
The Sports Media Podcast
The hottest headlines, network deals, ratings, trends and everything else you need to know inside sports media.
Latest episodes

Jul 17, 2025 • 43min
F1 to Apple, ESPN’s John Lasker on DTC and MLB festivities
Adam Stern, a motorsports maven for SBJ, and John Lasker, ESPN's Senior VP for Direct-to-Consumer, dive into the transformative $150 million annual deal between F1 and Apple. They discuss its potential ramifications for traditional sports broadcasting, particularly ESPN and UFC. The duo also explores ESPN's innovative streaming strategies and the latest highlights from the MLB All-Star Game, such as the reception of the new 'Swing Off' event. Expect insights on evolving viewer trends and what the future holds for sports media.

Jul 10, 2025 • 48min
Fox’s Joe Davis, MLB Network’s Robert Flores and “The Decision” 15 years later
On the pod this week, Austin Karp and Mollie Cahillane take a look back 15 years to “The Decision” and LeBron James taking his talents to South Beach. They then take a deep dive into Apple’s pole position to land F1 media rights. With MLB All-Star festivities around the corner, the duo also chats with Joe Davis of Fox Sports about what he is looking forward to in Atlanta and why Shohei Ohtani is a man ahead of his time. Finally, MLB Network’s Robert Flores joins the show to talk about the state of the league ahead and why the league-owned network continues to have success.

Jul 3, 2025 • 37min
MLB and ESPN talking again?; Another big summer of soccer for Univision
This week on the Sports Media Podcast, Mollie Cahillane and Austin Karp explain why conversations between ESPN and MLB are what many expected and what those talks could yield. The duo also takes a deep dive into the results for both the NBA and NHL drafts, and whether the “F1” movie can help draw fans to live races and bolster fortunes for a media rights pact. Finally, Cahillane and Karp are joined by TelevisaUnivision’s Olek Loewenstein to examine the Spanish-language network’s approach to concurrent international soccer competitions. 1:19 MLB ESPN3:56 NBA8:19 DRAFTS10:39 F1 MOVIE14:38 QUICK HITTERS18:08 OLEK LOEWENSTEIN INTERVIEW

Jun 26, 2025 • 22min
Game 7 puts NBA Playoffs in positive territory; Inside the Pac-12/CBS deal
This week on the Sports Media Podcast, Mollie Cahillane and Austin Karp dive into the significance of NBA Finals Game 7 and whether a potential a run by Oklahoma City would be good for the NBA’s media fortunes. SBJ’s Ben Portnoy also joins for a deep dive into the Pac-12/CBS media rights agreement and where the league sits in the pantheon of college athletics. Finally, the duo breaks down ESPN’s equity stake in the Premier Lacrosse League and what that means for both sides. 0:31 NBA6:01 PLL8:18 QUICK HITTERS12:09 PAC-12 CBS MEDIA DEAL

Jun 19, 2025 • 39min
How Brian Rolapp’s move impacts NFL, PGA Tour media; SailGP, Vice TV look to crack the code
On the pod this week, Austin Karp chats with SBJ colleagues Ben Fischer and Josh Carpenter to break down the implications of Brian Rolapp’s move from the NFL to the PGA Tour (and whether he may still be on the NFL commissioner short list in the future). Then, fresh off a successful event in NYC, Karp talks with Melissa Lawton of SailGP to check in on the series’ deal with CBS and other media efforts. Finally, Vice TV’s Pete Gaffney joins Karp to talk about the strategy shift for the company into more sports programming.0:48 THIS WEEK IN SPORTS MEDIA2:07 BRIAN ROLAPP TO PGA TOUR11:50 MELISSA LAWTON INTERVIEW29:16 PETE GAFFNEY INTERVIEW

Jun 12, 2025 • 21min
ESPN’s Holly Rowe; WBDivorce; Championship Viewership
On the pod this week, co-hosts Austin Karp and Mollie Cahillane discuss Warner Bros. Discovery’s decision to split into separate entities. They break down how they expect it to work and what this means for the broader sports media landscape. The duo then deep dive into the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Final viewership numbers and experience. Later in the pod, ESPN’s Holly Rowe explains how reality far exceeded expectations on Women’s College World Series viewership.1:10 WBD NEWS AND ROLAND GARROS9:57 NBA AND NHL FINALS12:06 WCWS RECORDS16:04 WNBA19:14 MLB AND BELMONT STAKES

Jun 5, 2025 • 30min
NBA Finals has small markets, but new stars; Ally Financial's Andrea Brimmer
On the pod this week, Austin Karp and Mollie Cahillane break down the opportunity for the NBA Finals to showcase budding stars who play in smaller TV markets. The duo also discusses whether“Inside the NBA” could change on ESPN next season,and what ESPN talent might make sense to mix in with the current crew. Also, a look at the NHL Stanley Cup Final rematch between Edmonton and Florida and what’s going on with MLB media. Finally, Cahillane catches up with Ally Financial’s Andrea Brimmer to discuss how the brand, a big sponsor in sports, views the media value of the properties it has deals with.

May 29, 2025 • 40min
Memorial Day weekend rewind, former NFLPA exec George Atallah and Big3’s Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz
On the pod this week, coming off a memorable Memorial Day weekend, SBJ’s Austin Karp catches up with motorsports writer Adam Stern to talk about his time at the Indy 500 and his first impressions of Prime Video’s NASCAR debut. Karp then chats with longtime NFLPA senior exec George Atallah about his time with the union and how players are thinking about media issues. Finally, Big3 co-founders Jeff Kwatinetz and Ice Cube, stop by to talk about what to expect in the league’s upcoming season.

May 22, 2025 • 50min
WNBA; TNT Sports,; Indy 500
On this week’s SBJ Sports Media Podcast, co-hosts Austin Karp and Mollie Cahillane break down the strong start to the WNBA season, but question whether there is any CaitlinClark fatigue yet. The duo also looks at the final four teams for the NBA and NHL postseasons and why ScottieScheffler may not be a needle-mover. Plus, Karp talks to TNT Sports Chair & CEO LuisSilberwasser about the company’s debut at Roland-Garros. And with the Indianapolis 500 making its debut on Fox on Sunday, IndyCar analyst TownsendBell chats with Karp about the open-wheel series.

May 15, 2025 • 30min
Upfront season; WNBA; UFL
On this week’s SBJ Sports Media Podcast, co-hosts Austin Karp and Mollie Cahillane discuss how sports has taken over the annual upfront season. Plus, Karp talks to WNBA Dallas Wings CEO and managing partner Greg Bibb ahead of the start to Paige Bueckers era for his club. And with just a few weeks left in the UFL season, President & CEO Russ Brandon joins Karp for a talk about how Season 2 is going.