Episode 663 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features a roundtable with Jon Lewis, editor and founder of Sports Media Watch and Austin Karp, the media writer for Sports Business Journal. In this podcast we discuss Tony Romo and CBS parting ways; why the decision happened; what it means for CBS and Romo heading forward; whether Romo will work in the space again including as a studio analyst; Rebecca Lowe joining Netflix for its Women’s World Cup coverage; the WNBA viewership numbers; why the league now wants the Aces and Liberty in the finals; North Carolina and Duke playing each other in college basketball on broadcast television for the first time since March 2011; why college football viewership is down; the Portland Trail Blazers firing Braiden Bell for insensitive and misogynistic tweets he made at 15, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Episode 662 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Ed Desser and John Kosner, the co-authors of a new book, "WE’RE LIVE!: Inside the BIG Business of Sports Media." The book comes out Oct. 1 In this podcast Desser, a former NBA executive who helped pioneer NBA/com and NBA League Pass, and John Kosner, top executive for ESPN’s digital business for nearly two decades, discuss writing their book on the business of sports media; how much Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon's Prime Video and YouTube will be part of our sports future; the role of artificial intelligence in the sports business; why you should not think of sports rights having a bubble; what Paramount's sports portfolio might look like after the WBD merger; what keeps ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro up at the night; why the WNBA is undervalued; the prospect of a streamer getting a Super Bowl; ESPN’s decision to pay a handful of on-air talents big money; whether the NBA has an issue with too much inventory and more.  You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Episode 661 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Jeff Cameron, the director and producer of the HBO Original Documentary and NFL Films Production, Miller Night Football, which chronicles comedian Dennis Miller’s time in the “Monday Night Football”broadcast booth in 2000 and 2001 alongside Al Michaels and Dan Fouts. In this podcast, Cameron discusses how the project came to conception; why Miller decided to talk for the doc; what Miller thinks of his time on air; how 9/11 impacted the broadcast; the criticism ABC faced on the decision; Miller's incredible esoteric lines on-air including, "I haven't seen that much fabric used since Christo wrapped the Pont-Neuf in Paris"; how ideas get conceived at NFL Films; which NFL subjects that would be great for exploration; and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Episode 660 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features a roundtable with Jon Lewis, editor and founder of Sports Media Watch; Armand Broady, the co-host of the Sports Media Watch podcast and a contributor to SMW, and Derek Futterman, a multimedia writer and producer for Sports Media Watch. In this podcast our group discusses the latest on Joe Buck re-signing with ESPN and Troy Aikman saying he does not have a contract for next year; what it would mean for the industry if Aikman and ESPN parted ways; the NFL averaging 19.9 million viewers through Week 2, down four compared to the same point in 2025; whether College GameDay's DNA has changed; if College GameDay has become too self-involved; the settlement clearing the way for the Paramount-Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery deal and the large portfolio of sports rights; Doc Rivers joining NBC as an NBA analyst and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Episode 659 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Troy Aikman, the lead broadcaster for ESPN and ABC's Monday Night Football. His next broadcast comes Monday at 8:15 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN when he and Joe Buck call the Giants at Rams. The two broadcasters will also call Super Bowl 61 on February 14, 2027 at SoFi Stadium, ESPN's first-ever Super Bowl. In this podcast, Aikman discusses the Rams-Giants game; his thoughts on the Rams' decision to arrive in Melbourne later than the Niners; the upcoming MNF schedule -- Eagles-Bears, Falcons-Saints, Bills-Chargers, Commanders-Niners and Cowboys-Eagles; what he thinks of the Monday Night Football schedule overall; Travis Kelce's broadcast prospects; how he is finding doing production meetings remotely and not being allowed to attend practices at team facilities given the his Dolphins role; why he does not believe what he does is a conflict of interest; why he wants feedback from his producers; his thoughts on Joe Buck signing with ESPN for an additional five years; his expectations right now about his future with ESPN given his contract is up at the end of the year; whether Joe's decision impact his decision; his love of cold water showers; going to be early; the success of his beer company, EIGHT Elite Light Beer, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Episode 658 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features a roundtable with Jon Lewis, editor and founder of Sports Media Watch, Chad Finn, sports media columnist for the Boston Globe and Austin Karp, the media writer for Sports Business Journal. In the podcast we discuss the NFL's Week 1 viewership average being down 13 percent year over year; whether the decline indicate any kind of longer-term trend this season; our opinions of the Jim Nantz-J.J. Watt booth; what that might mean for Tony Romo; Joe Buck's new longterm contract with ESPN; Steve Sarkisian's decision to blow off ESPN's Holly Rowe; the declining numbers of the Manningcast; ESPN PR vs. Fox Sports PR and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Episode 657 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Damien Woody, who played 12 seasons as a lineman in the NFL and won two Super Bowls with the Patriots. Woody joined ESPN in 2011 as an NFL analyst and was staple on shows there before his contract with ESPN expired earlier this year. He has since joined The Wingo Network where he is part of a digital and podcast company with Trey Wingo, Merrill Hodge and Mark Schlereth among others. In this podcast, Woody discusses his new show, "The OG Football Show" with The Wingo Network; why he wanted to be part of independent media; how the end of his time at ESPN came about; how he was told his contract was not being renewed; the lack of feedback in later years from ESPN management; whether he felt pressure to only play the hits; whether one has to be political within ESPN; the most impressive thing he saw for the first week of the NFL season; his thoughts on Rams-Niners, Drake Maye, the Bears and Josh Allen among other NFL stories; why so many Patriots from his era went into broadcasting; his thoughts on Tom Brady the broadcaster; whether Bill Belichick will ever return to the NFL and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Episode 656 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Suzy Kolber, the host and executive producer of a new series, "The Originals," which will premiere on September 15 at 8:00 p.m. ET on the Scripps Sports Network, the new, free streaming television channel launched by the Scripps Company earlier this year. The interview show features one on one interviews with people who defy easy explanation including Jesse Cole, founder of the Savannah Bananas; Jon Gruden, Lisa Salters, Hilary Knight, Steve Young and Diana Flores. In this podcast, Kolber discusses being let go by ESPN in 2023 after 27 years there and how she has processed that layoff over the past three years; how the the Scripps Sports show came about; interviewing Cole about his success with the Savannah Bananas; whether she has interest in returning to live sports television; how ESPN management told her about the decision; reflecting on ESPN not doing anything on her leaving the network after years of valuable service; talking to ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro prior to the layoff; taking a 39 percent on her contract prior to her layoff; why longevity for a woman in the business is something she is especially proud of; wondering why leaks happen at ESPN; why it was difficult for her to watch ESPN for a couple of years; speaking candidly on her episode with Salters where they discussed fertility levels, trying to get pregnant and miscarriages, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Episode 655 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Gabe Spitzer, Vice President Global Live Sports and Entertainment for Netflix. Spitzer has oversight for the company’s global live sports strategy including managing the rights negotiations and partnerships with leagues such as NFL, MLB, WWE and FIFA for the Women’s World Cup. In this podcast we discuss Netflix airing the NFL's league’s first-ever regular season game in Australia on Sept. 10 (Rams- 49ers); what viewers can expect from the Australia game; why Netflix expanded to five NFL games in 2026; how Spitzer approaches on-air talent hires; why Noah Eagle and Luke Kuechly were the choices for the NFL game coverage; the Women’s World Cup being the most ambitious thing Netflix has undertaken; where Netflix is right now regarding WWC preparations; the on-air talent needed to fill for the Women's World Cup; the company's interest in the upcoming men's World Cup set to be jointly hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain; when discussions with FIFA might come; where the market is right now for sports documentaries; why Netflix is heavy into partnerships with sports podcasts; how he judges success with the WWE partnership; using WWE talent for traditional sports broadcasts; whether viewers should be scared of a streamer getting a Super Bowl and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Episode 654 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features a roundtable with Jon Lewis, editor and founder of Sports Media Watch; Armand Broady, the co-host of the Sports Media Watch podcast and a contributor to SMW, and Derek Futterman, a multimedia writer and producer for Sports Media Watch. In this podcast our group discusses Tony Romo's plea deal and his statement about his future; what we expect  CBS Sports will do with Romo this season and beyond; whether Romo could land elsewhere in the future; the NBA's punishment of the Clippers as it relates to Pablo Torre and his staff's reporting; Matt Yoder's piece on the chasm between journalism and insiderdom never being wider; why the insider position has become so desirable for certain outlets; WNBA Commissioner's Cathy Englebert's resignation; what the next head of the WNBA must have as far as it relates to media; The Athletic's much awaited report on former Athletic reporter Dianna Russini and what we thought about it; the sports media company finding that her relationship with Mike Vrabel violated newsroom standards but showed no clear bias toward the New England Patriots head coach; what The Athletic owed readers; ESPN not investigating Russini's work with ESPN; Russini's future and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Episode 653 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests. First up is Jimmy Traina, a podcast host/writer for Underscore Media. He is followed by longtime journalist Liz Robbins, who has written a book with Billie Jean King titled: See It to Be It: Eleven Champions Leading Women’s Sports Today." The book, for young adults, tells the inspirational stories of modern athletes including Caitlin Clark and Naomi Osaka. In this podcast, Traina discusses his new podcast for Underdog Media; interviewing Alex Rodgiuez after he previously had bashed him on social media; Tony Romo's plea deal and statement about his future; our thoughts on what we think CBS will do with Romo and whether he has a future in broadcasting; ESPN amping up its college football talk; our thoughts on whether Dunkin’ Donuts had too radically changed its menu and more. Robbins discusses her new book and working with Billie Jean King; the process of interviewing athletes such as Caitlin Clark; where the media space at the moment for women's sports; her upcoming story on emerging sports leagues including the women's pro baseball league and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.