The Sports Media Podcast

On this week’s pod, we get you set for the start of the MLS season. SBJ’s Austin Karp is joined by Apple TV+ lead MLS voice Taylor Twellman to talk about the upcoming season. The duo discuss the “Messi Effect” and the storylines to keep an eye on this season. SBJ’s Alex Silverman also chimes in with what he is taking a look at as the Major League Soccer season kicks off. Later in the pod, SBJ’s Ra...

In this Valentine's Day edition of the Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, SBJ's Austin Karp puts a bow on the Chiefs Super Bowl victory and the Big Game's record-breaking audience numbers. With the Daytona 500 right around the corner, SBJ's Adam Stern, NASCAR President Steve Phelps and NASCAR on Fox analyst Clint Bowyer drop in to talk about what to expect in...

On this week's pod, 57 Emmy Awards worth of Super Bowl insight. First SBJ's Austin Karp is joined by Ben Fischer from Las Vegas talk the upcoming Super Bowl. The duo discuss reaction to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's definitive answer on if the Super Bowl's streaming future and other things that have stood out leading up to the Super Bowl. Later in the show CBS Executive Producer and Executive V...

New name, same great information. In this week's Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, SBJ's Austin Karp reacts to the Super Bowl matchup between the Chiefs and 49ers with SBJ Football Writer Ben Fischer. The duo also discuss Who's Up and Who's Down in Sports Media, the NFL Pro Bowl, and Super Bowl Opening Night. SBJs's Alex Silverman also joins Karp to talk abou...

Episode 123: On this week's pod, Andrew Marchand is joined by Sports Business Journal's Austin Karp to discuss the $5 billion WWE deal with Netflix and what it means for the future of sports rights. The duo discuss the impact of the agreement on the NBA's forthcoming broadcast negotiations. They also highlight the bonkers NFL TV ratings, while wading into Tony Romo and Jim Nantz' struggles on thei...

Andrew Marchand and guest host Amazon Prime Video/NBC/Peacock's Michael Smith talk about the current state of media, including the NFL's advanced talks with Disney/ESPN about an equity stake in the network in exchange for NFL Media. The two go into the current state of affairs involving ESPN, Pat McAfee, Stephen A. Smith and Jason Whitlock. All that, and each host gives his "Who's up" and "Who's d...

On this week's edition, Christopher (Mad Dog) Russo is the guest host, joining Andrew Marchand. Marchand and Russo go into full detail about McAfee, Aaron Rodgers and Norby Williamson. They also dissect ESPN's reaction to McAfee calling Williamson, one of the top executives at the company, a "rat." Marchand and Russo look at the Peacock playoff game that will be exclusively streamed, pitting the C...

On this week's Marchand and Ourand podcast, Joe Buck is the guest co-host with Andrew Marchand. John Ourand is off to Puck. Marchand and Buck both give their Who's up and Who's Down of the week. The duo discuss Buck's reunion with his Fox family at Jimmy Johnson's Ring of Honor ceremony in Dallas, what Tom Brady will be facing, why Buck and Troy Aikman have that is hard to replace, how Al Michaels...

On this week’s Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast Hosts Andrew Marchand and John Ourand preview the biggest sports media stories of 2024. The includes the return of Marchand’s “Brady Meter,” which gives the odds on whether Hall of Fame QB Tom Brady will call a game as Fox’s top NFL analyst. The two also discuss to options for Greg Olsen, the analyst Brady is replacing.   Other topics include...

Andrew Marchand published a list of the 25 most powerful people in sports media this year. Stephen A. Smith topped the list, followed by Lionel Messi, CBS’ Sean McManus, ESPN’s Jimmy Pitaro and Fox Sports’ Eric Shanks. Hosts Marchand and John Ourand debated the executives and talent who should be on the list; the ones who should be off the list; and the ones that were placed too high or too low. T...

On this episode of the Marchand & Ourand Sports Media podcast, hosts Andrew Marchand and John Ourand offer their best projections about who will wind up with NBA rights. Marchand & Ourand also give a behind-the-scenes account of what actually transpired when the NFL decided to flex a game into “Monday Night Football.”   Marchand gives all the information surrounding his scoop that NBC will use Ian...

As college football readies for the CFP and the NFL enters the final stage of its season, hosts Andrew Marchand and John Ourand look into the biggest media stories in both sports. For college football, that includes the CFP, the end of the Pac-12 conference and the final SEC on CBS telecast. With the NFL, Marchand and Ourand dissect the NFL’s decision to use flex scheduling on for “Monday Night Fo...

The NFL set a viewership record on Thanksgiving Day across CBS, Fox and NBC. It also kicked-off the first Black Friday game in its history, which was carried on Amazon Prime. Pod hosts Andrew Marchand and John Ourand discuss the league’s media dominance and whether Black Friday will follow that trajectory. Now that the NBA is through the round-robin part of its In-Season Tournament, Marchand and O...

The head of Amazon’s global sports Jay Marine joins the pod this week to discuss Amazon’s sports strategy and how the company uses sports to grow its Prime Video business. Marine opens up to hosts Andrew Marchand and John Ourand about Amazon’s NBA negotiations, saying that Amazon wants to have meaningful games – including playoffs – on Amazon Prime. Marine also provides updates on Amazon’s negotia...

Disney CEO Bob Iger recently announced the year – 2025 – when ESPN will take its main cable channel direct-to-consumer. Host Andrew Marchand, who has reported on 2025 as the date for a couple of years, and John Ourand discuss what needs to happen before the 2025 launch date. The two hosts identify storylines that should develop over the next two years, as it heads direct-to-consumer. In light of S...

The NBA agreed to a deal with the bankrupt company Diamond Sports Group, which runs the Bally Sports-branded regional sports networks. Hosts Andrew Marchand and John Ourand discuss how that deal affects the 15 NBA teams that have Diamond deals; how the deal could impact the league’s national TV negotiations; and what the deal means for Diamond Sports. Marchand and Ourand also discuss how MLB will...

YouTubeTV experienced a lot of streaming problems on Sunday, and Bally Sports’ app was not working on Monday night. Co-hosts Andrew Marchand and John Ourand dive into what those two problems say about where and how streaming fits into the current state of sports media.   In other topics, Marchand and Ourand offer their predictions on the NBA’s next rights deal, talk about MLB’s success this season...

DirecTV’s top content executive Rob Thun joins the pod as co-host this week to discuss the problems regional sports networks are having today and talk about how the satellite operator plans to handle local sports rights in the future. Thun tells co-host John Ourand how some of the local broadcast deals some teams have made aren’t as good as they seem, and he calls on network groups to work more cl...

As rumors about ESPN’s streaming plans continue to swirl around, hosts Andrew Marchand and John Ourand separate fact from fiction. They look at the types of companies that would be interested in taking an ownership stake in ESPN and discuss the timing for when ESPN takes its main network – the mothership – direct-to-consumer.   Other topics have the hosts handicapping expected winners in the right...

Negotiations for the College Football Playoff’s media rights negotiations have starts, and pod hosts Andrew Marchand and John Ourand break down the media companies that will be involved and the likely winners once the CFP expands to add at least four more games. The hosts discuss the NFL’s request to have TV networks run ads for Taylor Swift’s upcoming movie and preview what to expect this week wh...

Last week, Sean McManus announced that he was stepping down as CBS Sports chairman next spring after a 27-year run. This week, McManus joins the podcast to talk about his career and the state of sports media. In a wide-ranging interview, McManus talks about his start in the business, working for legendary executives like Don Ohlmeyer, Geoff Mason and Mark McCormack. McManus takes listeners behind...

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred joins Andrew Marchand and John Ourand on this week's show for a half hour interview. During the sit down, Manfred goes deep into the future of local media, blackouts, Apple, Peacock, ESPN, fragmentation, Yankees TV, what the future of sports gambling will look like, how a different pitch clock was considered for October, the future of the Orioles in Baltimore and the A...

A bunch of breaking news this week dominate this week’s topics, from Bob Iger’s decision to simulcast most of ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” games on ESPN and ESPN New York’s decision to relinquish its 98.7 FM signal next year to Warner Bros. Discovery plan to launch a live sports add-on tier via its Max streaming service and the XFL and USFL’s plan to merge spring football leagues. Hosts Andrew M...

Just hours before the first “Monday Night Football” game of the season, Disney and Charter reached a deal to restore ABC and ESPN on Spectrum cable systems. Disney’s Justin Connolly was one of the key executives on that deal, and he joins the pod’s first “Inside the News” segment. Connolly discusses what last weekend was like as the two sides had round-the-clock discussions to close the deal. Othe...

All Disney networks, including ESPN, went dark on Charter’s Spectrum cable systems on Aug. 31, affecting close to15 million subscribers. Pod hosts Andrew Marchand and John Ourand discuss how ESPN and Charter got to this point and predict what should happen next. The outcome of this deal has tentacles well beyond just ESPN and Charter. It has big ramifications for the entire sports business. Just a...