Sports Media with Richard Deitsch

Latest Episodes:

An expert sports viewership roundtable with Michael Mulvihill of Fox Sports, ESPN’s Flora Kelly and Austin Karp of Sports Business Daily Oct 20, 2020

Show notes

Episode 117 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features three guests as part of a roundtable. The guests are: Michael Mulvihill, the head of strategy and analytics and an executive vice president for Fox Sports; Flora Kelly, the senior director of Strategic and Brand Insights at ESPN and Austin Karp, the Managing Editor/Digital at Sports Business Journal and Sports Business Daily.

In this podcast, the trio discusses the macro trends of sports viewership and where things are on linear television and on-demand; why the numbers for so many signature sports properties – Stanley Cup Finals, Kentucky Derby, NBA Finals, Indy 500, and U.S. Open golf etc… — have gone down so much; the NBA and how much impact social justice messaging has had on viewership; why the NFL generally speaking has kept afloat with viewership; general college football viewership trends; social media changing the way perceptions are created about the success of leagues and networks; how much will streaming be a factor over the next five years; can sports gambling produce more sports viewership; what the next 12-36 months might bring in sports viewership trends, and much more.

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

John Ourand of Sports Business Daily and Turner Sports NBA analyst Stan Van Gundy Oct 13, 2020

Show notes

Episode 116 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests. The first guest is Sports Business Daily media writer John Ourand. He is followed by Turner Sports NBA analyst Stan Van Gundy. In this podcast Ourand discusses where NFL viewership is after Week 5; how much the Presidential Election coverage will impact sports viewership; the NFL’s thoughts on ratings; the use of ABC has a sports channel; the conclusion of the NBA season and more. Van Gundy discusses his experience and challenges and joys working in the Orlando bubble; spending time with his brother, Jeff Van Gundy, inside the bubble; the current popularity of the NBA; the nexus of sports and politics and race and his willingness to discuss them publicly; how having money gives you the freedom to speak your mind in sports; how he sees owners in the NBA; and much more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.

ESPN’s Malika Andrews on reporting four months from inside the NBA bubble at age 25 Oct 05, 2020

Show notes

Episode 115 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features ESPN NBA reporter Malika Andrews, whose work appears across ESPN platforms including ESPN.com, SportsCenter and ESPN Radio. In this podcast Andrews discusses working inside the NBA bubble for four months; the challenges and rewards of the experience; the medical protocols of the bubble; being the youngest television sideline reporter ever to work the Eastern Conference finals; how she has found her age to be a factor in her reporting and access; her choking up on camera on SportsCenter following the Louisville grand jury’s decision in the Breonna Taylor case; her social media experience; flunking out of middle school suffering from an eating disorder; how she views her future and much more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.

Writing critically on Kobe Bryant, and the differences between U.S. and Canada sports media Sep 30, 2020

Show notes

Episode 114 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests. First up is Jeff Pearlman, the author Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty. He is followed by Donnovan Bennett, a senior writer and host for Sportsnet Canada (where I also work). In this podcast, Pearlman discusses his reporting on Kobe Bryant and what it was like to report and write critically on Bryant; reporting on the 1996 to 2004 Lakers, interviewing more than 300 people for his book; his reporting interactions with Shaq, Phil Jackson and J.R. Rider; why he thinks people spoke with him; how he views Bryant today, and much more. Bennett discusses the differences and similarities of Canadian sports coverage versus U.S. sports coverage; debate versus conversation in sports; the intersection of the sports media and social justice and racism in the U.S. and Canada; counsel culture; what kind of NBA Finals the Lakers-Heat will be; his take on American college football playing, and much more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.

NFL viewership talk with John Ourand and authors Seyward Darby and Corey Sobel Sep 18, 2020

Show notes

Episode 113 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features three guests. First up is John Ourand, the media reporter for Sports Business Daily. He is followed by writer Seyward Darby, the author of “Sisters In Hate: American Women on the Front Lines of White Nationalism” and writer Corey Sobel, the author of “The Redshirt,” selected for the 2020 Long List of the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. Darby and Sobel are married.

In this podcast Ourand and Deitsch discuss the seven game windows for the NFL to start the season, which averaged 15.8 million viewers and was down 9% from 17.3 million last year; the mega-viewership for Fox national window, which drew 25.8 million for Bucs-Saints and was the most-watched Week 1 game for Fox in four years; NFL viewership issues in New York and L.A.; what we expect from the Las Vegas market this year as a ratings play; the Big Ten consulting with network partners such as Fox and ESPN before making its decision to play football this fall; whether ESPN and Fox will cover COVID issues during a broadcast; the Eagles and Fox Bet signing a multiyear sponsorship deal and ESPN’s deals with Caesars Entertainment, William Hill U.S. and DraftKings; the Peacock streaming service; how PR departments deal with politicization of their viewership numbers amd more.

Both Darby and Sobel discusses their books, and how they found the current climate to sell a book; Darby’s examination of women as a driving engines of white supremacist hatred; what inspired Sobel to write a fictional novel about college football players; Darby on whether hate has increased or whether our awareness to hate has increased; Sobel on college football being played this year; where Darby’s optimism lies when it comes to hatred in America; what is next for both.

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

Jim Trotter and Steve Wyche of NFL Media and authors Kavitha Davidson (who also works at The Athletic) Jessica Luther Sep 11, 2020

Show notes

Episode 112 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features four guests. First up is Steve Wyche and Jim Trotter. Both are reporters for NFL Media, where they frequently appear on the NFL Network. They are co-hosting a new podcast, "Huddle and Flow."

They are followed by Kavitha Davidson of The Athletic and author and writer Jessica Luther. They are the co-authors of “Loving Sports When They Don’t Love You Back: Dilemmas of the Modern Fan.”

In this podcast, Wyche and Trotter discuss their new podcast, Huddle and Flow and what they plan to bring to listeners; why Washington coach Ron Rivera was on the first pod; what they expect from NFL players this far as activism on the field in either the pregame and postgame and what they expect the public reaction to be; Tom Brady moving to Tampa Bay; is this the best group of quarterbacks in history; surprise NFL teams in 2020 from both guests, and more.

Davidson and Luther discuss why they wrote the book; your conscience vs. your fandom; the relationship between sports, society and doping; feeling like an outsider because of your gender and race in the sports media; whether true diversity can be achieved in the sports media; owning your own content in the space; marginalized people in the sports media and more.

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

Broadcaster Renee Paquette (known as Renee Young in the WWE) and Stephanie Ready of NBA TV and Turner Sports Sep 02, 2020

Show notes

Episode 111 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests. First up is Renee Paquette, who worked for nearly eight years as a WWE broadcaster under the name Renee Young. She is followed by Turner Sports and NBA TV reporter Stephanie Ready.

In this podcast, Young discusses leaving the WWE after nearly eight years; her desire to host a longform audio and video interview podcast in the future; getting the coronavirus and how that still impacts her health today; feeling lost during the time she was assigned as the first full time woman to be on the RAW commentary desk; hearing Vince McMahon in her ear and what it is like to be produced and overproduced by the WWE; the surreal juggling act she had to do when calling her husband’s (Jon Good, who performs as Jon Moxley) matches; her non-compete clause after leaving the WWE; what she thinks about the prospect of joining AEW after her non-compete is over; why Paul Heyman is a genius; traveling with her husband in airports and elsewhere; her upcoming cookbook, “Messy In The Kitchen: My Guide to Eating Deliciously, Hosting Fabulously, and Drinking Copiously” which will come out next year, and much more.

Ready discusses her assignment inside the NBA bubble in Orlando; how she and her family came to the decision that she should go; the decision of NBA players to protest games; how she reported within the bubble; her desire to work as a game analyst again; how she sees the athlete movement heading forward; and much more.

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

The NBA’s viewership issues (featuring Anthony Crupi and Austin Karp) and soccer host extraordinaire Kate Abdo Aug 21, 2020

Show notes

Episode 110 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features three guests. First up is Austin Karp, the managing editor for the Sports Business Daily and Sports Business Journal and one of the country’s foremost sports television ratings experts. He is joined by Anthony Crupi, sports media reporter for Sportico, a long time Ad Age staffer, and also one of the country’s foremost sports television ratings experts. Curipi and Karp join Deitsch for a wide-ranging discussion on NBA viewership; where viewership is heading; the impact of LeBron James on the viewership of the sport; whether the NBA’s support for China and Black Lives Matter has impacted viewership and much more.

The final segment features Kate Abdo, who hosts UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League for CBS Sports and Premier Boxing Champions on FOX, and has covered significant soccer events for Fox Sports and Sky Sports. In this episode Abdo discusses a remarkable stretch in which she has worked for Fox, Turner and CBS; her surprise that Turner Sports opted out of its Champions League deal; how the CBS job come about; traveling to London and then going through the mandatory 14-day quarantine for travelers arriving from the United States; being fluent in Spanish, French and German and how she is able to translate in real-time different interviews during live Champions League play; her love of languages; the current run of Bayern Munich and PSG and much more.

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

Best-selling author James Andrew Miller and NBC NHL studio analyst Anson Carter Aug 12, 2020

Show notes

Episode 109 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests. First up is 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 NBC NHL studio analyst Anson Carter.

In this podcast, Miller discusses what college football moving from fall to spring would mean for ESPN both for the business as well as the on-air talent and producers that work on it; the impact the move might have on Monday Night Football; Nick Khan, the former Co-Head of Television for CAA Sports, leaving CAA to take the job as President & Chief Revenue Officer of WWE and what impact it will have on the sports media; the decisions ahead for former Khan clients such as Kirk Herbstreit; Sage Steele; Colin Cowherd, Mike Greenberg and others; the current salary structure for sports television talents on TV; how COVID-19 has impacted the financials for talent; what kind of clients agents want today in the sports media, and much more.

Carter discusses his new multi-platform show, Hockey Culture, which will highlight stories on inclusion in hockey and people of color working in the sport; why this new initiative is important to him; whether the NHL is serious about issues of inclusion and diversity; how he viewed the experiences of Matt Dumba, a defenseman for the Minnesota Wild, has raised his fist during the Canadian and U.S. anthems before games; his views on the hockey media and his part in it, and much more.

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

Covering sports inside a bubble with ESPN’s Holly Rowe, Tania Ganguli of the L.A. Times and Stefano Fusaro of ESPN Jul 23, 2020

Show notes

Episode 108 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features three guests. First up is ESPN reporter Holly Rowe, who is covering the WNBA season from inside the bubble in Bradenton, Fla. Next is Tania Ganguli, the Lakers beat writer for the Los Angeles Times who is covering the NBA season from inside the bubble in Orlando. She is followed by ESPN’s Stefano Fusaro, who is covering the “MLS Is Back” tournament from inside the bubble in Orlando.

In this podcast, Rowe discusses how she landed the assignment and why she wanted it; her experience leading up to going inside the bubble and her first week there; speaking to her doctors about taking the assignment; the access she has inside the bubble; what WNBA players have told her so far about the experience; getting a daily COVID-19 test; her role on WNBA game broadcasts; navigating stories on social activism with game coverage and much more.

Ganguli discusses getting the assignment and how she arrived in Orlando; what the opening weeks were like for NBA reporters; the access she has inside the facility; her interaction with players; what she has been told about game access for reporters; the challenges of covering the Lakers; navigating stories on social activism with game coverage and much more.

Fusaro explains how he got the assignment and why he wanted to come to Orlando; his opening weeks inside the bubble; the access he has to MLS players; what players have told him about the experiences; navigating stories on social activism with game coverage; providing news for multiple parts of ESPN; how it works for him during game broadcasts; his experience with doctors prior to arriving inside the bubble and much more.

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

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