

Sports Media with Richard Deitsch
Audacy
The Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch is a weekly show that features interviews with members of the sports media about their work, as well as roundtables with sports media reporters about television, digital, audio/radio, print, and other forms of media. You can read Richard’s work at The Athletic.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 7, 2025 • 1h 5min
Kevin Harlan, and ESPN VP of Production Linda Schulz
Episode 473 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests. First up is broadcaster Kevin Harlan, the lead play by play caller for Westwood One’s Super Bowl coverage. He is followed by ESPN Vice President of Production Linda Schulz, the point person for the company’s NHL coverage. In this podcast Harlan discusses the Chiefs-Eagles Super Bowl being his 15th consecutive Super Bowl for Westwood One Radio; what his weekend in New Orleans will be like; where the radio booth is located in the stadium; his call of a streaker during Super Bowl LV; where things stand with his contract negotiations with Amazon to do NBA games; his reaction to the Luka Donic-Anthony Davis trade, and more. Schulz discusses the 4 Nations Faceoff production; how ESPN looks at major hockey events; what makes best on best hockey an opportunity for the sport; the challenge of getting other ESPN entities to buy into the NHL; the longterm market for college hockey and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, 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

Feb 6, 2025 • 51min
The producer and director of Super Bowl LIX: Richie Zyontz and Rich Russo
Episode 472 of the Sports Media Podcast features Fox NFL producer Richie Zyontz and Fox NFL director Rich Russo. They are the lead production staffers on Fox’s top NFL team. This will be Zyontz’s eighth Super Bowl as a lead producer and Russo’s sixth as a lead director. In this podcast we discuss how pace dictates a broadcast; the Chiefs attempting a three-peat and what that means for the broadcast; Tom Brady’s first year; how and why they believe Brady has improved; why they believe Brady will fulfill his broadcasting contract; how Brady takes criticism; the role of Kevin Burkhardt in the broadcast; how they will approach Taylor Swift at the Super Bowl and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, 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

Feb 3, 2025 • 38min
Super Bowl viewership predictions — and Tom Brady’s big test
Episode 471 of the Sports Media Podcast features Jon Lewis, founder and editor of Sports Media Watch and Austin Karp, the managing editor of Sports Business Journal. In this podcast we discuss Super Bowl viewership; why Deitsch and Karp think there will be a record; whether there is any Chiefs fatigue (there isn’t); how Tom Brady will do as a Super Bowl analyst; Greg Olsen being ticked at not doing the game; the ESPN-ACC relationship continuing for nine more years; Peacock adding no new paid subscribers in Q4 and remaining flat at 36 million subscribers; Reggie Miller joining NBC as its No. 1 NBA analyst; Hubie Brown; the passing of Dick Button and more.You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, 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

Jan 30, 2025 • 58min
The WWE's Paul Heyman
Episode 470 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features WWE Hall Of Famer Paul Heyman. The WWE’s Royal Rumble streams live in the U.S. exclusively on Peacock and Netflix internationally on Feb. 1. In this podcast Heyman discusses his parents, a Holocaust survivor and World II veteran; how he views the WWE’s move to Netflix and how talent processed the move; whether WWE programming on Netflix intentionally looks like a sports production; the creative process under chief content officer Paul Levesque; why WWE talent has not been considered for Emmy Awards; why Heyman could not do the job of WWE CEO Nick Khan; why political characters no longer exist in the WWE; whether the verbal skills he shows in front of a live crowd are transferable to those in business and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, 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

Jan 28, 2025 • 1h 5min
The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand
Episode 469 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Andrew Marchand, a senior sports media writer at The Athletic. He is also the host of the Marchand Sports Media Podcast and you can find his work at AndrewMarchand.com. In this podcast we discuss how we saw the Eagles-Commanders and Chiefs-Bills broadcasts; our evaluation of Tom Brady; why Marchand thought CBS failed at the end of the Chiefs-Bills game; the Super Bowl airing on Fox; ESPN’s front-facing staffers doing political shows; whether there are Jordan rules for Stephen A. Smith; why the city of New Orleans is worth exploring; listener reviews, and much more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, 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

Jan 23, 2025 • 45min
How to cover the biggest NFL game of the season: The guests are Joe Buscaglia (who covers the Bills for The Athletic) and Nate Taylor (who covers the Chiefs for The Athletic)
Episode 468 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features writers Joe Buscaglia, who covers the Buffalo Bills for The Athletic, and Nate Taylor, who covers the Kansas City Chiefs for The Athletic. In this podcast the two reporters detail what their day to day week will be like leading up to one of the biggest NFL games of the season; the access they get to Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and other star players; what it’s been like for Nate to cover a team that has gone to the AFC Championship Game every year he has covered them; why this game is many ways is more about the Bills journey than the Chiefs; how they navigate many responsibilities on a Sunday; advice for younger writers; and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, 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

Jan 22, 2025 • 46min
Tom Brady Talk with Austin Karp and Chad Finn
Episode 467 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Chad Finn, the Boston Globe sports media writer and Austin Karp, managing editor/newsletters for Sports Business Journal. In this podcast we discuss Tom Brady’s agent, Don Yee, telling SBJ that Brady is in for 10 years at Fox; the transparency issue of what Brady owes viewers when discussing coaches he has interviewed as a Raiders minority owner; the viewership for the divisional round games; the Bills-Chiefs mega-showdown; the college football playoffs; Kirk Herbstreit getting emotional; and more.You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, 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

Jan 17, 2025 • 36min
Mini Podcast: How big can the Bills-Ravens get viewership-wise —and the passing of Bob Uecker
The episode of the Sports Media features Sports Media Watch founder and editor Jon Lewis. We discuss the NFL Divisional playoff round and what viewership might be; the power of the Bills-Ravens; whether you’d want to be on Saturday night versus Sunday afternoon; what last week’s WildCard round had lower viewership; the Fox Sports/LIV partnership; the Super Bowl on Tubi; the debut of Unrivaled on TNT Sports, and the passing of Bob Uecker. 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

Jan 14, 2025 • 32min
Producing the Ohio State-Notre Dame college football national championship game
Episode 466 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Bill Bonnell, an executive producer for ESPN and the lead college football producer at the company. Bonnell will produce the College Football Playoff National Championship Game next Monday from Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In this podcast, Bonnell discusses what having a 12-team playoff has meant for ESPN; his schedule this week; how Notre Dame’s history will play on the broadcast; the access given by Ohio State and Notre Dame; the philosophy of crowd shots for a college football game; ESPN facing criticism for not airing the pregame national anthem at the Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Notre Dame; viewership prospects and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, 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

Jan 13, 2025 • 40min
CNBC’s Alex Sherman on Venu Sports’ shuttering and Amazon Sports’ longterm play
Episode 465 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Alex Sherman, a CNBC reporter, the author of the CNBC Sport newsletter, and the host of CNBC Sport Videocast. In this podcast, Sherman discusses why Venu Sports failed to launch in the end; Disney combining its Hulu+ Live TV service with Fubo; what it means for Fox and WBD; UFC wanting $1B for its media rights; Sherman’s interview with Jay Marine, the Head of PrimeVideo Sports; Amazon and Netflix’s sports intentions and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, 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