The Sports Media Podcast

Marchand and Ourand go deep into what is next for Al Michaels, Sean McVay and Troy Aikman as they break down what could be a busy NFL TV offseason. The duo reviews NBC's Super Bowl coverage, doling out grades for the pregame and the game broadcast, identifying what went right and what went wrong. They go into the industry moves with Amazon's shift at the top and Turner Sports trying another "Manningcast" for the All-Star game. The two pick who was up and was down for the week and have their "Call of the Week." See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Super Bowl broadcaster Al Michaels joins the podcast this week to discuss his future role given that his NBC contract ends after the Super Bowl and he is being pursued by both Amazon and ESPN. Michaels also discusses his preparation for the Super Bowl and delivers his best Howard Cosell story. Marchand and Ourand preview the Super Bowl and discuss the disappointing TV ratings coming from the Winter Olympics in Beijing. The duo dives deep on executive moves, from ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro’s new contract to Jeff Zucker’s sudden resignation from CNN and Turner Sports. They also talk about a financial analyst’s suggestion that Netflix start investing in live sports and the Cubs intention to launch a streaming service. Other notable mentions go to ESPN’s Mina Kimes, Turner’s Lenny Daniels, NBC’s Dan Masonson, Mike Tirico and Savannah Guthrie. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tom Brady’s media future is the first topic on this week’s podcast, as Marchand and Ourand discuss how Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington broke the news of the quarterback’s retirement. The duo also discuss Tony Romo’s head-scratching analysis at the end of the AFC Championship game, the likelihood of Apple bidding on NFL Sunday Ticket, DraftKing’s move into producing sports content and the upcoming Olympics. Troy Aikman, Joe Buck, Jim Nantz and Nielsen CEO David Kenny get referenced in this week’s pod. Hockey Hall of Famer and ESPN NHL analyst Mark Messier joins as “The Big Get,” and talks about why he shaved his head in the early 1990s and whether ESPN’s hockey analysts would beat Turner’s group of analysts. Messier also talks about his relationships with the media – both in Canada and the United States – during his playing career. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Marchand and Ourand discuss the news that ESPN may pursue Al Michaels for Monday Night Football, even as he is way down the negotiation road with Amazon's Thursday Night Football. Michaels is slated to call the Super Bowl for NBC in less than three weeks and then the NFL TV Hot Stove will heat up. Troy Aikman and Sean Payton are possibly on the move. Sean McVay, who may stay as the Rams' coach, is a name that is high on TV executives' list. The guys get into how Netflix's earnings call could impact Disney's plans for ESPN. Plus, they talk about the Australian Open, the USFL and Marchand's Baseball Hall of Fame vote. The Calls of the Week ranks all the final calls from last second NFL playoff games. The "Who's and Who's Down" Awards have a football feel, as well. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Marchand and Ourand dissect Drew Brees’ underwhelming performance as NBC’s game analyst on the Raiders-Bengals game. The two also speculate on the future of the “Monday Night Football” booth after Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Louis Riddick called their final game of the season. Other topics include: will conference commissioners expand the College Football Playoff; what’s does ESPN’s deal with Pete Thamel mean for Adam Shefter and Adrian Wojnarowski; what’s the latest on rumors that Disney is looking to spin off ESPN; and what’s the takeaway from Microsoft’s purchase of Activision. Marchand and Ourand discuss feedback they received on their Mount Rushmore of NFL Media, while giving their weekly assessments of “Who’s Up” and “Who’s Down,” plus their “Calls of the Week.” Sean McManus, Burke Magnus, Bobby Kotick, Tony Romo and Tim Brando are in the mix. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Marchand and Ourand unveil their Mount Rushmore of NFL Media, while discussing Apple's potential deal to call MLB games, Sinclair's agreement with the NBA, Sunday Night Baseball's new booths and The Athletic's deal with the New York Times. For "Who's up," "Who's down" and "Calls of the Week," LeBron James, Jen Lada, Ian Eagle and Chris Fowler are some of the names in the mix.For "The Big Get" segment, Marchand and Ourand are joined by former Pro Bowler and current No. 2 Fox game analyst Greg Olsen. Olsen discusses how close he came to starting his broadcast career four years ago after an audition for Monday Night Football and discussions about Fox's Thursday Night Football. He reveals the advice Tony Romo gave him before deciding to enter the booth and he talks about his connection to his Fox partner Kevin Burkhardt, which dates back to when Burkhardt called Olsen's games in high school.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Andrew Marchand broke the story of MLB Network cutting ties with Ken Rosenthal. In their first podcast of 2022, Marchand and John Ourand discuss the fallout from that move. Other topics include the NFL’s first-ever Week 18, Kirk Herbstreit’s comments on college football players opting out of bowl games, Rachel Nichols next moves and the debut of Premier League games on USA Network. This episode’s Calls Of The Week are dedicated John Madden. Ourand goes to the college football arena for his Who’s Up of the week, while Marchand uses college football for his Who’s Down. Marchand’s Who Up is well known to the pod, while Ourand’s Who’s Down hits on Nielsen’s troubles. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On the 2022 Preview Extravaganza, Andrew Marchand and John Ourand preview the people who are going to have the best and worst years in 2022, as part of their Who’s Up/Who’s Down segment. Topics include Amazon’s plans for Thursday Night Football, gambling companies’ push to create and pay for content and the future of the regional sports networks. Marchand and Ourand preview the rights deals that are coming in 2022 with Sunday, the Big Ten, MLS and Formula One. And they offer a preview of what viewers should expect at the Winter Olympics and World Cup. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On the Year-in-Review Spectacular, Andrew Marchand and John Ourand pick their "Who's up" and "Who's down" for 2021. They analyze the biggest sports media topics of the year. The duo breaks down NFL TV deals, the Manningcast and the changing of the guard on Sunday Night Football. They look at the new power and money for the Pat Pat McAfees and Stephen A. Smiths of the world. Marchand and Ourand talk about the fallout from Maria Taylor/Rachel Nichols. They discuss the continuing fallout of cord-cutting for people like Sinclair's Chris Ripley and the proliferation of over-the-top, direct-to-consumer offerings. And they argue, once again, about Amazon sports. Plus, they award their Calls of the Year.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's podcast, Andrew Marchand and John Ourand tell you why Pat McAfee and Jimmy Pitaro are on the way up. They go deeper into McAfee's FanDuel deal, Amazon's budding studio show and what Pitaro and ESPN are up to spending-wise. They also dissect the Monday Night Football booth's future, the issues with MLS Cup's start and examine Ourand's Crystal Ball for the Big 10 rights and Al Michaels. Plus, they are joined by ABC/ESPN lead game analyst Jeff Van Gundy, who has advice for New York coaches in dealing with the media. Van Gundy details how he and Marv Albert didn't see eye-to-eye on Patrick Ewing and how Albert helped him get into broadcasting. Van Gundy identifies his favorite back pages and chimes in on Shaquille O'Neal saying Van Gundy looks like Marchand. It's all in the pod, as well regular features of "Who's up! Who's down!" and the "Calls of the Week."  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.