Episode 672 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 this podcast, we discuss the NFL season-to-date viewership through Week 8, with NFL games averaging 18.4 million viewers (TV+Digital), the highest average through Week 8 on record and up +3% vs. 2025; what we expect in the second half for viewership; the WNBA Finals hitting its best viewership mark since 1999, with Game 7 averaging 3.3 million viewers on USA Network, CNBC and Peacock; the seven-game Valkyries-Dream matchup averaging 1.9 million viewers across NBC, USA, CNBC, Syfy and E!; Versant CEO Mark Lazarus saying that high prices for NFL and World Cup rights could “create an opening for Versant as other media companies reassess their sports portfolios and spending commitments,” according to John Ourand of PUCK; MS Now Joe Scarborough saying ESPN’s Pat McAfee is ruining “College GameDay; our thoughts on Election Day viewership and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Episode 671 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Jon Lewis, editor and founder of Sports Media Watch and Jimmy Traina,  a podcast host/writer for Underscore Media. In this episode we discuss The Athletic's story that details the recent acrimony between Joe Buck and Troy Aikman; whether the relationship can be saved this season; how management let things get to this point; how much of a story this will be at the Super Bowl; what is next for Monday Night Football; Ernie Johnson announcing this will be his last year hosting Inside The NBA; the World Series viewership numbers and how they exceeded expectations; our Game 7 viewership expectations for the WNBA Finals and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Episode 670 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Kyle Kondik, the managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball, the University of Virginia Center for Politics’ nonpartisan election forecasting newsletter. Kondik analyzes American campaigns and elections and is frequently a guest on places such as C-Span. In this podcast Kondik discusses the parallels between election forecasting and those obsessed by sports or sports analytics; how he looks at data to make election predictions; whether he should be judged on the accuracy of his predictions; where Sabato's Crystal Ball has the Senate and House races right now; the unlikely Senate races in Kansas, Iowa and South Carolina; how he sees Texas, Maine and Minnesota right now; outlier polls; why you should be focusing on Kentucky's Sixth Congressional District on Election night; when he starts thinking about the 2028 race; his Election night gig in NYC with the CBS Decision Desk as part of their results-focused "Nerd Show" stream and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Episode 669 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, we discuss
CBS Sports naming J.J. Watt as its permanent lead analyst for the NFL ON CBS in a new multi-year agreement; CBS saying that Watt will call Super Bowl LXII in Atlanta; what Watt being named as CBS's No. 1 means for Greg Olsen and Troy Aikman; whether Aikman will work in a booth in 2027; whether Netflix goes big for an NFL analyst; the viewership for the WNBA Finals; the presentation from USA Network and NBC; whether WNBA broadcasters need to be more critical; our viewership expectations for Rays-Brewers; FIFA now accepting formal bids for U.S. and Puerto Rican broadcast rights to the 2030 and 2034 World Cups; the many potential bidders for the men's World Cup, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Episode 668 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests. First up is Michael Grady, who works as a play-by-play broadcaster nationally for the NBA on Prime, the NBA on NBC and locally for the Timberwolves. He is followed by Mirin Fader, the editor of "The Year’s Best Sports Writing 2026," the annual anthology of the best sports writing. She is also a senior writer for The Athletic. In this podcast, Grady discusses his multiple roles calling NBA games; how he would define or describe how Amazon produces the NBA; what it's like working on NBC's NBA broadcasts; his opening games of the NBA season including for Peacock on Oct. 26 for Warriors-Nuggets and Thunder-Cavaliers on Nov. 2 for Prime Video; working with Candace Parker on the NBA and the WNBA; calling games for the Timberwolves; his sports broadcasting evolution; the big storylines in the NBA this season; how the Eastern Conference has become a power; his Instagram feed as an ode to Brooklyn to travel and more. Fader discusses the role of the editor in the Year's Best Sportswriting series; what she discovered reading so much longform sports writing; the pieces this year in the book; her lead essay about the dismantling of The Washington Post sports section; why she still remains hopeful about the interest in longform sports writing among young people; Giannis Antetokounmpo moving to Miami, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Episode 667 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 this podcast we discuss ESPN NFL analyst Troy Aikman's recent statements including this on to Jimmy Traina: "it just seems to be where they're [ESPN] going — that they’re gonna go in a different direction because there’s been no talks, no contract negotiations"; why ESPN would let Aikman walk; how much finances are part of the equation; who could be a replacement for Aikman; the Greg Olsen factor; the NFL averaging 18.8 million viewers per game, meaning it is now up for the year; the impact of the Brewers in the World Series; whether a Brewers-Rays or Brewers-Guardians World Series can draw; the College Football Playoff expanding the field to 24 teams in 2027 and what that means from a media perspective and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Episode 666 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Westwood One Sports broadcaster Oliver Wilson who hails from Leighton Buzzard, England and is calling the NFL's International games in Europe this season for Westwood One Audio. In this podcast, Wilson discusses calling last week's thrilling Jaguars win over the Eagles at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium; working his second year for Westwood One after calling four games last year; whether his approach changes for an American audience; how he came to get the NFL job; the challenge of being a freelance sports broadcaster in the United Kingdom; his experience calling Super Bowls in the United States; the dream of calling a World Cup; what it's like calling games in Madrid;the sports podcast space in the United Kingdom and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Episode 665 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, we discuss Stephen A. Smith making light of Lane Johnson's decision to retire, where Johnson cited mental health concerns, and then Smith being excoriated before issuing an on-air apology; why this stuff happens; where ESPN management fits in here; the new sports portfolio for Skydance; what CBS Sports head David Berson will do longterm with the J.J. Watt analyst spot; how much Skydance's debt will impact its sports portfolio; Major League Baseball wanting to cut down the number of regular-season games from 162 to 154 starting in 2029 and expanding one round of the postseason; why this is about expanding postseason inventory in what is expected to be the first under new national media contracts; and more.  You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

Episode 664 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Peter King, the longtime Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports writer and on-air reporter. King is the author of the new book, "The Game," a memoir and history of the NFL. The book comes out Oct. 13. In this podcast King discusses why he wrote the book; the NFL's enduring popularity; his favourite stories over the years; why King could not possibly have the same career today if he started in 2026 as opposed to 1984; his list of the 100 most influential people in NFL history; why by the the time he retired the football media life "had become an overly scripted, press-conference-dominated, closed-locker-room, measure-every-word-you-utter world"; why his Sundays are like today; how he feels about the role of the media transaction breaker; his dream of visiting Sweden and watching the Canadiens play at the Bell Centre in Montreal and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more.

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.