Sports Media With Richard Deitsch

Episode 338 of the Sports Media Podcast features two writers who were selected for The Year’s Best Sports Writing 2023 analogy. They are Ryen Hockensmith of ESPN and Sarah Hepola of Texas Monthly. In this podcast Hockensmith discusses his story (“The Secret MVP of Sports? The Port-A-Potty”) and how it came to be; the importance of the Port-a-Potty at sporting events; the challenges of reporting and writing this piece; his piece on the life of a sports gambling help worker, which was an Honorable Mention selection, and more. Hepola discusses her piece (“A Half Century of High Kicks and Hot Pants”) and how it came to be; the culture importance and history of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders; the financial exploitation of the women who were part of the group; how she came to the story; how the cheerleaders are viewed today and more. 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/pri

Jon Lewis, the founder and editor of Sports Media Watch, comes on to discuss if Taylor Swift has made an impact on NFL viewership; NBC’s Chiefs-Jets game averaging 27 million viewers; Colorado-USC drawing 7.241 million; whether this is the end for Colorado as a viewership juggernaut; college football being up; Ryder Cup ratings down; Thursday Night Football’s postgame; the WNBA Finals viewership outlook and more. Jon will be on with other sports viewership experts for mini-pods throughout the NFL season. 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 337 of the Sports Media Podcast features three writers who were selected for The Year’s Best Sports Writing 2023 anthology. They are Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Derrick Gould of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Cassidy Randall, a freelance writer whose piece from The Atavist Magazine was selected. In this podcast Coffey discusses her story (“The Phillies’ Andrew Bellatti Made a Fatal Mistake as a Teen. A Tale of Remarkable Forgiveness Followed”) and how it came to be; the challenge of telling the story of how Bellatti, then 18, killed a man in a car accident and how the man’s window forgave Bellatti; the reporting of the piece and more. Gould discusses his story (“A New Bat, Old Friends, and Timeless Magic As Cardinals Albert Pujols Soars To 700”) and how a piece on Pujols’s historic home run came together; how to approach the endless cycle of baseball writing; the challenge of covering a team that is having a bad year and more. Randall discusses her piece (“Alone At The Edge Of The World

Austin Karp, managing editor/digital for Sports Business Journal, comes on for a mini-podcast to discuss Colorado-Oregon and Ohio State-Notre Dame’s viewership numbers;  Amazon’s big Thursday Night start; CBS’s big NFL September; Taylor Swift ratings; why MLB viewership on ESPN and ESPN2 was down; Fox moving games from FS1 to Fox to juice the viewership;  the impact on the Red Sox and Yankees struggling and more. He’ll be on with other sports viewership experts for mini-pods throughout the NFL season.  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 336 of the Sports Media Podcast features Ian Eagle, the CBS Sports/WBD/YES Network and Westwood One Sports broadcaster, and Sports Illustrated podcaster and writer Jimmy. Traina. In this podcast Eagle discusses dropping a Taylor Swift reference during the Chiefs-Jaguars game and the explosion of coverage that followed; why things go viral; how doing a Thursday Night radio broadcast helps his TV work; adjusting to so many different partners; his Nets schedule; how he feels when he reads that his son Noah, also a sports broadcaster, is a product of nepotism; his upcoming Final Four NCAA assignment; how he views Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson being replaced by Doris Burke and Doc Rivers; calling college football and more. Traina discusses Friday Night SmackDown coming back to USA Network beginning October 2024; WWE producing four primetime specials per year that will air on NBC; Fox being out of the WWE business; the financial terms of the deal; storylines involving The Rock and Roman Reigns and more. Y

Bill Shea, a longtime sports business reporter for Crain's Detroit Business, and The Athletic, comes on for a mini-podcast to discuss NFL, the Monday Night Football viewership experiment, and college football viewership for Week 2. He’ll be on with other sports viewership experts for mini-pods throughout the NFL season.  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 335 of the Sports Media Podcast features Jon Lewis, the founder and editor of Sports Media Watch, and Aaron Portzline, a senior writer for The Athletic who covers the Columbus Blue Jackets. In this podcast Deitsch and Lewis discuss ABC’s decision to simulcast 10 additional Monday Night Football games; Colorado-Colorado State averaging 9.30 million viewers on ESPN for a post-10:00 p.m. ET kickoff; the impact Colorado has had on sports media content; what will happen when Colorado loses; Caitlin Clark and Deion viewership comparisons; College GameDay vs. Big Noon Kickoff; WBD’s premium live sports to simulcast live on Max via Bleacher Report Sports Add-On as well as continuing to air on TNT, TBS and truTV, and more. Portzline discusses Babcock resigning less than three months after his July 1 hiring; what covering Babcock was like; if it says something from a media perspective that Blue Jackets players felt comfortable speaking their truth to Paul Bissonnette; the Blue Jackets in terms of access and ope

Anthony Crupi, a sports media reporter from Sportico, comes on for a mini-podcast to discuss NFL and college football viewership for Week 1 and the Charter-Disney settlement. He’ll be on with other sports viewership experts for mini-pods throughout the NFL season. 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 334 of the Sports Media Podcast features Chad Finn, sports media writer of The Boston Globe, and Ava Wallace, a tennis writer and Wizards beat reporter for The Washington Post. In this podcast Finn discusses the opening week of the NFL season and the viewership numbers being down; the season-ending injury to Aaron Rodgers; the Charter-Disney agreement; sports media companies going after the Deion Sanders market; the beginning of the The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN; and more. Wallace discusses how she approaches covering tennis; the biggest challenges of covering the U.S. Open; access to players such as Coco Gauff and Novak Djokovic; her takeaways from the U.S. Open and what’s next for Gauff; covering the NBA versus tennis; conflicts of interest in tennis broadcasting and more. 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.

Episode 333 of the Sports Media Podcast features three guests together — Amazon Prime Video play by play broadcaster Al Michaels, Amazon lead game producer Mark Teitelman and Fred Gaudelli, the executive producer of NBC’s and Amazon Prime’s NFL coverage. Amazon’s first NFL broadcast in 2023 will feature the Vikings at Eagles on Sept. 14 at 8:15 p.m. ET. In this podcast, the three discuss Teitelman taking over the lead producer role and what that will mean; how Teitelman defines a successful production; why Teitelman was selected for the role; the role Gaudelli will play this season; where Michaels is on his preparation for the opening game; the criticism that Michaels and Tony Romo faced from some last season; Amazon’s Black Friday game; the impact of Flex scheduling; the most famous person each have in their cell phones; Al’s Green Room stories about Serena Williams and Don Rickles; when gambling info will be incorporated into game broadcasts; why Gaudelli called Chris Mortensen one of the five most influent

Austin Karp, managing editor/digital for Sports Business Journal and Jon Lewis, founder of Sports Media Watch, come on for a mini-podcast to discuss sports viewership. They offer their thoughts on Week 1 of the NFL season, season predictions, and the college pregame shows. They’ll be on with other sports viewership experts for mini-pods throughout the NFL season.  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 332 of the Sports Media Podcast features Kevin Clark, who launched a digital show (“This is Football”) this week with Omaha Productions and ESPN. In this podcast, Clark discusses leaving The Ringer to join Omaha Productions and ESPN; creating a digital show and podcast called “This Is Football”; what he hopes to do with his new show; potential guests; the value of having an agent at this point in his career; his pick of a Bengals-Cowboys Super Bowl; Peter King’s predictions for an Eagles-Bills Super Bowl; thoughts on the Chiefs, Jaguars and Niners; why a Las Vegas Super Bowl is going to be incredible and more. 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

Episode 331 of the Sports Media Podcast features Ty Schmit, a producer and on-air personality of The Pat McAfee Show, a live weekday sports talk show that launches on multiple ESPN platforms on Sept. 7.  In this podcast, Schmit discusses his job for The Pat MacAfee Show; how guests and story ideas are selected; the challenges and frustrations of booking guests; how much he and the staff were kept in the loop when McAfee was meeting with potential employers for his next move; why ESPN can be a good fit for the show; using non-ESPN people; why he decided to apply to work for McAfee as an intern; moving to Indianapolis fulltime without having a guarantee that McAfee would keep him on after his internship; his ability to do a Lou Holtz impression on demand; the possibility of booking Iowa women’s basketball standout Caitlin Clark, and more. 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

Episode 330 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features NBC’s Big Ten Saturday Night lead analyst Todd Blackledge. Blackledge’s first call will be West Virginia at Penn State on Sept. 2 at 7:30 on NBC and Peacock. Big Ten Football will air each week on NBC and stream live on Peacock. In this podcast, Blackledge discusses why he left ESPN for NBC; how NBC made him feel wanted; being the lead of a college football package; his opening weeks of the season and how he is preparing for them; how he’s trying to find chemistry with new partner Noah Eagle; whether he views ABC’s Saturday Night Football as competition; his upcoming Big Ten podcast with Eagle; whether he can separate someone hating to see the Pac-12 dissolve with the reality that the new Big Ten teams strengthens NBC’s schedule; the loudest stadium he has been to as a broadcaster, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, and more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visi

Episode 329 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests. First up is Kendall Baker, a senior writer for Yahoo Sports who is heading up the company’s newsletter initiative. His first newsletter for Yahoo Sports debuted Aug. 28. He is followed by Jenni Carlson, the longtime sports columnist for The Oklahoman who has moved to Sellout Crowd.com, a new sports digital startup which starts Sept. 1. In this podcast Baker discusses why he joined Yahoo Sports and what he plans to bring for readers; his view of impactful sports curation; the choice to add or not add opinion for a newsletter; the importance of newsletters for sports outlets; his time at Axios; the ideal time a sports newsletter should drop; who else is doing well in the space; whether individuals should have their own newsletter and more. Carlson discusses why she left The Oklahoman after 24 years; the impact a general sports columnist can have on a city or state; what Selloutcrowd.com plans to offer for readers and why it is not subscription-based;

Episode 328 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features ESPN play by play broadcaster Chris Fowler. In this podcast, Fowler discusses his role as ESPN’s lead tennis game-caller; his preparation for the upcoming U.S. Open; the Alcaraz-Djokovic Wimbledon final; how he sees the immediate future of the men’s and women’s game; the challenge of calling tennis off a monitor; his August and September college football schedule with Kirk Herbstreit; his new agreement with ESPN; being assigned the Saints-Panthers; Rams/Bengals and the Week 4 Falcons at Jaguars game as part of the NFL’s International Series at Wembley Stadium in London; working with Dan Orlovsky and Louis Riddick; his love of the Olympics; working in South Africa for the 2010 World Cup; why he enjoys podcasting and using social media to offer short-form thoughts, and more. 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.auda

Episode 327 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Marc J. Spears, senior NBA writer for Andscape and one of the prominent NBA voices in the country.  In this podcast, Spears discusses being awarded the Curt Gowdy Media Award by the Basketball Hall of Fame for his contributions to the game of basketball; the experience of being honored in Springfield, Mass; joining ESPN in 2016 as a senior NBA writer with the Undefeated, now known as Andscape, and how ESPN has changed from 2016 to 2023 from his perspective as a writer; writing about race and culture and how people react to that; how NBA players feel about playing in Toronto; why players have given him access over the years; LSU women’s basketball; the role of agents in NBA stories; hosting and producing a new show about food and wine that will air on Hulu on August 28, and more. 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://ww

Episode 326 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features an extended conversation with Burke Magnus, the president of content at ESPN who has oversight of ESPN’s live events, studio shows, newsgathering, original content/ESPN Films, the Talent Office, as well as audio, digital, and social media. In this podcast, Magnus discusses how aggressive ESPN will be in retaining the NBA; the interest ESPN would have if the NCAA women’s basketball tournament went up for open bid; ESPN’s interest in future World Cup rights; how Magnus sees the upcoming College Football Playoff package; the disbandment of the Pac-12; the reporting that ESPN once offered $30 million a team for the Pac 12 which the Pac 12 turned down; whether it is fair to blame Fox and ESPN for mass realignment in college football; if former Pac-12 teams going to the Big Ten hurts ESPN; the market for ESPN outside of the cable bundle; the expected price point when ESPN goes over the top to direct to consumer; whether there will be more layoffs

Episode 325 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features three guests. First up is Men in Blazers  co-founder Roger Bennett and USWNT midfielder and podcaster Sam Mewis, who have combined forces with longtime USWNT center back Becky Sauerbrunn to broadcast on Twitch during the Women’s World Cup. Bennett and Mewis will be live on the Men In Blazers’ Twitch feed for the Women’s World Cup semifinals and final. In this podcast, Bennett and Mewis discuss how they approach a second screen experience for soccer fans; why they have had audiences of more than 500,000 viewers on their Twitch feed; Mewis on watching the WWC coverage this month and how that differed from how she consumed media as a player; the next evolution of Men In Blazers; Mewis’s post-playing interest in working in the media and more. Dodd discusses his new book with Mark Dent, “Kingdom Quarterback: Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs, and How a Once Swingin' Cow Town Chased the Ultimate Comeback”; the roots of Kansas City and how i

Episode 324 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features the Editor In Chief for college football at The Athletic, Stewart Mandel. In this podcast, Mandel discusses the impact of Fox and ESPN on the Pac-12 no longer existing as we knew it; his reporting on Apple’s offer to the Pac-12; college sports administrators wanting linear television despite the declines in viewership and households; the Pac-12 title game as a PPV play?; Oregon and Washington in the Big Ten; why realignment content draws significant page views; what will happen with Stanford and Cal; how this impacts non-college football sports such as women’s college basketball; what this will look like five years from now, and more. 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