Sports Media with Richard Deitsch

Latest Episodes:

MLB Network lets go of Ken Rosenthal and will Urban Meyer get hired again as a broadcaster. The guests are Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic and Chad Finn of the Boston Globe Jan 05, 2022

Show notes

Episode 176 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests: First up is Britt Ghiroli, a national baseball writer for The Athletic. She is followed by Chad Finn, the sports media writer and columnist for the Boston Globe.

In this podcast, Ghiroli discusses Ken Rosenthal (who works with us at The Athletic) not being retained by MLB Network; her experiences working with Rosenthal; whether MLB Network can cover ownership and the commissioner with any heft; what she learned during her 10 years with MLB.com including eight on the Orioles beat; an update on Trevor Bauer’s legal situation and more.

Finn discusses whether Urban Meyer will return to broadcasting and whether he remains hirable; what he thought of the news of Rosenthal; the Week 18 schedule in the NFL; why the Cowboys remain a national team; the upcoming Beijing Olympics and why we think it is going to be the least-watched ever; and more.

You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.

A conversation on John Madden’s legacy with Sunday Night Football executive producer Fred Gaudelli Dec 30, 2021

Show notes

Episode 175 of the Sports Media Podcast features Fred Gaudelli, the executive producer of NBC's Sunday Night Football. In Sept. 2021, he began his 32nd season as the lead producer for an NFL primetime game, and his 16th season producing SNF.

In this podcast Gaudelli discusses his relationship with Madden; his first meeting with him; the last time he spoke and visited with Madden; what made Madden unique as a sports television figure; his interest in seeing United States up close and learning about people; how he made Gaudelli a better NFL producer; what Madden thought about his fame; the plan to convince Madden to come out of retirement for one game; the best game Gaudelli and Madden worked together; how players wanted Madden to improve their Madden game rankings when he met with them in production meetings, and more.

You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.

The nexus of sports and COVID with Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star and Donnovan Bennett and Amil Delic of Sportsnet Dec 28, 2021

Show notes

Episode 174 of the Sports Media Podcast features three guests. First up is a conversation with Donnovan Bennett, a host, podcaster and writer for Sportsnet in Canada, and Amil Delic, the senior producer of original audio for Sportsnet in Canada. They are followed by Toronto Star columnist Bruce Arthur.

In this podcast Bennett and Delic discuss the nexus of sports and COVID; how that nexus is viewed in Canada; why this topic has become politicized in the United States and the levels of politicization in Canada vs. the U.S.; the challenges of a subject that is of great importance to the public yet many in the public are exhausted by; the upcoming Beijing Olympics and more.

Arthur discusses switching from sports to COVID coverage in early 2020; how he feels that transition from sports has gone; his analysis of how the coverage has been in the U.S. versus Canada; he and his colleagues getting Covid-related vitriol on social media; what to expect from the Beijing Olympics; his most trusted sources on COVID information; the Maple Leafs heading forward for this season as Stanley Cup contenders and more.

You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.

ESPN’s Ryan Clark on building a broadcasting career and Cadence 13 producer Patrick Antonetti Dec 22, 2021

Show notes

Episode 173 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests. First up is ESPN NFL analyst and podcaster Ryan Clark, the former NFL safety who has worked at ESPN since 2015. He is followed by Patrick Antonetti, the lead producer of this podcast.

In this podcast Clark discusses his path from professional athlete to broadcasting; what in his opinion separates long-term success versus one contract and out in sports broadcasting; how close he was to leaving ESPN for Fox Sports earlier this year; why he wanted to own his own content; his travel schedule for his job; how a guy such as Urban Meyer bullshits his way into the NFL; comparing Patriots' Bill Belichick to God; self-evaluating his work; what he wants to do heading forward and much more.

Antonetti discusses how this podcast gets put together; what his job entails; the challenge of audio editing; what he thinks makes a good podcast; his Jersey sports fandom; what episodes he’s liked producing and more.

You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.

The biggest sports stories of 2022 with Kavitha Davidson and Jane McManus — and ProPublica’s Jesse Eisinger on income-tax avoiders among the ultrawealthy sports owners Dec 15, 2021

Show notes

Episode 173 of the Sports Media Podcast features three guests. First up is a roundtable with Kavitha Davidson, a correspondent for HBO’s Real Sports and a longtime sports and business writer, and Jane McManus, the Director of the Marist's Center for Sports Communication and a Deadspin sports columnist. They are followed by Jesse Eisinger, a senior editor and reporter at ProPublica. In April 2011, Eisinger and a colleague won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for a series of stories on questionable Wall Street practices that helped make the financial crisis the worst since the Great Depression.

In this podcast, Davidson and McManus discuss what they see as the biggest sports stories for 2022 including athletes continuing to talk about mental health publicly; the prospect of a major gambling scandal in sports and potential corruption of college players for information to aid bettors; NILs and market creativity forcing the NCAA to completely reevaluate revenue structure; F1 continuing to balloon in the States;women’s sports finally getting their financial due; Amazon becoming more of an NFL presence; leagues are going to have to deal with the China question; a total reimagining of what the role of coach is and much more.

Eisinger discusses his recent piece on real estate and oil tycoons avoiding paying federal income taxes including Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross; how widespread are income-tax avoiders among the ultrawealthy sports owners; how one goes about doing this kind of reporting; the lack of congressional oversight for tax loopholes; how sports owners use their teams to avoid millions in taxes; why the sports public does not revolt, and more.

You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify and more.

A baseball writer roundtable with Britt Ghiroli and Jayson Stark of The Athletic Dec 07, 2021

Show notes

Episode 172 of the Sports Media Podcast features a conversation with Jayson Stark, senior baseball writer at The Athletic, and Britt Ghiroli, also a senior baseball writer at The Athletic.

In this podcast, Ghiroli and Stark discuss how they will approach the next couple of months as reporters amid a work stoppage; navigating labor stories versus more popular topics; the declining media access in baseball and why that significantly impacts you as a fan; whether we will see previous media access return; the Eras Committee process Hall of Fame selections including great news for Buck O’Neil and Dick Allen once again being one vote shy of the Hall of Fame; how Stark and Ghiroli feel about voting for awards that can increase a players’ contract and much more.

You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify and more.

James Andrew Miller on the history of HBO and HBO Sports, and Bruce Feldman on covering college football in 2021 Nov 30, 2021

Show notes

Episode 171 of the Sports Media Podcast features a conversation with James Andrew Miller, the best-selling author of books on CAA, ESPN and Saturday Night Live, and his latest, “Tinderbox: HBO's Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers.” He is followed by Bruce Feldman, a senior writer at The Athletic covering college football and a college football insider for Fox Sports and The Audible podcast.

In this podcast, Miller discusses why HBO was worthy of this exploration; his 757 interviews for the book and how he navigated that terrain; how he approached his chapters on Succession including interviews with Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Adam McKay and Jesse Armstrong; why Dennis Miller did not want to talk for the book; the legacy of HBO Sports; HBO’s Wimbledon legacy; how HBO lost its boxing and documentary monopoly; the future of sports on HBO; ESPN shrinking another 10 percent to end fiscal 2021 at 76 million U.S. households and what that means for the company heading forward and more.

Feldman discusses the reporting of the Lincoln Riley to USC story; who talks in college football between agents, head coaches, assistants, boosters and everyone else; why college football fans have an insatiable appetite for news; whether players have more agency with the media in 2021; whether college football gets more value out of a Cincinnati making the playoffs versus a bigger brand-name team and much more.

You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify and more.

Rebecca Lowe of NBC Sports and a media roundtable with Chad Finn of the Boston Globe and Sports Business Journal’s Austin Karp Nov 24, 2021

Show notes

Episode 170 of the Sports Media Podcast features Rebecca Lowe, the host of NBC Sports Group’s Premier League coverage as well as an Olympic host for NBCUnversial. She is followed by a media roundtable with Chad Finn, the sports media writer and columnist for the Boston Globe, and Austin Karp, the managing editor/digital for Sports Business Journal.

In this podcast Lowe discusses being in England when she learned NBC had retained the Premier League rights; how her bosses keep her abreast of the proceedings; her role in NBC Universal’s pitch to the EPL; what NBC has built with its soccer coverage; whether NBC retaining has incentivized she and NBC extending her current contract when it expires next year; what is happening with Manchester United; whether Fulham can sustain long-term success; whether the EPL would ever do a Drive To Survive series; why she avoids Twitter and much more.

Finn. Karp and Deitsch discuss our reactions to NBC’s landing the U.S. media rights to the Premier League through 2028; the upcoming MLS media rights negotiations; NFL viewership in 2021 and what the last part of the NFL regular season might bring viewership-wise; where are we right now with the NFL and viewership; why we think the upcoming Olympic viewership from Beijing could be looking at record lows; the upcoming Ohio State-Michigan game and Fox’s noon Eastern window; CBS’s interest in staying in big-time college football; the Manning Megacast and more.

You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify and more.

A conversation with ESPN’s Mike Breen and CBS/Turner Sports/YES Network broadcaster Ian Eagle. Plus, Dana O’Neil of The Athletic on The Big East Nov 17, 2021

Show notes

Episode 169 of the Sports Media Podcast features a conversation with ESPN NBA announcer Mike Breen and Ian Eagle, who calls the NBA for Turner Sports and the YES Network, and the NFL for CBS. They are followed by Dana O’Neil, a senior writer for The Athletic and the author of the new book, “The Big East: Inside the Most Entertaining and Influential Conference in College Basketball History.”

In this podcast Breen and Eagle discuss how they first met and the longevity of their friendship; how they would describe the other’s broadcast style; why they don’t view each other as competitors; why they still call local teams, the Knicks and Nets; how they view production meetings with coaches and players; Breen’s interest in calling games in the future; how they would feel about incorporating gambling content into their broadcasts; the NBA call they are most proud of; Kevin Garnett calling Eagle “the mother----- voice”; Magic Johnson’s praise of Breen, and much more.

O’Neil discusses why she wanted to explore the history of the Big East in- depth; how she approached the reporting and writing on such a broad topic; the league’s famous coaches and players; Georgetown coach John Thompson relishing being an iconoclast in the league; her attempts to get Allen Iverson for the book; what the Big East is now and where it sits among conferences; covering college basketball today; the goal of mid-majors to be the next Gonzaga and much more.

You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify and more.

Pam Oliver of Fox Sports and sportswriter and author Lyndsey D'Arcangelo Nov 11, 2021

Show notes

Episode 168 of the Sports Media Podcast features Fox NFL reporter Pam Oliver and writer Lyndsey D'Arcangelo, the co-author with Britni de la Cretaz of the new book, “Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women's Football League.”

In this podcast, Oliver discusses what the 2021 season has been like for her as a sideline reporter; her remarkable longevity in the sports TV business; the on-field access she has in 2021 versus other years; working with Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen; what she says to women in the business wh0 approach her for advice; the chronic migraines and headaches she has suffered for decades, which sometimes force her to hide out in stadium; enduring fibroids that has required surgeries; her intentions to publish a memoir down the road and much more.

D'Arcangelo discusses the origins of how “Hail Mary” emerging as a book; the challenge and fulfillment of unearthing something fascinating about an athlete or league from a previous era; how the NWFL was covered by the sports media of the day; how the players looked upon those media experiences; the players’ pioneering role even if they did not realize it at the time; the finances of the league; women in football today such as Sarah Fuller and why that was predictably criticized by a segment of people; the advancements in women’s sports, especially in viewership, as a commercial play; the challenges of women’s sports today and more.

You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify and more.

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