The Sports Media Podcast

Aaron Judge and Albert Pujols went for historic home runs exclusively on AppleTV+. The NFL put some of its most popular teams exclusive on Amazon. The NFL wants to sell its Sunday Ticket service exclusively to a streamer. Podcast hosts Andrew Marchand and John Ourand discuss what sports leagues’ moves to streaming services mean for the business. Other topics: Pac-12 and Big 12 media rights, the ne...

Sports media’s push to streaming dominates the first part of this week’s podcast, as Andrew Marchand and John Ourand take a deep dive into how Amazon fared during its first exclusive NFL game. Marchand and Ourand take a look at Amazon’s performance from the NBA’s perspective since that league’s media rights deals are up after the 2024-25 season. They bring up both the good and the bad with Amazon’...

   Days before they will call the first regular season NFL game on Amazon Prime, Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit joined the pod this week to discuss their plan for calling games on the streaming service and how they’ve approached their partnership. The two also discuss the free agent frenzy that hit NFL announcers in the off season; Michaels talks about how he will decide when to hang up his annou...

  Fox Sports’ top NFL announcing team of Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen join the pod this week to discuss the upcoming season when they will call the Super Bowl for the first time. Andrew Marchand and John Ourand ask about the long off-season process to become Fox’s top NFL broadcasting team. Burkhardt and Olsen also address Tom Brady, who is scheduled to replace Olsen when he stops playing footba...

ESPN’s new Monday Night Football announcers Joe Buck and Troy Aikman join the pod to talk about how and why they moved from Fox to ESPN during the offseason. Aikman details his talks with Amazon and ESPN and discusses how much Tony Romo’s CBS salary played into his decision to leave. Buck talks about his reasons for leaving Fox and why he’s decided to give up the baseball booth. A UCLA alum, Aikma...

Andrew Marchand and John Ourand spend much of the pod peppering ESPN’s Burke Magnus, this week’s Big Get, with questions about the college sports landscape. Magnus discussed what happened during Big Ten media rights negotiations and how ESPN views upcoming Pac-12 and Big 12 negotiations. Magnus also discusses how ESPN plans to schedule SEC and ACC games next year and talks about the future of SEC...

The year is 2025. Who will be the biggest players – and biggest losers – in sports media? One of the country’s top analysts, MoffettNathanson’s Michael Nathanson, joins Andrew Marchand and John Ourand to talk about the changes they expect to see in the business over the next three years. Topics include the coming battle for NBA rights and why they are so important to Warner Bros. Discovery; the ca...

Hours before taping this pod, John Ourand broke the news that ESPN would not be carrying Big Ten football in 2023; Fox, CBS and NBC would share those rights. Andrew Marchand broke the news that CBS and NBC each would pay $350 million per year for their packages. On this pod, the two discussed everything you need to know about the deals, including what it means for the networks, what it means for B...

Andrew Marchand and John Ourand discuss why TNT's Charles Barkley said no to LIV. They examine the issues surrounding Comcast and Peacock. They go deeper into how the Champions League rights deal looks as if it may come down to the incumbent CBS/Paramount+ vs. Amazon. They also talk about how if they were TV and streaming programmers they would be doubling down on women's sports because the viewer...

Charles Barkley’s dalliance with the LIV Golf tour and the NFL’s launch of its NFL+ streaming service are two of the big topics discussed by Andrew Marchand and John Ourand this week. The two also talk about the NFL’s Sunday Ticket negotiations, the NFL announcers that bring the most intrigue and MLB’s mid-season report card.  Legendary sports media producer and executive David Hill is this week’s...

Andrew Marchand and John Ourand discuss how Apple or Amazon can create a new distribution model for the NFL with the Sunday Ticket deal, which could be global. The two discuss what is next for the Big Ten and its TV rights, ESPN+'s monthly pay hike and what it means, David Feherthy's move to LIV Golf, the issues with the Derek Jeter doc and Tom Brady. And they end the show with the: "How many foll...

Sports media’s two biggest rights deals that are available at the moment – one for the Big Ten and the other for the UEFA Champions League – are the first two topics on this week’s podcast. Andrew Marchand and John Ourand provide updates on what viewers can expect once these deals get signed.   The two also look at Matthew Berry’s decision to leave ESPN after a 15-year run. Marchand and Ourand tal...

Andrew Marchand and John Ourand give their insights on what is happening behind the scenes as the billions of dollars in TV money has changed the landscape of college football with USC and UCLA moving to the Big Ten. They explain how the Big Ten and SEC expansions are big successes for leaders of Fox Sports (Eric Shanks) and ESPN (Jimmy Pitaro), while also delving into who else may be involved, in...

Former Turner Broadcasting boss David Levy fills in as a guest host for Andrew Marchand, who is on vacation this week. Levy and John Ourand go in-depth on a variety of topics, including Formula 1’s new deal with ESPN that’s worth $75-90 million per year; what to expect when the NBA’s media rights are available in three years; and a review – and preview – of LIV Golf’s launch. The two also discuss...

Andrew Marchand and John Ourand go deep about the future of sports media in light of the Apple-MLS deal, as both have extensively researched and reported on the subject. At minimum, it will have an impact on what happens with the NBA in 2025 and could be a landmark move that one day down the road has serious implications for all the major sports leagues. Plus, Ryan Fitzpatrick joins the pod fresh...

News of Apple’s all-encompassing Major League Soccer deal broke just before Andrew Marchand and John Ourand taped this week’s podcast. The two go in-depth on deal terms and what Apple’s involvement means for the rest of the business. Marchand and Ourand also analyze what Luis Silberwasser’s surprise appointment as chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery Sports means for the sports media busines...

LIV Golf’s opening weekend is the top topic on this week’s pod with Andrew Marchand and John Ourand debating the tour’s media future. The two also dive into the latest with Big Ten rights, Amazon’s moves to build out an NFL studio team, Jason Garrett’s negotiations to call Notre Dame football and the future of the “Manningcast.” The two also review the first two games of the NBA Finals. Pelicans G...

Big Ten and MLS rights deals should have been done by Memorial Day. Andrew Marchand and John Ourand discuss where those deals stand and what viewers should expect. Other topics include NBA Finals preview, on-air roles for Magic Johnson and CJ McCollum, the next generation of NFL broadcasters, and future plans for NFL+.   Podcast mentions go to Anish Shroff, Jimmy Pitaro, Greg Olsen, Kevin Burkhard...

Andrew Marchand and John Ourand discuss Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch's comments on Tom Brady's 10-year, $375 million deal, Fox Sports' plans on its NFL booth, Warner Bros.-Discovery's future, the PGA, LIV Golf, Joe Buck, Amanda Renner, Magic Johnson, NBA Countdown, Inside the NBA, Dan Orlovsky, Lesley Visser, Jack Michaels and Chris Ripley.  Sign up for SBJ 360, our free, daily newsletter. SBJ 360 deli...

Andrew Marchand and John Ourand detail what could be next for Drew Brees on TV, more implications of Tom Brady’s $375 million deal with Fox and Joe Buck and Troy Aikman go to Bristol for the first time. Plus, the MLS’ upcoming TV deal that is expected to include Apple. In the Bettman interview, the NHL commissioner addresses the league’s first year with ESPN and Turner, as well as answers gambling...

Fox Sports surprising move to sign Tom Brady as its top NFL game analyst – even before he has finished his playing career – is the main topic on this week’s podcast. Andrew Marchand and John Ourand tackle this topic from all angles, including how this move affects other NFL analysts like Greg Olsen and Drew Brees. They also try to make sense of Brady’s huge $37.5 million per year contract.   Shout...

The fast TV ratings start to the NBA playoffs and the NHL’s streaming-focused regular season are two of the topics Andrew Marchand and John Ourand tackle on this week’s episode. The two also dive into how the networks handled the NFL Draft, look into the timetable Fox Sports is on to secure a top NFL game analyst, preview Peacock’s first exclusive MLB game and provide an update on LIV Golf’s new t...

Andrew Marchand and John Ourand discuss the biggest stories in sports media, including Drew Brees' potential move from NBC to Fox, Kay Adams leaving Good Morning Football and the UFC possibly having some leverage over ESPN with Warner Bros./Discovery's David Zaslav on the scene. They go deep into Netflix's potential to move into sports, and debate Amazon and Apple's strategies. Other bold-faced na...

Football carries the week, as Andrew Marchand and John Ourand go deep on NBC’s surprise decision to hire Melissa Stark as its “Sunday Night Football” sideline reporter; give an update on where Fox stands in terms of naming their top NFL talent; and reviews the USFL’s opening weekend. Marchand and Ourand discuss the Big Ten’s next media rights deal, compare Apple and Peacock’s strategies with MLB a...

Andrew Marchand and John Ourand offer their analysis of Apple TV's "Friday Night Baseball" and what was wrong with the concept. They also examine what is next overall for Apple in sports. They go deep into what is next for Tuner Sports after the merger of Discovery and Warner Media. The duo critiques the Kay-Rod broadcast. Finally, they discuss the new USFL on Fox and what F1 might receive in new...