Stay ConnectedMSM produces two podcasts per week. Every Tuesday, “Marchand & Meat: Everybody Loves Sports Media” features inside information and opinions from Andrew Marchand and Jon Meterperal.
Every Thursday, “The Main Event with Andrew Marchand” is where Marchand interviews the biggest names in sports media.
Copyright: © Marchand Sports Media, LLC
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.andrewmarchand.com
In the 32-minute sports media podcast, Andrew Marchand & Jon Meterparel go inside Adam Schefter-Ian Rapoport’s meet-up at the NFL Owners Meetings. Marchand & Meterparel tell you the favorites for ESPN’s NFL No. 2 booth vacancy. And the Mike Tomlin Sweepstakes and who is in and who is out. Plus, the NBA’s big national broadcast problem with its missing stars.
For access to our twice-a-week podcasts sign-up as a free or paid subscriber at AndrewMarchand.com
The Topics …
* The Schefter succession talk is ….
* Adam Silver vs. Rob Manfred comparison
* Where do Ian Eagle, Grant Hill and Bill Raftery rank in all-time college hoops TV history
* Why are the “Chainsmokers” doing a concert between Final Four games
* On a Fox MLB booth: One up, One down
* Yahoo’s Tom Haberstroh’s tremendous article about how the terrible number of stars playing on ABC/ ESPN, NBC/Peacock and Amazon Prime Video
* Don’t teach people not to care, which the NBA is in danger of doing
* Who are the favorites to be in ESPN’s No. 2 NFL booth
* A name ESPN is considering after some felt it wronged him
* More on Schefter, Rapoport, Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo
* The Tomlin Sweepstakes: Who is in the lead and who is likely out
* The big money ask …
* Reacting to Netflix’s Elle Duncan’s comments about the platform being criticized for its MLB coverage
* What ESPN’s Super Bowl coverage should learn from Netflix’s Opening Day
* Analyzing the Men’s and Women’s Final Four coverage
* Amazon Prime Video will have The Masters this week for the first time
* Do we care about the new “Hard Knocks” …
* If John Ourand had a Chris Berman nickname, what would it be ….
* Sign-up: Off The Record with MLS Commissioner Don Garber on Thursday, April 23rd
* Subscribe at AndrewMarchand.com
* On Deck: John Ourand is The Main Event
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.andrewmarchand.com
In the 39-minute sports media podcast, legendary ESPN PR man, Mike Soltys, goes deep about the first days of ESPN, “the believers vs. the crazy idea” folks, a young Chris Berman, top executives shaping the network and how the greatest sports media PR quote in history came to be.
Soltys is one of the producers on “Sports Heaven: The Birth of ESPN,” that debuts on Monday, April 6th. It’s also an audiobook.
For access to our twice-a-week podcasts sign-up as a free or paid subscriber at AndrewMarchand.com
FULL RUNDOWN …
* ESPN, ‘Sports Heaven’ & the greatest media success story ever told
* What was the feeling around ESPN in 1979 when it launched
* The “believers” vs. the “crazy idea” square-off
* Bill Rasmussen, who founded ESPN, got fired and …
* Why Bristol, CT as ESPN’s headquarters & the advantage of the location
* George Bodenheimer & culture
* The odd office Soltys started his career in
* The story behind how SportsCenter became SportsCenter
* The alternative names for SportsCenter
* How Rasmussen’s first idea was just to only do Connecticut sports
* And then an RCA satellite salesman came by and …
* Technical difficulties …
* What was Chris Berman like in the early years
* Running to the banks to deposit checks to make sure they worked
* The NFL and MLB made it feel like ESPN had arrived
* George Brett bringing back Chris Berman’s nicknames after an executive killed them
* How SC Top 10 is still a big deal
* The $51M NFL deal for the Sunday Night package in 1987
* Who are the three most important people in ESPN’s history
* The Bodenheimer-Jimmy Pitaro comparison
* John Skipper was the most fun top exec — and Cuba
* Steve Bornstein fought to keep SportsCenter going
* The credibility of Chet Simmons as ESPN president
* ESPN tried putting business news into its programs, and Soltys wasn’t a fan of it
* Richard Branson and the spirit of just trying stuff
* The ESPN-ABC Sports war
* Rudy Martzke, Phil Mushnick, Richard Sandomir, et. al. …
* How Mark Shapiro brought the media attention to another level
* All the major newspapers had a sports media columnist and “the straws that stir the drink.”
* Martzke’s Sunday greeting to Soltys after church
* Soltys, Keith Olbermann and the greatest sports PR quote in history
* Soltys liked working with Olbermann
* The quote was buried in the USA Today column
* “He didn’t burn bridges here, he napalmed them”
* The media relations game and Martzke
* What’s next for the documentary
* The 1979 culture of ESPN is still alive in 2026
* “I’ll work for free,” were the magic words
Some Related Podcasts (there are more)
* Chris LaPlaca, Mark Shapiro, Adam Schefter, Greg Hughes, Traug Keller
* Off The Record with MLS Commissioner Don Garber Sign-Up on Thursday, April 23rd
* Subscribe at AndrewMarchand.com
* On Deck: Marchand & Meterparel
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.andrewmarchand.com
In the 37-minute sports media podcast, Andrew Marchand and Jon Meterparel fully breakdown Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery and Grant Hill’s call at the end of the UConn-Duke classic, full Netflix and NBC MLB reviews and the fan threat as sports are increasingly more difficult to afford and watch.
For access to our twice-a-week podcasts sign-up as a free or paid subscriber at AndrewMarchand.com
THE RUNDOWN …
* The danger for leagues, teams and networks …
* What NBC got right on its MLB presentation
* Clayton Kershaw’s start
* Stephen A. Smith’s poor judgement
* Neil Walker needed a Red Bull
* How difficult it is to watch all the Yankee games
* Why you have to make it easy for fans today more than ever
* Marchand at Mike Vaccaro’s book signing and a mini-review
* The bad polling around fans watching sports
* The issues with the Nate Burleson “Game Show” CBS NCAA approach
* Meterparel was not a fan of the lack of basketball analysis from Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith
* Meterparel got more texts about the college hoops studio than anything ever in TV
* The comparison of the Jamal Mashburn-led TNT show to CBS’
* The full , fine tooth breakdown of Eagle, Raftery Hill on the clasic call of the UConn-Duke ending
* What grade does the trio receive
* How did the rest of the NCAA Men’s crews fare on the weekend
* Netflix-MLB review
* “Love is Blind” vs. “Opening Day Pregame Show”
* The Rob Manfred interview was …
* What worked on the Netflix stream
* Barry Bonds was …
* Why Netflix needs versatility
* Michael Jordan is on every network, but …
* The Tiger Woods DUI coverage was …
* Papa Clicker Review: The Art of Tennis by Nicholas Fox Weber
* A couple of corrections
* A special cakes are baking for Momma Meterparel
* Sign-up: Off The Record with MLS Commissioner Don Garber on Thursday, April 23rd
* Subscribe at AndrewMarchand.com
* On Deck: Mike Soltys is The Main Event
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.andrewmarchand.com
In the 35-minute sports media podcast, Traug Keller — who ran ABC Radio Networks, ESPN Radio, ESPN’s Talent Department & ESPN Deportes — talks about managing Paul Harvey, Sean Hannity, Colin Cowherd, Stephen A. Smith, Scott Van Pelt, Mike Tirico and many others through the years. Keller explains where the media business was and where it is going.
For access to our twice-a-week podcasts sign-up as a free or paid subscriber at AndrewMarchand.com
The RUNDOWN …
* What changed the most in Keller’s more than two decades at ESPN
* Why everyone is now their own program director
* The unbelievable job a current New York radio executive has done
* Why Joe Rogan and Stephen A. Smith are the Paul Harveys of today
* What has changed about new hosts on the air in the current climate
* The advice that Keller gave to ESPN that helped lead to Colin Cowherd’s discovery
* The power of YouTube
* Stephen A’s quality for success
* Tirico could have been a big hit on another medium
* The insecurity of talent
* How Cowherd and Smith were different
* Why Paul Harvey was the GOAT
* Harvey had the ear of presidents
* Stephen A.’s preparation
* Working with Mitch Dolan on Hannity national launch and dealing with Roger Ailes
* Why Keller left ABC Radio Networks for ESPN Radio in 2004
* What was it like reporting directly into a young Mark Shapiro
* Keller’s assessment of Shapiro’s potential
* Why did ESPN New York never go fully local to compete with WFAN
* Keller’s thoughts on the longevity of “The Michael Kay Show”
* The Larry David story on Marchand’s job
* ESPN New York vs. Mike Francesa
* Rush Limbaugh struggled when he first started
* Radio and podcasting need patience
* The reason Keller wanted clean radio
* What happened at the end with Mike Greenberg & Mike Golic
* What Keller is most proud of in his career
* Freddy Rolon, Patrick Polking, Sean Breen, Tim McCarthy and Amanda Gifford and the “We, not an I” approach
* How Scott Van Pelt’s radio impacted his SportsCenter rise
* Why Keller would put Van Pelt and Ryen Russillo back together
* The PTSD of running the Talent Office
* How Nick Khan changed the ESPN game
* What was running ESPN Deportes like
* The Justin Connolly and Rolon connections
* Keller retired and thought he was going to retire, but America Magazine called
* Keller loved it, but now has fully retired
* Ourand’s jealousy
* Off The Record with MLS Commissioner Don Garber Sign-Up on Thursday, April 23rd
* Subscribe at AndrewMarchand.com
* On Deck: Marchand & Meterparel
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.andrewmarchand.com
In the 41-minute sports media podcast, Andrew Marchand & Jon Meterparel grade the announcers from Ian Eagle to Charles Barkley to Nate Burleson and all the teams. Plus, what is hanging over all the networks, who is a big name to watch for NFL studio, Netflix gets Barry Bonds, Laura Rutledge says goodbye to SEC Nation and Zlatan says hello to Fox.
For access to our twice-a-week podcasts sign-up as a free or paid subscriber at AndrewMarchand.com
THE RUNDOWN …
* Why the NCAA Tournament is the hardest and best assignment
* Grading all 8 CBS & TNT Sports announce teams on Clicker Rating System
* The No. 1 team was …
* The lowest score went to …
* Candace Parker was on Friday, but not Sunday, why?
* Why put together three-person teams on short notice
* Jason Benetti filling in for Brian Anderson and reaction
* Who will analyze a Final Four one day who is not right now
* Who is a “poor man’s Ian Eagle”
* Why one analyst could be a little more positive
* The team that Marchand & Meterparel were divided on
* Which duo could be a riser
* Nate Burleson or Adam Zucker, who ya got
* Which sideline reporter asked good, concise questions
* How the NFL opt-out negotiations hangs over everything
* Emerging big name NFL TV free agent to watch
* Mike Tomlin’s status
* Is Barry Bonds an inspiring choice for Netflix
* Zlatan to Fox and who else it thought about for the World Cup
* Laura Rutledge’s move to leave SEC Nation
* The fallout from the Rutledge move
* The WBC’s big numbers, which we went deep on last week
* What’s Up & What’s down (at the beginning)
* What’s Up: Howie Rose & Steve Lappas
* What’s Down: Tom Brady & Charles Barkley
* Sign-up: Off The Record with MLS Commissioner Don Garber on Thursday, April 23rd
* Subscribe at AndrewMarchand.com
* On Deck: Traug Keller is The Main Event
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.andrewmarchand.com
One of the biggest characters in all of college basketball is CBS’ Jon Rothstein. On the 42-minute podcast, Rothstein explains his passion for college hoops, his willingness to miss family and friends’ weddings for basketball, the amount of games he watches, where all his sayings come from and how he climbed the ladder of NCAA media.
Rothstein is the guest on “The Main Event with Andrew Marchand.”
For access to our twice-a-week podcasts sign-up as a free or paid subscriber at AndrewMarchand.com
THE RUNDOWN …
* The incredible amount of college hoops Rothstein watches
* How does wife and child deal with his obsession
* How did his passion for college hoops begin
* The greatness of Christian Laettner’s college hoops career
* The surreal story of being on TV for the first time
* Trying to sell his own advertising for his show and being told to take a hike
* His pride of never having any help from family or connections to break in
* The big decision to turn down a full-time ESPN LA radio show
* While others friends were going on vacation, Rothstein saved up his money to go around the country to visit coaches and college teams
* He finished Ithaca College in three years
* Why he always wore a suit
* His connection building through hand-written notes
* He grew up reading Ian O’Connor and Frank Isola and learned …
* Jim Calhoun, Jay Wright & John Calipari were very accessible for Rothstein early
* World events happened and Rothstein has a tweet about some random college hoops matchup, what is that about
* What is up with all of Rothstein’s sayings …
* Why he has such a good memory for college hoops
* His politics and college basketball bubble saying …
* Who has the best pizza …
* Would he miss his brother’s wedding if it were on Final Four Saturday
* What he told his then girlfriend, now wife, about hoops …
Subscribe at AndrewMarchand.com
* On Deck: Marchand & Meterparel
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.andrewmarchand.com
In the 32-minute sports media podcast, Andrew Marchand and Jon Meterparel say why and potentially how MLB could grow the WBC as a TV event.
The duo decides if the recent Netflix, NBC and MLB Networks hires were strong, what to think of Thanksgiving Eve NFL, a potential March Madness “What’s Up,” a comparison of Pat McAfee’s free agency frenzy numbers, a Double Eagle and more.
For access to our twice-a-week podcasts sign-up as a free or paid subscriber at AndrewMarchand.com
THE RUNDOWN …
* In the WBC, MLB has a spectacle that it can sell for more TV money
* Do you want more money or not?
* What do we make of Matt Vasgersian being hired by everyone
* Barry Bonds not agreeing to work for Netflix, a win or a loss?
* Netflix looked into hiring …
* The Brendan Burke, Noah Eagle examples and should MLB broadcasters take a shot at younger broadcasters?
* Does Netflix need to hire a versatile full-time play-by-player?
* Bob Costas picking a convenient time to say local announcers should do national MLB playoff games
* Thanks for the subscribe! Thanks for the subscribe!
* Is the NFL Thanksgiving Eve game idea a good one or gluttonous
* Pat McAfee’s NFL TV free agent frenzy dissected
* On TV, ESPN’s NFL special and NFL Live outrated McAfee’s free agent shows … McAfee’s show is also on YouTube
* The college hoop team to watch on the NCAA TV coverage that could be a what’s up
* How Grant Hill has improved with Ian Eagle and Bill Raftery
* Grant Hill used to have Rudy Martzke review his games
* The Double Eagle for the SGA Wilt Chamberlain record
* The great families of sportscasting …
* Eddy Cue’s ridiculous comments
* The emotional Chris Carrino story that Marchand wrote in The Athletic
* Consider Marty Glickman’s mantra
* Honoring a legend of statistics
* What’s Up, What’s Down (at the start)
* Eric Hosmer going to MLB TV is a good deal
* NBC’s Smylie Kaufman is on the rise
* The Dread Glitch Award goes to Prime Video’s mic issue on NBA
* NBA media jumping on Bam Adebayo’s accomplishment
* On Deck: Jon Rothstein is The Main Event
* Subscribe at AndrewMarchand.com
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.andrewmarchand.com
In the 33-minute sports media podcast, Andrew Marchand and Puck’s John Ourand go deep into if there is a breaking point for networks with the NFL looking to strike new, even more expensive deals for this upcoming season, despite the fact the league’s opt-outs are not until the end of the decade.
Why Paramount will go first, the potential billions in play, the extra bidders involved, the FCC angle, the network budget factor, does the NFL ask for double, the setting the market angle, Sunday Night as the pressure point, YouTube lurking, Amazon maybe wanting more, NFL creating leverage, the minimum networks could spend, how it impacts other leagues’ deals, examining the MLB local streaming dreams, NHL’s position and the biggest story from CBS-TNT Sports confab.
It’s The Monthly, Marchand & Ourand.
For access to our twice-a-week podcasts sign-up as a free or paid subscriber at AndrewMarchand.com
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.andrewmarchand.com
In the 32-minute sports media podcast, Andrew Marchand and Jon Meterparel discuss the NFL, YouTube and what distribution dominance means.
The duo goes into if college football pooling its TV rights together could work, the standout out college basketball regular season TV story, the upgrade of an ESPN booth, NBC’s old and new moves and Gorilla Monsoon.
For access to our twice-a-week podcasts sign-up as a free or paid subscriber at AndrewMarchand.com
The RUNDOWN …
* What YouTube’s desire to be an even bigger part of the NFL distribution strategy means
* Why winning distribution historically leads to domination in media
* Nets’ radio play-by-player Chris Carrino going into the Hall of Fame is well deserved
* Breaking news: Meterparel’s take on John Smoltz, Fox & the WBC
* The NFL wanting deals before next season is bad news for networks
* TMZ’s story on Momma Kelce was ridiculous
* Why YouTube’s strategy feels unbeatable
* YouTube TV is on pace to be the No. 1 cable-like distributor
* Can college sports bundle all of its rights for TV
* TNT Sports’ Jamal Mashburn has been the standout newcomer on regular season college
* Evaluating the Mike Breen, Richard Jefferson and Tim Legler team
* The NBC Bob Costas led throwback game
* The potential of the WBC as a TV event
* Tyler Kepner’s strong column
* Judging Jason Benetti’s move from Fox to NBC
* NBC going with local announcers
* The pod controversy of using the word “misnomer” wrong
* Papa Clicker Review of the Gorilla Monsoon book by Brian R. Solomon
* Meterparel’s Larry Bird book recommendation for Papa Clicker
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.andrewmarchand.com
In the 48-minute sports media podcast, YouTube VP of Subscriptions, Christian Oestlien, is the guest on “The Main Event with Andrew Marchand.” Oestlien is quickly becoming one of the most important executives in all of sports as YouTube and YouTube TV grow as dominant platforms in sports viewing.
Oestlien explains what YouTube is trying to accomplish in sports, its interest in the NFL and other rights, how it syncs with YouTube TV, its network partners and leagues. And much more.
The podcast was part of the “Off The Record with Andrew Marchand presented by WSC Sports” series.
Previous guests have included Jimmy Pitaro, Rick Cordella, Gary Bettman, Jay Marine, Mark Shapiro and Hans Schroeder.
For access to our twice-a-week podcasts sign-up as a free or paid subscriber at AndrewMarchand.com
The Rundown …
* Oestlien had 16 interviews for his first job at Google and any of them had veto power
* His childhood gives him unique experience for YouTube’s global goals
* What should people understand about YouTube & YouTube TV & sports
* The 2015 mission to become the home of clips & highlights
* 40 billion hours of sports content were watched on YouTube last year
* YouTube wants to become great partners for leagues, broadcast and media companies and for the fan experience
* How creator partnerships with leagues work
* Should leagues be scared that young fans may want to watch creators more than the game
* The Brazil example of creator Casimiro Miguel, who turbocharged soccer viewership more than the league channels … and this could be next in the United States
* What was the biggest milestone over the past decade … MLB is one
* Sunday Ticket was a wake-up call to everyone about the seriousness of YouTube with sports
* Cristiano Ronaldo got to how many subs in a week …
* YouTube has the upcoming World Cup rights in Brazil, which feels like another testing ground
* What were the reasons behind completing the seven-year, $14 billion Sunday Ticket deal with the NFL that began in 2023
* Oestlien’s father played for Norway’s national soccer team
* How good was Oestlien
* YouTube wanted to evolve Sunday Ticket
* How many subscriptions does Sunday Ticket have
* How YouTube TV melds with Sunday Ticket
* How did YouTube’s first NFL game last year go in Oestlien’s opinion
* The 100 day sprint to produce the Chiefs-Chargers game
* YouTube is confident it can drive even bigger numbers on NFL
* Repetition is the key and “whole household” events
* The idea that live sports are going toward the creators
* Why is YouTube interested in the four NFL regular season games up for auction for this upcoming season
* Does YouTube want to have a full NFL package
* The relationship for YouTube is to attempt to be the best partners with networks, leagues and all platforms
* YouTube was involved in the NBA’s last negotiation in a big way, but didn’t get one of the three packages
* Do live global sports really work
* How YouTube looks at it
* The NBC Olympic example is a potential global model
* How can YouTube solve the local problem for MLB, the NBA and the NHL
* YouTube could eliminate artificial boundaries
* How does YouTube and YouTube TV make it simpler for the consumer
* Oestlien apologized for the YouTube TV-ESPN blackout
* The positive results of the NBC and ESPN negotiations
* Oestlien turns the tables and asks Marchand how he views the aggregation
* Spectrum has brought the apps into its service
* The price point for YouTube TV new sports package
* What are the chances of adding local sports games to YouTube, which the RSNs used to provide
* When will ESPN Unlimited be available for YouTube TV customers
* How “Ask YouTube” uses AI
* The many and varied ways AI will impact YouTube
* AI will solve the discovery issue
* Subscribe at AndrewMarchand.com
* On Deck: Marchand & Meterparel
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