Host Andrew Marchand broke all the news about ESPN’s new NBA booth next season, and on this week’s podcast, he explains why ESPN let go of Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy. Host John Ourand broke news this week of NASCAR signing a rights deal with The CW, and on this week’s podcast, he breaks down what the deal means for both The CW and NASCAR. Other topics on this week’s pod include the frightening subscriber numbers sports channels are posting this year; the state of negotiations around the Pac-12’s media deal; an update on the MLS-Apple deal; and the status of ESPN Radio now that the company has outsourced the group’s operations and sales to Craig Karmazin’s Good Karma.

In this week’s Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast sponsored by WSC Sports:In this week’s Marchand & Ourand Sports Media Podcast, Mike Tirico joins the show one year before the start of the Summer Olympics in Paris. Tirico talks about his preparation for hosting those games with NBC and his role in covering geopolitical stories during the games. Tirico describes how he broke into the business, how he landed a job at ESPN and what made him move to NBC. Tirico also discusses the situation early in his NBC tenure when he wasn’t calling NFL games and how he kept from being frustrated. Marchand and Ourand open the podcast with a discussion around the company Disney is most likely to pick as a strategic partner on ESPN, from Comcast to sports leagues to venture capital to Big Tech to gambling. The two hosts then talk the story Ourand broke about the number of MLS Season Pass subscribers approaching 1 million. The conversation turns to parsing Apple’s sports ambitions further and a review of the Pac-12’s Media Day. As always, Marchand and Ourand give their picks for Who’s Up and Who’s Down in sports media for the week.For more information about WSC Sports http://bitly.ws/AUVk

In this week’s Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast sponsored by WSC Sports:In this week’s Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast, BoA Securities Analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich joins hosts Andrew Marchand and John Ourand to discuss ESPN’s future. Reif Ehrlich dissects Bob Iger’s CNBC interview from last week, when he spoke about looking for a strategic partner for ESPN. She talked about who the likely partners on ESPN would be, when ESPN would take its main channel direct-to-consumer and whether Disney is a stronger company without ESPN right now. Reif Ehrlich also analyzed where the multichannel universe is headed, the companies that are best situated for the changes in media and the decision facing the NBA, as that league takes its rights to market. Marchand and Ourand discuss broadcaster moves at ESPN (“MNF Countdown” and NBA games) and FS1 (“Undisputed”). They preview the FIFA Women’s World Cup, give MLS a report card as the league meets for its annual All-Star Game and review ESPN’s coverage from Wimbledon. As with every pod, Marchand and Ourand offer their picks of who in sports media had a good week, and who did not. For more information about WSC Sports http://bitly.ws/AUVkDisclosures for Jessica Reif Ehrlich / BofA Securities on DISThe issuer is or was, within the last 12 months, an investment banking client of BofAS and/or one or more of its affiliates.BofAS or an affiliate expects to receive or intends to seek compensation for investment banking services from this issuer or an affiliate of the issuer within the next three months.BofAS or an affiliate has received compensation from the issuer for non-investment banking services or products within the past 12 months.The issuer is or was, within the last 12 months, a securities business client (non-investment banking) of BofAS and/or one or more of its affiliates.The issuer is or was, within the last 12 months, a non-securities business client of BofAS and/or one or more of its affiliates.BofAS or one of its affiliates has a significant financial interest in the fixed income instruments of the issuer. If this report was issued on or after the 15th day of the month, it reflects a significant financial interest on the last day of the previous month. Reports issued before the 15th day of the month reflect a significant financial interest at the end of the second month preceding the report.One or more analysts responsible for covering the securities in this report owns stock of the covered issuer.

In this week’s Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast sponsored by WSC Sports:Andrew Marchand returns from vacation to offer his perspective on ESPN’s layoffs, from which high-profile on-air departure is the most surprising to educated guesses on who will call NBA games given Jeff Van Gundy’s layoff. Marchand and John Ourand go on to discuss the New York Times’ decision to scrap its sports desk and move its existing sports reporters to the business section. As MLB enters the mid-way point of its season, Marchand and Ourand take a deep dive into the regional sports network crisis that teams, leagues and media companies are facing. The co-hosts discuss MLB’s local media strategy and Charter’s plan to deal with the high-cost channels on its Spectrum cable systems. The two also talk about personnel changes on Fox Sports’ Big Noon Kickoff and opine on the newest Twitter threat: Threads.For more information about WSC Sports http://bitly.ws/AUVk

In this week’s Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast sponsored by WSC Sports:ESPN’s Paul Finebaum, host of a daily four-hour show on SEC Network, joins this week’s pod as a co-host and discusses what it was like inside ESPN as last week’s on-air layoffs were announced, including well-known names like Jeff Van Gundy, Suzy Kolber and Jalen Rose. Finebaum discusses what his day was like the Friday the layoffs were made and what morale is like among the ESPNers that remain. Ourand and Finebaum, one of the smartest minds in college sports, dive into how the Power Five conferences stand from a media standpoint. Topics include what to expect from the Pac-12’s next media deal, changes to the Big Ten’s media rights package due to take effect this fall, and how the Big 12 appears to be in a better situation than the ACC and Pac-12. Ourand and Finebaum dive into some of the struggles the ACC faces and consider the schools most likely to leave one conference for another. Ourand and Finebaum share their picks for Who’s Up and Who’s Down for the week and offer a Call of the Week.For more information about WSC Sports http://bitly.ws/AUVk

The fourth and, presumably, last round of Disney’s layoffs is about to hit ESPN’s on-screen stars. Hosts Andrew Marchand and John Ourand discuss what to expect and how cuts already have affected ESPN Radio. Marchand and Ourand move into a discussion of last week’s corporate reorg, which saw longtime executive Burke Magnus cement his position as second in command to Jimmy Pitaro. During their wide-ranging discussion, the hosts identify the executives who gained the most power inside ESPN.Other topics on this week’s podcast include a review of Derek Jeter’s debut on Fox Sports’ MLB pregame show; a review of ESPN’s NBA Draft coverage; and the NBA Draft night controversy involving The Athletic’s Shams Charania. SBJ’s media titan Austin Karp returns for a Karp’s Korner segment on MLB ratings. The pod has its regular Who’s Up/Who’s Down segment this week, as well as a Call of the Week honoring ESPN’s Neil Everett, who anchored his final “SportsCenter” last week after a 23-year run.

In this week’s Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast sponsored by WSC Sports:With Derek Jeter making his debut on Fox’s MLB coverage this weekend, hosts Andrew Marchand and John Ourand discuss how the Hall of Famer shortstop will fit in with the network’s other studio analysts David Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez. Marchand and Ourand also address Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s comments about this pod and the XFL. Other topics include: J.J. Watts’ television prospects, Craig Carton’s move from radio to television and Adrian Wojnarowski’s decision not to tip picks on Twitter during this week’s NBA Draft. As always, Marchand and Ourand give offer picks for sports media types who are on the way up and ones on the way down. ESPN host Malika Andrews joins as The Big Get this week, talking about how her journey from editing the school newspaper at the University of Portland to ESPN. Andrews, who will host this week’s NBA Draft on ESPN, discussed her preparation for the night and touched on her career goals. Andrews also talks about her decision to talk about mental health struggles publicly and the feedback she’s received.https://nypost.com/2020/09/16/malika-andrews-fought-painful-demons-before-meteoric-espn-rise/For more information about WSC Sports http://bitly.ws/AUVk

In this week’s Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast sponsored by WSC Sports:With the end of the NBA Finals, hosts Andrew Marchand and John Ourand look into what’s next for the league, from the media free agents we’ll see on TV next year to the all-important rights deal that has generated huge interest. Marchand and Ourand also detail why viewers should expect the NBA Finals’ earlier start times to remain next season and review the NBA Finals from a media perspective. The hosts discuss why the next four weeks are so important to the bankrupt Diamond Sports Group and the RSNs they run. They look into Messi’s potential impact on MLS and AppleTV+, WWE’s media rights negotiations, changes at the top of NBC Sports, changes on the set of Big Noon Kickoff and an update on Pac-12 rights. As always, they pick the people who had good weeks and bad weeks in sports media. And this week’s episode includes the return of their popular Call of the Week feature.For more information about WSC Sports http://bitly.ws/AUVk

In this week’s Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast sponsored by WSC Sports:Andrew Marchand is joined this week by guest host Colin Cowherd, who was in for John Ourand. Marchand and Cowherd reveal "Who's up" and "Who's down." The two go into the media implications of the LIV deal. Cowherd reveals the valuation of his company, The Volume, after just two years. Marchand and Cowherd discuss how ESPN tried to woo Cowherd back from FS1. He discussed how far he got with jobs with National Geographic and CNN when he was leaving ESPN eight years ago. The duo discussed the impending break-up of Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe on Undisputed. They delved into Pat McAfee's move to ESPN. Plus, Cowherd gives some sound advice on how to be happy in sports media. For more information about WSC Sports http://bitly.ws/AUVk

In this week’s Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast sponsored by WSC Sports:As the NBA is about to start its Heat-Nuggets Finals series, hosts Andrew Marchand and John Ourand look into the league’s media performance throughout the playoffs, comparing the game broadcasts and studio shows from both ESPN and TNT and preview the league’s rights deals, which will start to be negotiated next year. Marchand and Ourand also preview the Panthers-Golden Knights NHL’s Stanley Cup Finals, which will be carried entirely on cable for the first time ever. SBJ’s TV ratings expert Austin Karp returns with his regular Karp’s Korner segment to offer his viewership predictions in both sports. Marchand and Ourand dive into financial analyst Michael Nathanson’s new, more dire prediction about how far cable TV will fall, preview what will happen as Diamond continues to try and operate through bankruptcy and give a review of last week’s Sports Business Awards, where Fox Sports and Eric Shanks swept the media categories. As always, Marchand and Ourand offer their choices for Who’s Up and Who’s Down for the week, featuring Charles Barkley, Peter Drury, Kevin Harlan and Crane Kenney.For more information about WSC Sports http://bitly.ws/AUVk