and the mentors who made them fast – and brave enough – to change the world. Listen to Legacy of Speed at https://podcasts.pushkin.fm/losmedia 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