Sports Media with Richard Deitsch

Episode 474 of the Sports Media Podcast features Jon Lewis, the founder and editor of Sports Media Watch, and Chad Finn, the sports media writer for The Boston Globe. In this podcast, we discuss the Super Bowl broadcast; the pregame show; how Tom Brady did as a first-time Super Bowl broadcaster; was Brady helped by the game not having a signature moment; the commercials; Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance; will it set a viewership record; what no Aaron Rodgers means for the Jets as a national team. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 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/adchoices

Episode 473 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests. First up is broadcaster Kevin Harlan, the lead play by play caller for Westwood One’s Super Bowl coverage. He is followed by ESPN Vice President of Production Linda Schulz, the point person for the company’s NHL coverage. In this podcast Harlan discusses the Chiefs-Eagles Super Bowl being his 15th consecutive Super Bowl for Westwood One Radio; what his weekend in New Orleans will be like; where the radio booth is located in the stadium; his call of a streaker during Super Bowl LV; where things stand with his contract negotiations with Amazon to do NBA games; his reaction to the Luka Donic-Anthony Davis trade, and more. Schulz discusses the 4 Nations Faceoff production; how ESPN looks at major hockey events; what makes best on best hockey an opportunity for the sport; the challenge of getting other ESPN entities to buy into the NHL; the longterm market for college hockey and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 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/adchoices

Episode 472 of the Sports Media Podcast features Fox NFL producer Richie Zyontz and Fox NFL director Rich Russo. They are the lead production staffers on Fox’s top NFL team. This will be Zyontz’s eighth Super Bowl as a lead producer and Russo’s sixth as a lead director. In this podcast we discuss how pace dictates a broadcast; the Chiefs attempting a three-peat and what that means for the broadcast; Tom Brady’s first year; how and why they believe Brady has improved; why they believe Brady will fulfill his broadcasting contract; how Brady takes criticism; the role of Kevin Burkhardt in the broadcast; how they will approach Taylor Swift at the Super Bowl and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 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/adchoices

Episode 471 of the Sports Media Podcast features Jon Lewis, founder and editor of Sports Media Watch and Austin Karp, the managing editor of Sports Business Journal. In this podcast we discuss Super Bowl viewership; why Deitsch and Karp think there will be a record; whether there is any Chiefs fatigue (there isn’t); how Tom Brady will do as a Super Bowl analyst; Greg Olsen being ticked at not doing the game; the ESPN-ACC relationship continuing for nine more years; Peacock adding no new paid subscribers in Q4 and remaining flat at 36 million subscribers; Reggie Miller joining NBC as its No. 1 NBA analyst; Hubie Brown; the passing of Dick Button and more.You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 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/adchoices

Episode 470 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features WWE Hall Of Famer Paul Heyman. The WWE’s Royal Rumble streams live in the U.S. exclusively on Peacock and Netflix internationally on Feb. 1. In this podcast Heyman discusses his parents, a Holocaust survivor and World II veteran; how he views the WWE’s move to Netflix and how talent processed the move; whether WWE programming on Netflix intentionally looks like a sports production; the creative process under chief content officer Paul Levesque; why WWE talent has not been considered for Emmy Awards; why Heyman could not do the job of WWE CEO Nick Khan; why political characters no longer exist in the WWE; whether the verbal skills he shows in front of a live crowd are transferable to those in business and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 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/adchoices

Episode 469 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Andrew Marchand, a senior sports media writer at The Athletic. He is also the host of the Marchand Sports Media Podcast and you can find his work at AndrewMarchand.com. In this podcast we discuss how we saw the Lions-Commanders and Chiefs-Bills broadcasts; our evaluation of Tom Brady; why Marchand thought CBS failed at the end of the Chiefs-Bills game; the Super Bowl airing on Fox; ESPN’s front-facing staffers doing political shows; whether there are Jordan rules for Stephen A. Smith; why the city of New Orleans is worth exploring; listener reviews, and much more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 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/adchoices

Episode 468 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features writers Joe Buscaglia, who covers the Buffalo Bills for The Athletic, and Nate Taylor, who covers the Kansas City Chiefs for The Athletic. In this podcast the two reporters detail what their day to day week will be like leading up to one of the biggest NFL games of the season; the access they get to Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and other star players; what it’s been like for Nate to cover a team that has gone to the AFC Championship Game every year he has covered them; why this game is many ways is more about the Bills journey than the Chiefs; how they navigate many responsibilities on a Sunday; advice for younger writers; and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 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/adchoices

Episode 467 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Chad Finn, the Boston Globe sports media writer and Austin Karp, managing editor/newsletters for Sports Business Journal. In this podcast we discuss Tom Brady’s agent, Don Yee, telling SBJ that Brady is in for 10 years at Fox; the transparency issue of what Brady owes viewers when discussing coaches he has interviewed as a Raiders minority owner; the viewership for the divisional round games; the Bills-Chiefs mega-showdown; the college football playoffs; Kirk Herbstreit getting emotional; and more.You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 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/adchoices

The episode of the Sports Media features Sports Media Watch founder and editor Jon Lewis. We discuss the NFL Divisional playoff round and what viewership might be; the power of the Bills-Ravens; whether you’d want to be on Saturday night versus Sunday afternoon; what last week’s WildCard round had lower viewership; the Fox Sports/LIV partnership; the Super Bowl on Tubi; the debut of Unrivaled on TNT Sports, and the passing of Bob Uecker. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, 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/adchoices

Episode 466 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Bill Bonnell, an executive producer for ESPN and the lead college football producer at the company. Bonnell will produce the College Football Playoff National Championship Game next Monday from Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In this podcast, Bonnell discusses what having a 12-team playoff has meant for ESPN; his schedule this week; how Notre Dame’s history will play on the broadcast; the access given by Ohio State and Notre Dame; the philosophy of crowd shots for a college football game; ESPN facing criticism for not airing the pregame national anthem at the Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Notre Dame; viewership prospects and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 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/adchoices

Episode 465 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Alex Sherman, a CNBC reporter, the author of the CNBC Sport newsletter, and the host of CNBC Sport Videocast. In this podcast, Sherman discusses why Venu Sports failed to launch in the end; Disney combining its Hulu+ Live TV service with Fubo; what it means for Fox and WBD; UFC wanting $1B for its media rights; Sherman’s interview with Jay Marine, the Head of PrimeVideo Sports; Amazon and Netflix’s sports intentions and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 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/adchoices

Episode 464 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Amazon Prime NFL play by play broadcaster Al Michaels. The broadcaster will call Amazon Prime Video’s first-ever NFL playoff game on January 11 — the Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens. In this episode we discuss Al’s memory of the 1980 U.S. Olympic boycott; calling the Ravens-Steelers game; what it’s like to call a snow game; whether he will return to Amazon Prime in 2025; why Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is a can’t-miss broadcast prospect should he enter the profession after coaching; working with O.J. Simpson and Tom Landry; his interest in Olympic broadcasting; Howard Cosell interviewing Fidel Castro; meeting Frank Sinatra; why Don Rickles was an incredible dinner guest and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 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/adchoices

In this featured clip of our longform interview with Amazon Prime Video NFL play by play broadcaster Al Michaels that will publish in full on Jan. 9, Michaels discusses why Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is a can't-miss broadcast prospect should he enter the profession after coaching. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, 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/adchoices

Episode 463 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Sports Business Journal managing editor/newsletters Austin Karp. In this episode we discuss the awful news out of New Orleans left more than a dozen dead and about three dozen injured following a distressingly familiar pattern of assailants turning vehicles into weapons; how this will impact the Super Bowl news coverage; the decision to postpone the Sugar Bowl; the best viewership scenarios between Georgia, Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas and Ohio State; Joe Tessitore calling games; the Vikings-Lions game ending the season for the NFL and NBC; the Top 100 sports broadcasts of the year, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 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/adchoices

Episode 462 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Sports Media Watch founder and editor Jon Lewis. In this episode we discuss the Netflix NFL broadcasts on Christmas; the viewership for the day; both games finishing about five million viewers shy of last year’s equivalent Christmas Day windows; the NBA's Christmas Day games getting its best viewership in five years; the big numbers Warriors-Lakers; what it means heading forward; the Penn State-Louisville women’s volleyball numbers; USC-UConn women’s basketball; the upcoming college football playoffs and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 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/adchoices

Episode 461 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features a roundtable of sports media writers offering predictions for 2025. The guests are: Mollie Cahillane, sports media writer for Sports Business Journal; Boston Globe media writer Chad Finn; Austin Karp, managing editor/newsletters for Sports Business Journal and Sports Media Watch founder and editor Jon Lewis. In this episode the group offers predictions for 2025 including on Tom Brady, Inside The NBA, media rights deals and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 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/adchoices

Episode 460 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Bryan Curtis, the Editor at Large at The Ringer and the co-host of the Press Box Podcast with Joel Anderson and David Shoemaker. In this podcast, we discuss Netflix’s ambitions in sports between the women’s World Cup, NFL, and WWE; whether this signals Netflix going all-in on sports; Tom Brady’s year so far as an NFL broadcaster; the college football playoffs; the endless discourse over NBA viewership woes; how the Washington Post’s management issues are impacting the sports department and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 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/adchoices

Episode 459 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Champ Bailey, a TNT Sports studio host for its college football coverage. TNT Sports will exclusively present No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State and No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas on Dec. 21 on TNT, TBS, truTV and Max. The pregame coverage begins at 11:00 AM ET. In this podcast, Bailey discusses how he got hired by TNT Sports; what he enjoys about sports broadcasting; whether sports broadcasting was something he thought of as a player; his preparation for the four teams; working with Adam Lefkoe, Takeo Spikes and Victor Cruz; the challenge for Bill Belichick at North Carolina; the 12-team playoff, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 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/adchoices

Episode 458 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Caroline Willis, the Sports Editor at The Daily Tar Heel, the University of North Carolina’s daily student newspaper. In this podcast, Willis discusses what it has been like covering Bill Belichick’s first week; when she discovered he was getting the job; what kind of access she thinks will get to Belichick; the paper’s plans to cover the team this year; how she sees the sports journalism market she's about to head into, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, 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/adchoices

This episode of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Austin Karp, managing editor/newsletters for Sports Business Journal. In this podcast we discuss Bill Belichick getting hired by North Carolina as its football coach; how TV networks might be thinking about North Carolina games now; whether Belichick can succeed at the school; Netflix’s Christmas Day games and how viewership might look; Al Michaels returning next year to Amazon Prime Video and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, 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/adchoices