Sports Media with Richard Deitsch

Episode 500 of the Sports Media Podcast features Cassidy Hubbarth, who worked at ESPN for more than a decade including prominently as a game reporter on NBA coverage and as an NBA host. She will move to Amazon Prime Video next year as that streamer's lead NBA sideline reporter. In this podcast we discuss ESPN's very public goodbye to her; why she succeeded at ESPN where others did not; why Amazon Prime Video was the right fit; how the Amazon job came to be; the excitement of starting a new job; the importance of having an agent at her level; working through a health scare; why Nikola Jokić is so good; 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 499 of the Sports Media Podcast features Sports Media Watch founder and editor Jon Lewis. In this podcast, we discuss the reports of ESPN retaining the NFL Draft; the value of the NFL Draft as a property; Lee Corso announcing his retirement from College GameDay; NHL viewership dropping and what it means; TNT Sports not sending announcers to Winnipeg and Edmonton for early Stanley Cup playoff games; Robert Griffin III working college games on Fox Sports; Jay Bilas getting another primetime NBA slot on ABC; Shannon Sharpe's immediate future; Adam Silver's dream of nationalizing local media rights, 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 498 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Charlie Yook, an NFL Network executive producer and the longtime point person for the network's NFL Draft coverage, and ESPN vice president of production Seth Markman, who oversees the Disney presentation of the NFL Draft on ESPN and ABC. In this podcast, Yook and Markman discuss how they look at the NFL Draft from a producer perspective; why the NFL Draft remains so relevant; the role of Green Bay in this year's production; what it means that every team has a pick heading in; the goal of their respective coverages; last year's first round draft averaging 12 million viewers; how they look at social media; why they don't want their staffers to tip picks and why it is easy for competitors to do so; why Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders is a tipping point for Round 1 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 497 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features a roundtable discussion with Donnovan Bennett of Sportsnet (Canada) and Austin Karp, the managing editor/newsletters for SBJ. In this podcast we discuss the NBA's regular season viewership numbers; ABC, ESPN and TNT averaged 1.53 million viewers, slightly below last season’s four-year high; the NBA playoffs and our viewership expectations; the prospect of an Thunder-Cavs final; the Masters viewership of 12.9 million for the final round and what does it portend anything for golf; MLB's miss on Jackie Robinson and how it relates to Jackie Robinson Day; can WBD get your attention with its media rights sports portfolio. 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 496 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Joon Lee, an independent sports journalist and content creator whose YouTube launch video was titled, "My ESPN Layoff Taught Me Why Sports Media is Broken." In this podcast Lee talks about why he sees big opportunity in sports content creation on YouTube; the current sports media information ecosystem; how to build content away from a legacy outlet; being let go by ESPN in July 2023 after four years there; how he moved forward after the ESPN layoff 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 495 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Sabreena Merchant, a staff writer covering women's basketball at The Athletic and one of the hosts of "No Offseason," the Athletic Women's Basketball podcast. In this podcast we discuss ESPN televising the 2025 WNBA Draft; whether we think it's a good television production; Holly Rowe interviewing at the WNBA Draft; who we think goes after Bueckers in the Draft; how Bueckers projects in year one in the WNBA; why we both like Serena Sundell and Georgia Amore as roster selections; why Sabreena has UConn, South Carolina and Texas as her Top 3 for next year in college basketball 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 494 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Jon Lewis, the founder and editor of Sports Media Watch and Josh Carpenter, an assistant Managing Editor, Digital Operations Golf reporter for Sports Business Journal. In this podcast we discuss where The Masters sits today in American sporting culture; the declining viewership of the final round of the Masters; the possibility of the Masters ever airing on the streamer such as Netflix; the PGA vs. LIV in ratings; how Josh thought the TGL went; the viewership of the men's and women's tournaments; 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 493 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Kenny Albert, the lead play by play voice for WBD's coverage of the NHL. In this podcast Albert describes calling Alex Ovechkin's 895th career NHL goal, which came against the New York Islanders on April 6 and eclipsed Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record; being cognizant that this will be a call that is replayed for years; the lead-up to the record-breaking goal; the atmosphere during the game; the importance of not talking after the goal was scored; whether he kept a souvenir from the game; his other memorable calls including Jose Bautista's epic bat flip for his go-ahead, three-run homer in Game 5 of the 2015 American League Division Series; the prospect of Austin Matthews taking on Ovechkin's record 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 492 of the Sports Media Podcast features Alex Bazzell, the president of Unrivaled Basketball. The 3x3 women's basketball league that aired on WBD's networks recently completed its inaugural season. In this podcast, Bazzell discussed the first year of the league and if they met internal aspirations for reach and visibility; averaging 221,000 viewers on TNT and TruTV and how Bazzell evaluated those numbers; the advantages and disadvantages of playing at a centralized location in Miami; Paige Bueckers having equity in the league and what she has said about plans to play for Unrivaled; the prospect of getting great college players down the road including Flau'jae Johnson; how realistic it is for Caitlin Clark to play in the league one day; the relationship with the WNBA; his wife, the WNBA All-Star Napheesa Collier, and her view of the league; having brand name investors such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Geno Auriemma and JuJu Watkins, 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 491 of the Sports Media Podcast features a roundtable discussion with Donnovan Bennett of Sportsnet (Canada), Chad Finn of The Boston Globe and Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch. In this podcast we discuss how networks will cover upcoming international events such as the Olympics, the World Cup and soccer matchups given the changing United States relationship with former allies; J.J. Watt joining Ian Eagle on CBS's No. 2 NFL team; Charles Davis taking over for Gary Danielson in 2026 and Danielson's announcement to retire from college football broadcasting; ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball final year; LeBron James' interview with Pat McAfee; Stephen A Smith's response to that interview; ESPN no longer pretending the E is not their most important letter; Smith legacy's and the legacy of attention getting in sports 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 490 of the Sports Media Podcast features Lisa Bluder, the former University of Iowa women’s basketball team coach and one of the most accomplished basketball coaches of her generation. Bluder led Iowa to the national title game in 2023 and 2024 and won 528 games at the school. In this podcast, we discuss how she approached the massive amount of media attention Caitlin Clark received at Iowa; how Bluder and her staff thought about interactions with both the national and local media; the number of media requests for Clark; how she advised players when it came to social media; her thoughts on Clark being on the 2028 U.S. Olympic Basketball team; Bluder’s work this month as an analyst for the Big Ten Network’s coverage of the women's basketball tournament coverage and why she hopes to continue with Big Ten Network; the injury to USC star JuJu Watkins; people wanting Clark to be what they want when it comes to how she answers questions; the women’s basketball final between Iowa and South Carolina in 2024 averaging 18.9 million viewers; the game Iowa basketball played at Kinnick Stadium; what’s next for women’s basketball; her husband, David Bluder, work as a novelist. 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 489 of the Sports Media Podcast features Brian Lawlor, the President of Scripps Sports. As the owners of ION and TV stations around the U.S., Scripps airs both the WNBA and NWSL, as well as a number of local teams including the Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights. In this podcast, Lawlor discuses ION's foray into the WNBA and NWSL; ION's WNBA Friday night doubleheaders strategy; the impact of Caitlin Clark being on ION eight times this year; the Las Vegas Aces deal with Scripps Sports; ION recording an average audience of 145,000 viewers across 50 NWSL matches last year; the importance of studio programming around live games; his optimism at continuing with the WNBA heading forward; ION's Saturday night NWSL double-header; how he looks at ESPN and others when it comes to women's sports; having the rights to the Big Sky Conference and the great Montana-Montana State showdown; Netflix's foray into live sports 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 488 of the Sports Media Podcast features three guests — Rebecca Lobo, Holly Rowe and Ryan Ruocco of ESPN. They are the lead broadcasters for the Women’s Final Four as well as the WNBA Finals. In this podcast the trio discusses calling the NCAA Women’s Basketball tournament; reflecting back one year later on the title game between South Carolina and Iowa being watched by 18.9 million viewers; what will be unique about this year’s women’s tournament; the growth of interest in women’s basketball at ESPN; why their are a legitimate half-dozen teams that can win a title this year; a lightning round of questions featuring whether Caitlin Clark be on the 2028 U.S. Olympic team; whether JuJu Watkins be on the 2028 U.S. Olympic team; whether Paige Bueckers will be on the 2028 Olympic team; whether Clark will win a WNBA MVP in the next three years; whether the Indiana Fever will win a title in the next three years; who they would build a team around between JuJu Watkins or Caitlin Clark, 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 487 of the Sports Media Podcast features Sports Media Watch editor and founder Jon Lewis. In this podcast we go deep into the women's and men's basketball tournaments; why we are seeing more women's basketball content than ever before; why viewership will be down for the women's Final Four and title game but what will be interesting is the early rounds; the addition of Jalen Rose on the men's tournament; the title game potential for viewership; Cooper Flagg as a television draw; the prospect of expansion on viewership; ESPN hires a new director for Monday Night Football and the media coverage around it, 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 486 of the Sports Media Podcast features Jane McManus, the author of “The Fast Track: Inside the Surging Business of Women's Sports.” In this podcast, McManus discusses her new book on how the economics and surges in viewership contradict the myths about disinterest in women’s sports; why she wrote her book; how she sees the new-age athlete such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Trinity Rodman as far as economic power; why the WNBA has not yet made money; the speed at which we will see women’s sports specific-content 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 485 of the Sports Media Podcast features Ben Fischer, who covers the NFL and all other professional football news for Sports Business Journal; Sean Keeley, the Managing Editor for Awful Announcing, and Austin Karp, the managing editor/newsletters for SBJ. In this podcast were discuss why NFL free agency has become such a media event and where can it go heading forward; ESPN signing of Stephen A. Smith for five years 100 million; X versus Bluesky; goodbye for Around The Horn; viewership for March Madness and the Clark/McConaughey debate.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 484 of the Sports Media Podcast features Conrad Thompson, who has created an immensely successful set of wrestling podcasts including ones with Eric Bischoff, Bruce Prichard, John Layfield; Jeff Jarrett, Tony Schiavone and Jim Ross. In this podcast, Thompson offers insight about the growth of his podcast network; the advantage of begin a first mover in the space; how his podcasts are monetized; the lucrative business of putting on a wrestling podcast convention; why Jim Cornette and Brian Last have been successful podcasters; why Paul Heyman and Tony Khan are the white whale gets to host a podcast; being friends with Cody Rhodes; why wrestling wants to avoid politics; the John Cena heel turn; the Netflix and WWE partnership 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 483 of the Sports Media Podcast features author and adventure writer Cassidy Randall, whose latest book is "Thirty Below: The Harrowing and Heroic Story of the First All Women’s Ascent of Denali." In this podcast, Randall discusses her book that chronicles the first ever all-female ascent of Denali, the tallest peak in North America; the void in the canon of adventure/exploration stories featuring women; why she is drawn as a writer to women who achieve these remarkable adventure feats; what makes Denali so tough to climb; how you research a story that happened 55 years ago; the challenges of book promotion 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 482 of the Sports Media Podcast features a sports media roundtable with Jon Lewis, the founder and editor of Sports Media Watch, and Ben Koo, the owner and editor of Awful Announcing.Int this podcast, Lewis, Koo and Deitsch discuss the place men’s and women’s college basketball currently occupies in the sports media landscape; the viewership for men’s college basketball in 2025; why the men's tournament provides good viewership no matter the teams; the state of women’s college basketball as it relates to viewership; why we are all bullish on the sport as a media play; what a realistic final featuring Paige Beckers and Juju Watkins could draw; how the Home Run Derby would play on Netflix; whether it matters where the NFL Draft airs; how media companies that air sports should approach playing the national anthems of the U.S.. and Canada; why the anthem talk will be monetized 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 481 of the Sports Media Podcast features Chris Cuthbert, the lead play by play voice for Sportsnet's coverage of the NHL. In this podcast Cuthbert discusses calling the amazing 4 Nations Face-Off final between Canada and U.S. for a Canada audience; comparing it to his call of Sidney Crosby’s “golden goal” for CTV from the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games; the 16 million+ North American viewers who watched the game; the nexus of geopolitics and hockey for this event and what it meant to Canadians; what he recalled about Connor McDavid's game winner; 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