Sports Media With Richard Deitsch

In this podcast, longtime Canadian sports broadcaster Donnovan Bennett joins the Sports Media Podcast following Toronto’s Game 7 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2025 World Series. In the podcast we discuss the Game 7 loss; if winning is the only thing that matters here; the biggest moments in Game 7; how we should think about Jeff Hoffman giving up the tying home run in the ninth inning and Daulton Varsho's at-bat in the bottom of the inning; upcoming free agents Bo Bichette, Max Scherzer, Shane Bieber, Chris Bassett, SerAnthony Dominguez, Ty France, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa and what we would do with the free agents and what we expect the Blue Jays to do, 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 559 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features ESPN college football and NFL analyst Booger McFarland. In this podcast McFarland discusses working at ESPN for 11 years and how he has been able to find his place at ESPN; how to morph between NFL and college football content; why Brian Kelly was fired by LSU and how he sees the LSU Football job; why Indiana has become a football power and whether it can be sustained; McFarland's top NFL teams so far and why the race is wide open; how he sees sports gambling in in both pro and college sports; the biggest card game he ever played on a plane, 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

Here's a short clip from our interview with Booger McFarland, the ESPN college football and NFL studio analyst. In this preview clip of the full interview on Monday, as part of a larger answer on sports gambling, McFarland discusses card games played on flights when he was in the NFL. 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 podcast, longtime Canadian sports broadcaster Donnovan Bennett joins the Sports Media Podcast following Toronto’s Game 5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. In the podcast we discuss the remarkable run of the Blue Jays this postseason; Trey Yesavage’s incredible performance; the continued effectiveness of the bottom of the Blue Jays order; why the Dodgers have struggled'; scenarios for Game 6 and Game 7, 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 558 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch featuresKen Belson, who writes about sports, power and money for The New York Times. He is the author of a new book, "Every Day Is Sunday: How Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft, and Roger Goodell Turned the N.F.L. Into a Cultural & Economic Juggernaut." In this podcast, Belson discusses how does one go about reporting on NFL ownership; where the ownership power-centers are in the NFL; Goodell's goal of reaching $25 billion in total revenue by 2027; why the games are too much of a narcotic for people to care en masse about health; how NFL owners are navigating Donald Trump's criticism of Bad Bunny playing halftime of Super Bowl; what will be the impact of private equity firms buying minority stakes in NFL teams; how ownership looks at sports gambling 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 ab

Episode 557 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Dani Wexelman and Jenny Cavnar, who lead SiriusXM’s pre-game shows on the MLB Network Radio channel prior to every World Series game. In this podcast the guests discuss the goal of a good baseball pregame show; expectations for the rest of the World Series; working in a male-majority business; the importance of prep for their jobs; Cavnar discusses her role as the  play by play caller for the Athletics, the first woman to serve as an MLB team’s primary play by play announcer for television; Wexelman discusses the challenges of navigating a non-linear career in MLB media; their respective dream interview subjects from anyone in the history of the game, 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

Here's a short clip from our interview with Ken Belson, who writes about sports, power and money at the NFL and for The New York Times. He is the author of a new book, "Every Day Is Sunday: How Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft, and Roger Goodell Turned the N.F.L. Into a Cultural & Economic Juggernaut." In this preview clip of the full interview later this week, Belson discusses how the NFL owners look at sports gambling. 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 556 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Mike Vorkunov, a basketball writer at The Athletic who covers the intersection of business and basketball. He is also the host and founder of Business Decision, a new podcast and YouTube show that focuses on the intersection of sports, money and power. In this podcast we discuss the challenges of starting an independent podcast and YouTube show; the biggest challenge and biggest opportunities today for the NBA; the NBA's global interests; how the Kawhi Leonard-Clippers-Aspiration story will play out; the women's basketball space for business opportunities; the upcoming WNBA CBA negotiations; a primer on Project B, a prospective women's basketball league to rival the WNBA, 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/adchoice

Here’s a short clip from our upcoming interview with Mike Vorkunov, a basketball writer at The Athletic who covers the intersection of business and basketball. In this clip, we discuss how the Kawhi Leonard-Clippers-Aspiration story will play out. 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 podcast, longtime Canadian sports broadcasters Donnovan Bennett and Arash Madani join the Sports Media podcast following Toronto's Game 7 win over the Seattle Mariners in the American League Championship Series. In this podcast we discuss the remarkable season the Blue Jays have had; how Game 7 was won; where George Springer's seventh-inning home run ranks in franchise history; John Schneider's managerial decisions; how the pitching staff sets up for the Dodgers series; whether we would role the dice and start Trey Yesavage in Game One; how would we use Bo Bichette in the World Series; our predictions 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 555 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features a roundtable with 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 NBA's new media rights partners -- NBC, Prime Video, and ESPN; the big coverage things we will be watching for this week as the NBA debuts; our initial thoughts and hopes for NBC, Prime Video and ESPN's NBA coverage; what we think Inside The NBA will look and sound like on ESPN; why we are very high on NBC and Prime Video producing good broadcasts; ESPN's shift to Tim Legler being on the Finals broadcasts; our expectations for Michael Jordan's role with NBC; Bruce Pearl, Jalen Rose, Jamal Mashburn and Chris Webber being part of TNT Sports' college basketball coverage; F-1 moving from ESPN to Apple; the MLB postseason and potential World Series viewership, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. To learn more about listener data and

Episode 554 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Jean-François Poisson and Marie-Christine Pouliot, the director and executive producer of "Who Killed the Montreal Expos?," a sports documentary debuting on Netflix on Oct. 21. As the title says, the 90-minute doc examines how the Montreal  Expos ultimately departed Montreal. In this podcast Poisson and Pouliot discuss why they wanted to make a film about the Expos leaving Montreal; why the Expos still resonate in 2025; why the story has many villains; making a consciousness decision to do a very Quebec-centric film; procuring Pedro Martinez, Larry Walker and other Expos greats for the films; the impact of the 1994 strike on the Expos; how Expos fans feel about the Blue Jays 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/adcho

Episode 553 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Julia Alexander, a media correspondent for Puck and the founder and author of Posting Nexus, a subscriber-based pub which you can find on Substack. She is the former VP of Strategy at Parrot Analytics, where she advised clients on the tectonic shifts in tech, media, and telecom. In this podcast, Alexander discusses why she is so bullish on YouTube's future in sports; where live sports are going over the next five years; the short-term future of sports on broadcast programming and cable; EA Sports, given its 265 million users, as a future live distributor of sports; Netflix's global sports ambitions; how Prime Video has successful approached sports; burnout in the creator economy; TikTok, Threads, Twitter and the splintering of sports and social media; the NBA's Prime Video bet; whether you can beat the algorithms designed to only take from you, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. To learn mo

Here’s a short clip from our upcoming interview with Julia Alexander, the media correspondent for Puck and one of the foremost experts on media in the U.S. The full interview will be available on Thursday. In this clip, Alexander discusses how social media has splintered for sports discussion and how the idea of one social media site being the centralized place for sports is akin to Walter Cronkite returning as the solo voice of news. 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 podcast, longtime Canadian sports broadcaster Donnovan Bennett joins the Sports Media podcast following their four-game win over the Yankees in the ALDS. In this podcast we discuss why the team has captured the attention of Canada beyond sports fans; Vladmir Guerrero Jr. trolling the Yankees; broadcasters who admit their fandom; what the Toronto roster should be for the ALCS; Chris Bassitt vs. Max Scherzer, 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 podcast, longtime Canadian sports broadcasters Donnovan Bennett and Arash Madani join the Sports Media podcast to discuss the Blue Jays leading the Yankees 2-0 in the ALDS; the incredible performance by pitcher Trey Yesavage; Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s breakout postseason moment; the future of Bo Bichette; predictions 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 552 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Jared Stacy, the Vice President of Global Live Sports Production for Prime Video. Prime Video’s properties include the NFL, NASCAR, NBA and WNBA, and NWSL, among others. In this podcast, Stacy explains his role at Prime Video and what he looks at when he his hiring on-air talent; Prime Video's plans for its NBA coverage; inside the hirings of Blake Griffin, Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki; setting Prime Video up for great play-by-play announcers with Ian Eagle, Kevin Harlan, Michael Grady, and Eric Collins; Amazon's WNBA games in 2026; acquiring media rights for The Masters; whether Al Michaels will be back next year on Thursday Night Football; working in the production truck with Vin Scully’s during Scully's final season broadcasting; how Prime Video is using A.I. on its broadcasts 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://ww

Here’s a short clip from our upcoming interview with Jared Stacy, the Vice President of Global Live Sports Production for Prime Video. The full interview will be available on Tuesday. In this clip, Stacy discusses how Hall of Fame basketball players Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash ended up becoming part of Amazon's upcoming NBA coverage. 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 551 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Deirdre Lester, the CEO of Teton Ridge, a leading Western sports and entertainment brands. Teton Ridge owns The Cowboy Channel, a national 24 hour broadcast and digital outlet that airs over 600 annual Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) sanctioned rodeos worldwide among other programming. In this podcast Lester defines the Western sports landscape and why she sees such potential there; how you expand rodeo to more people; The American Rodeo competition, which concludes at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas and airs on Fox; what the Cowboy Channel is and where you can see it; her previous jobs working for MLB Advance Media, ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, and Barstool, among other places; how AI playing is shaping Western sports and entertainment, 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

Episode 550 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Sports Media Watch editor and founder Jon Lewis and SBJ media reporter Austin Karp. In this podcast, Lewis, Karp and I discuss MLB's increase in viewership nationally year over year; Karp's SBJ's report on which local MLB markets did well and which struggled; baseball's value as a consumer play for customers; what constitutes a celebrity in sports; ESPN's Paul Finebaum considering an Alabama senate run in 2026; college football in 2025; Snoop Dogg returning for NBC's Olympics coverage; the YouTube/NBCU dispute; the difference between the average age of an MLB viewer on TV now just one year older than a viewer of the NFL; Boston passing the Bay Area in U.S. media market rankings: ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” averaging 1.83 million viewers in its final year; Terry Gannon getting a plum Olympics assignment, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. To learn more about listener data and our privacy