Sports Media With Richard Deitsch

Episode 53 of the Sports Media Podcast features a roundtable with Sports Business Daily media reporter John Ourand. In this podcast, Deitsch and Ourand discuss the NFL moving Sunday divisional playoff games to 3pm and 6:30 p.m. ET start times; dropping the single-header rule, meaning all markets will get at least three Sunday afternoon games; the postseason NBA viewership; how much of the declines are tied to LeBron James versus other factors; the L.A. Times profile of ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro; the future of cord cutting; whether Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google will pick up significant sports rights packages by 2025; ESPN and the nexus of sports and politics; Pitaro saying talent is no longer confused about politics; the NFL Network’s rights deal with Conference USA for 10 football games; the Sports Emmys and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Radio.com and more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc

Episode 53 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests. First up is Taylor Rooks, a host and reporter for Bleacher Report and the host of “Take It There With Taylor Rooks,” which airs on Bleacher Report. She is followed by Jim Ross, the iconic wrestling broadcaster who is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling as a commentator and senior advisor. He also has a new podcast — Grilling JR – with Conrad Thompson.  In this podcast, Rooks discusses her career arc and how she landed a national sports interview show at age 26; how her age is an asset with athletes; mentors such as Cari Champion and their impact on helping Rooks guide through the sports media business as a women and women of color; whether she feels pressure as the face of a B/R campaign; speaking truth publicly on topics such as race; her interviews with Jimmy Butler, Damian Lillard, Saquon Barkley, Elena Delle Donne and Rudy Gobert among others; the role of “each one, teach one” in her life; what she hopes to achieve long-term and much more.  R

Episode 52 of the Sports Media Podcast features three guests: First up is a sports media roundtable with Washington Post sports and media writer Ben Strauss of The Washington Post and Hannah Withiam, an associate editor at The Athletic. They are followed by  Armen Keteyian, the longtime broadcast television journalist and an anchor and executive producer for The Athletic.  In this podcast, Strauss, Withiam and Deitsch discuss the XFL’s media deal including the announcement that more than half of the XFL's games will be on broadcast television as part of deals the league announced with Fox and ESPN; whether spring football can be successful as a sports media play; how ESPN and Fox might approach production; what we think of ESPN’s decision to name Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland as the Monday Night Football booth; how long we expect ESPN management to give the new MNF booth; the Sinclair Broadcast Group buying 21 regional sports networks from Disney for $10.6 billion; what Sinclair owning the linear TV and

Episode 51 of the Sports Media Podcast features three guests: First up is Tim Layden, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and a contributor to NBC Sports. He is followed by Bruce Feldman, a college football reporter for The Athletic and Fox Sports. The last segment is with Daniel Dale, the Washington correspondent for the Toronto Star.  In this podcast, Layden discusses how to cover the Kentucky Derby, whatmakes covering the Derby unique compared to other events, the access that the sports media gets during Derby week and after the race; writing about horse racing versus other sports; what the media contingent is like covering the Kentucky Derby; how two Triple Crown horses over the last four years will impact this year’s coverage; the deaths of 23 horses at Santa Anita and where that story will next go; the prospects of Omaha Beach; whether there are young people on the horse racing beat; and much more.  Feldman discusses his experience at ESPN The Magazine; how he views the decision of ESPN to stop publi

Episode 50 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two segments: First up is Adnan Virk and Mike Lombardi, the co-hosts of the new podcast, “The GM Shuffle.” Virk is currently the host of DAZN’s “ChangeUp” MLB whip-around show as well as a host at MLB Network. He worked for ESPN for a decade before he was fired by that company earlier this year. Lombardi is a longtime NFL executive who has worked for ESPN, CBS Sports, Showtime, the NFL Network, Fox Sports, Sports Illustrated, The Ringer and The Athletic. In this podcast, Virk and Lombardi discuss how their podcast came together and what they hope to bring to listeners; honesty and authenticity for podcast listeners; how Virk feels about ESPN today; whether he would have been fired by ESPN if he was a bigger name; how ESPNers should feel about management loyalty; who leaked the story of Virk’s firing and whether he leaked that information; Lombardi on how long Bill Belichick can continue to coach; the Kyler Murray-Josh Rosen situation for Ari

Episode 49 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests: First up is Jemele Hill, a staff writer for The Atlantic and a former ESPN SportsCenter anchor and personality. Hill is the host of a new podcast — “Jemele Hill is Unbothered” for Spotify. Hill is followed by Rick Reilly, the author of "Commander In Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump” and a former writer and on-air personality for Sports Illustrated and ESPN.  In this podcast, Hill discusses her transition from ESPN to roles that intersect sports, politics and social issues; her reaction to the Adnan Virk firing; her new podcast and how it was conceived; what she hopes listeners will take away from her new podcast; how to format a new podcast; the future of her friend and former ESPN colleague, Michael Smith; getting death threats online and how that has impacted her life; her thoughts on Tiger Woods winning the Masters and his role in the African-American community, and more.  Reilly discusses why he wrote a book on Donald Trump’s r

Episode 48 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests: First up is Ron MacLean the host of Hockey Night in Canada and Rogers Hometown Hockey and one of the most well-known sports broadcasters in Canada. He’s followed by Chicago White Sox and ESPN broadcaster Jason Benetti. In this podcast, MacLean discusses the relevance of the Hockey Night In Canada host role in 2019; the most important trait a sports television host can have and why; his relationship with Coaches Corner co-host Don Cherry and why it was worked for as long as it has; why Cherry continues to provoke a reaction from an audience; navigating politics in on-air commentary; his turbulent relationship with Gary Bettman; his return to the Hockey Night in Canada host role two years ago after he was removed from the lead chair; traveling Canada for Hometown Hockey broadcasts; where the hockey stands in terms of inclusiveness and specifically for people of color, women and the LGBTQ community; whether there are truisms of abou

Episode 47 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Renee Young and Paul Heyman of the WWE. Young is a commentator on Monday Night Raw, the WWE’s flagship show, and the first woman to hold that position. Heyman is a longtime WWE performer — he currently is the advocate for Brock Lesnar —and sports entertainment impresario. Both Heyman and Young will perform at WrestleMania 35 in East Rutherford, N.J. The last segment features Sports Business Daily media writer John Ourand.  In this podcast, Heyman and Young discuss what they see as effective public speaking and performing on television; what a work week is like for each prior to performing on Raw; Young’s learning curve as a commentator for RAW; the freedom both get from management regarding WWE storylines; how to sell a message most effectively in the fewest words possible; the adjustments Young has had to make calling matches of her real-life spouse, Dean Ambrose; how Heyman worked with Ronda Rousey on her promos and why he has enjoyed the

Episode 46 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features five sports podcasters discussing all facets of their podcasts. The opening segment features Conrad Thompson, the host of three immensely popular wresting podcasts: Something to Wrestle (with Bruce Pritchard); 83 Weeks (with Eric Bischoff) and What Happened When (with Tony Schiavone). He is followed by Shireen Ahmed, one of the co-hosts of the “Burn It All Down” podcast, which brings an intersectional feminist view to the biggest stories in sports. Next up is Emily Kaplan and Greg Wyshynski, the co-hosts of “ESPN On Ice with Wyshynski and Kaplan.” Wyshynski also hosts the Puck Soup podcast. They are followed by Steven Bennett, who hosts the Buffalo-based podcast, The Sports-Casters. In this podcast, the podcasters discuss how and when they started their podcasts and why they do it; the process of putting together their podcasts each week; how many downloads they get per episode; how much time it takes each week from conception to completion;

Episode 45 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Michael Kay, the television voice of  the New York Yankees for the YES Network and the host of The Michael Kay Show, which airs 3:00 to 7:00 PM ET on ESPN’s New York City radio affiliate. Kay’s interview is followed by a sports media roundtable with Mike McCarthy, a sports media reporter for The Sporting News and Hannah Withiam, an associate editor for The Athletic. In this podcast, Kay discusses his recent interview with New York Knicks owner James Dolan; how he assessed it from his end; what Dolan said prior and after the interview; his radio competition with WFAN’s Mike Francesa; his professional issues with Francesa; why he feels his show is better; what he will do if he beats Francesa in the ratings; what Kay has learned about being a drive-time host in the nation’s biggest media market; navigating working for the Yankees with hosting a sports-talk show that discusses the Yankees; how far a broadcaster in his position can go in terms of

Episode 44 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features a conversation with NFL Network analyst and NFL Draft expert Daniel Jeremiah. In this podcast, Jeremiah details what a typical day is like for him prior to the NFL Draft; how the departure of Mike Mayock has impacted him professionally; whether he feels more pressure this year on-air in the post-Mayock era given his prominence at the NFL Network; how he will evaluate Mayock’s picks and whether he thinks he’ll have insight into which players Mayock prefers; growing up as the son of David Jeremiah, the senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church and a well-known figure in the faith community; how ESPN’s Chris Mortensen helped him get his start in the sports media; how he weighs sharing his faith publicly; whether he feels ESPN’s Draft analysts are competitors; his father serving as the chaplain for the NBA’s Clippers (then playing in San Diego) and leading services for NFL teams in town to play the Chargers; what he thinks of anonymous s

Episode 43 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features a roundtable with Sports Business Daily media reporter John Ourand and Boston Globe sports media writer Chad Finn. In this podcast, the group discusses Jason Witten’s return to the Dallas Cowboys; how surprised ESPN management was with Witten’s decision; what ESPN is likely to do next with Monday Night Football; whether ESPN would be better served with a two-person or three person booth; what media outlet will end up getting the story on the new Monday Night Football booth for 2019; David Levy leaving Turner Sports and the impact of that departure; what Jeff Zucker running WarnerMedia’s news and sports means for Turner properties; the Mets hiring of Jessica Mendoza as an advisor; how viewers should view Mendoza, Alex Rodriguez, David Ross, David Ortiz and Pedro Martinez and others working for baseball organizations and broadcasting games at the same time; what to expect from ESPN’s new sports gambling show; whether hardcore sports gamblers w

Episode 42 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features three guests. First up is Ian Eagle and Sarah Kustok, the broadcast team for the Brooklyn Nets as well as accomplished broadcasters for CBS, the YES Network  Turner Sports and Tennis Channel (Eagle) and the YES Network and Fox Sports (Kustok). They are followed by Wall Street Journal sports columnist Jason Gay and Boston Globe baseball writer Pete Abraham.  In this podcast, Eagle and Kustok discuss why it works between the two of them; what is unique about their partnership; how they value preparation and passion about preparation; whether you can have a good broadcast if you dislike your colleague; how the Nets’ current success has impacted their broadcast; why Eagle says Kustok gets television; whether they have ever gotten on each other nerves; working with Richard Jefferson in a three-person booth; why Brad Stevens, Erik Spoelstra and Nick Nurse are great in production meetings; why the Nets are good this year; whether the Nets can land

Episode 41 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features a conversation with Sports Business Daily media reporter John Ourand. In this podcast Ourand and Deitsch discuss the NBA’s declining viewership at this point of the season; why big markets among the regional sports networks are so down including New York (down 41 percent on MSG Network), Chicago (down 36 percent on NBC Sports Chicago) and Boston (down 27 percent on NBC Sports Boston); why national games are down 18 percent on TNT and 17 percent on NBA TV; the early line on which TV networks will retain NFL rights and whether ABC will get a Super Bowl; a guess on the money the NFL will receive for its media rights; how the AAF is doing as a media play and whether AAF and the XFL can both survive with a spring schedule; the firing of Adnan Virk and Virk’s future; leaks at ESPN and whether they will continue, and much more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify and more. To learn more about listener data an

Episode 40 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features three great guests: ESPN senior investigative reporter Mark Fainaru-Wada; Fox Sports NASCAR host and NFL reporter Shannon Spake, and preeminent NASCAR writer and reporter Jeff Gluck.  First up is Fainaru-Wada, who discussed his recent piece on how Bob Costas went from fronting the NFL to being excised from last year's Super Bowl; how the story came to fruition; how often he spoke with Costas; why he thinks Costas talked to him; how he approached NBC Sports and what their response was to his inquiries; whether an in-game broadcast of the NFL can ever tell hard truths; calling me out for saying ESPN would no longer do investigative work on third rail NFL issues; how he navigated this story with his superiors, who negotiate NFL media contracts; ESPN’s commitment to this kind of reporting, and much more.   Spake discussed being named hostof FOX NASCAR’s race coverage, including all the anchor duties for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series; how

Episode 39 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two segments. First up is a conversation with James Andrew Miller, the best-selling author of books on CAA, ESPN and Saturday Night Live the host of the “Origins” podcast. He is followed by Boston Globe media writer Chad Finn and USA Today staff writer A.J. Perez.  In this podcast, Miller discusses how he views ESPN’s firing of Adnan Virk; why he believes there was a significant over-punishment; why ESPN has not investigated who leaked Virk’s firing to the media and whether that is hypocrisy; the historic inconsistency of ESPN discipline; whether the information Virk leaked was benign or significant; whether ESPN’s decision will have a chilling impact on others staffers talking to the media; what Virk’s next steps should be regarding future employment; why Miller believes ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro should bring back Virk, and much more.  Finn and Perez discuss the low Super Bowl viewership number and potential reasons why it happened; wheth

Episode 38 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests: First up is Kevin Harlan, who is calling his ninth consecutive Super Bowl game for Westwood One, the audio rightsholder for the Super Bowl. He is followed by Mike Arnold, who is directing his fifth Super Bowl for CBS.  In this podcast, Harlan discusses calling his ninth Super Bowl for Westwood One and how his radio call is different from his television work; the preparation he does to call a radio broadcast versus a television one; who he envisions listens to the radio call of the Super Bowl; creating chemistry with his color analysts including Kurt Warner and Boomer Esiason; being critical of his own radio work; where the radio booth is located at the Super Bowl and how that impacts his call; calling games through binoculars versus a monitor; how he defines satisfaction from the radio broadcast versus television; how long he hopes to continue with the radio call and more.  Arnold discusses the role of director on a Super Bowl br

Episode 37 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests: First up is Laura Rutledge, a reporter and host for ESPN in a number of roles including as a reporter on live-event programming such as college football as well as a co-host on “Get Up” and the SEC Network’s “SEC Nation.” She is followed by Kevin Clark, an NFL writer, podcaster and video host for The Ringer. He previously covered the NFL for The Wall Street Journal. In this podcast, Rutledge discusses her various roles on major college football and other sports as well as hosting; her work process for each of those roles within ESPN; how she landed on “Get Up” and what ESPN has told her about her future there; her thought process on discussing Courtney Smith and Urban Meyer via commentary; facing sexism and chauvinism on social media; dealing with the stereotypes that exist on her being a former Miss Florida; the specific differences in working the sidelines on Monday Night Football versus college football; the passion of college

Episode 36 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features a conversation with Sports Business Daily media writer John Ourand. In this podcast, we discuss the potential viewership for this year’s Super Bowl in Atlanta; ESPN’s interest in getting a Super Bowl game in the future and the potential cost to get in that rotation; what kind of Super Bowl broadcast ESPN/ABC might put on; ESPN’s NFL journalism; Ourand’s story on the Big 12 conference shopping the 2019, 2021 and 2023 championship games to media companies; Endeavor move into streaming; the latest on Disney’s sale of the RSNs; the Monday Night Football booth for 2019; whether the Wizards should trade Bradley Beal to the Raptors for Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby, and much more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher 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/adcho

Episode 35 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests: longtime Sports Illustrated writer Austin Murphy, and Daniel Dale, the Toronto Star’s Washington bureau chief. In this podcast, Murphy discussed the recent piece he wrote for The Atlantic (“I Used to Write for Sports Illustrated, Now I Deliver Packages for Amazon”) in which he discussed his new job as an Amazon driver at age 57; why his piecestruck such a chord, especially on social media; how he approached writing it; what the writing job market been for him since leaving SI; the issue of ageism for sports writers; covering Lance Armstrong during the Tour De France and college football for SI; getting laid off from a job after decades, and much more.  Dale discussed covering Donald Trump’s administration; his reputation as a premier Presidential fact-checkers; how he fact-checks in real-time and on social media; the record for the most lies in a month; why some outlets are reticent to use the word “lie; whether the focus on Tr