Sports Media with Richard Deitsch

Latest Episodes:

First Look: Can Netflix land the next men's World Cup? Mar 05, 2026

Show notes

Here’s a First Look from our upcoming podcast with Julia Alexander, a media correspondent for Puck and one of the foremost streaming experts in the U.S. The full podcast will be out later this week. In this preview clip, Alexander discusses how Netflix might think about the rights to the 2030 World Cup both in the U.S. and globally. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

How NBC is approaching coverage of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games Mar 03, 2026

Show notes

Episode 597 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Alexa Pritting, a supervising producer at NBC Sports and the editorial point person for the company's coverage of the Paralympic Games. Pritting also produces NBC’s figure skating broadcasts among other Olympic and Paralympic sports. In this podcast, Pritting discusses the overarching goal of NBCUniversal's Paralympic coverage; having a record eight hours of Winter Paralympics coverage on NBC this month; the sled hockey gold medal game on March 15, at 11:05 a.m. ET, with the U.S. potentially going for its fifth consecutive gold medal against Canada; how commentators are chosen for the Paralympic Winter Games; this year marking the 50th anniversary since the first Paralympic Winter Games; the upcoming LA 28 Paralympics; the biggest stories leading into the Winter Paralympics; working as a figure skating producer for both Ilia Malinin and Alysa Liu's massive Olympic moments; where producing Liu's free skate ranks for her as a producer, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

What does Paramount Skydance acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery mean for sports — and can the NHL and PWHL use the Olympics as a springboard Feb 28, 2026

Show notes

Episode 596 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Austin Karp, the lead media writer for Sports Business Journal. In this podcast, we discuss Paramount Skydance acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery and what that means for sports; the deal bringing CBS Sports and Turner Sports under one roof; what it means for certain sports such as the NFL; what the gold medal games mean for the NHL and the PWHL; the NHL thinking if it had a better slot for the men's U.S.–Canada gold medal it would have hit 35 million; the Athletic hiring several former Washington Post journalists to expand its coverage; Unrivaled’s viewership dropping off; NBC planning a revamp of its NFL pregame show; and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Were the Milan-Cortina Olympics successful for you as a viewer — and what does the U.S. men's team hockey team winning gold mean for 2030? Feb 24, 2026

Show notes

Episode 595 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features CBC Sports host Donnovan Bennett. In this podcast, we discuss our broad takeaways from the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics; how the Games looked on television; what this means for the L.A. Games in 2028; the politics of the moment and how that impacts Olympics heading forward; what the U.S. winning the men's gold medal hockey game means for the sport; what it means for the 2030 Olympic hockey tournament and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Our thoughts on the coverage of the Winter Olympics — and people on social media lose their minds about women’s sports Feb 21, 2026

Show notes

Episode 594 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Jon Lewis, editor and founder of Sports Media Watch, and Austin Karp, the sports media writer for Sports Business Journal. In this podcast, we discuss our broad takeaways from the Olympics; the viewership of the Games; what this means for the L.A. Games in 2028; the WNBA and NWSL becoming a key element of ESPN’s Sunday night sports strategy this summer for nine weeks of Sunday night WNBA and NWSL games under the banner “Women’s Sports Sundays; the NBA All Star Game and the Daytona viewership number and how we feel about NASCAR’s viewership future, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

The filmmakers behind Netflix's terrific new documentary on the 1980 United States men's hockey team Feb 19, 2026

Show notes

Episode 593 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Max Gershberg and Jake Rogal, the co-directors of the new Netflix documentary, "Miracle: The Boys of ’80," which re-examines the 1980 United States men's hockey team that won a gold medal at the Lake Placid Games. In this podcast the filmmakers discuss why they thought they could do a unique documentary on a subject that had been previously covered many times; the process of getting the living players back to Lake Placid; the new footage that makes the documentary worth seeing; getting Herb Brooks' children to participate in the piece; filming in Lake Placid; getting Al Michaels for the film; how they will judge success and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

ESPN's year-long Super Bowl plans, the NBA All-Star Game and the Olympics Feb 14, 2026

Show notes

Episode 592 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Sports Media Watch editor and founder Jon Lewis and Ben Strauss, the longtime sports media writer and most recently of The Washington Post. In this podcast we discuss ESPN's all-year promotion for its upcoming Super Bowl in 2027; how the Disney cross-company collaboration will work; what kind of content across every platform throughout the year; how many alternate telecasts one can have a Super Bowl; the Super Bowl viewership; the NBA All Star Game as a media play; our thoughts on the Olympic coverage of NBC and its platforms; the end of The Washington Post and how Strauss feels about it; can another publication be a sports player in DC and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Kenan Kamwana Holley, the director of "Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association" Feb 13, 2026

Show notes

Episode 591 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Kenan Kamwana Holley, an Emmy Award documentarian who directed "Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association," a four-part docu-series that will debut on Feb. 12 on Prime Video. In this podcast Holley discusses why the ABA was worth examining; how the project came to him, and the time from conception to completion; the revolutionary aspects of the league, from the 3-point shot to the All-Star Game slam dunk competition to player empowerment; how the ABA fit into the era of Vietnam protests, civil rights protests and women's liberation; procuring still images of ABA games and ABA footage; the genius of having a multicoloured basketball; the importance of Spencer Haywood and Rick Barry; his interviews with Julius Erving and discovering ABA footage showing Dr. J at the height of his prime; learning stories about Moses Malone; beginning his filmmaking career at NFL Films and working under the tutelage of sports documentarian, Steve Sabol and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

First Look: A new doc shows the Julius Erving you never saw — when he was like Michael Jordan every night Feb 12, 2026

Show notes

Here’s a First Look from our upcoming podcast with Kenan Kamwana Holley, an Emmy Award documentarian who directed "Soul Power: The Legend of the American Basketball Association," a four-part docu-series that will debut on Feb. 12 on Prime Video. The full podcast will be out later this week. In this preview clip, Holley discusses his interviews with Julius Erving and discovering ABA footage showing Dr. J at the height of his prime. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

SI’s Jimmy Traina on NBC’s Super Bowl coverage and why he won’t watch the Olympics Feb 09, 2026

Show notes

Episode 590 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Sports Illustrated podcaster and media writer Jimmy Traina. In this episode, we discuss NBC’s coverage of the Seahawks-Patriots Super Bowl; whether a blowout impacts how you process a game; why we find NBC’s pregame show unmemorable; the not-great viewership prospects for Seahawks-Patriots; Jimmy losing money on a bad beat; next year’s Super Bowl falling on Valentine’s Day and airing on

ABC and ESPN; why Jimmy does not watch the Olympics; Seth Rollins as an NFL analyst; Maria Taylor as an interview subject; Jimmy’s Reddit fandom, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

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