The r/BillSimmons Podcast

Welcome to Episode 71! We bring on JF, who reached out to me on the Bill Simmons subreddit wanting to talk Simmons, The Ringer and more. We first hit on Bill Simmons current events - it's laughable how much Bill praises and makes excuses for KD but hates on LeBron. What's the reason for this? We think it's obvious. Next we discuss why Mark Titus and others have left The Ringer - is Bill not paying people enough and not giving them creative freedom? That appears to be the case. And why is Barstool of all places better at developing talent than The Ringer? After we do a check-in on r/BillSimmons, of which JF has been a fan of for years, we finish with an in-depth discussion of the new NBA deal. Is NBC overpaying? Is Warner Bros. screwed without it? Do the economics work for Amazon? We get into all that and more. Hope you enjoy the episode! And thank you to Wiser Times for the intro music and Zach Blatter for the cover art.

Welcome to Episode 63! We had massive news last week with Joe Rogan re-upping his Spotify deal, but with major changes to his initial contract. We bring back Neil from Episode 62 to break it all down. First, this deal is much different than Joe's previous deal, as he's going non-exclusive and Spotify will help with ads and distribution, including on YouTube. The contract is also structured as a lower guaranteed payout with revenue sharing, and Spotify aims to do this with all their top podcast deals. Thus, what does this mean for Bill Simmons' future? We speculate, including our thoughts that this deal actually means Bill will *not* re-up at Spotify - unless he truly is in Keep Cashin' Dem Checks Mode for good. We also talk podcasting and audio in general and assess the future of the medium, including lessons learned from Pardon My Take, Call Her Daddy and Rogan's pod - when and why did Bill lose the #1 sports podcast to PMT? We finish up with a recap of the Larry David BS Pod. Enjoy!

Welcome to Episode 126! We bring on Andy (@adplacksports) for a classic r/BS Pod show. We start off talking Guess the Lines - why has it dropped off so much, and is it redeemable? We assess what made the show great and how it lost its luster.We then hit on Bill as Ringer GM and discuss the current Ringer roster including strengths and weaknesses. We finish up the show predicting what Bill will (or won't!) say about the recent Jimmy Kimmel news. Enjoy!

Ryen Russillo is leaving The Ringer to form an independent digital media company which will sign a multi-year partnership with Barstool and receive investments from Barstool and Dave Portnoy. We break down this sports media news of the century - enjoy!

Welcome to Episode #124! We bring on recurring guest and sports media specialist JF for a highly informative show on the r/BS Pod topic of the day (Russillo's free agency) and the hottest non-Russillo sports media story (ESPN's Direct to Consumer app launching).To start off the pod, JF makes the case that Barstool should be even odds with The Ringer to nab Russillo, a contrast to some of our recent r/BS Pod discussions. JF argues that Russillo is both a better cultural and financial fit at Barstool. We explore some content Russillo could generate at Barstool while also discussing why Barstool's financial model and less stringent IP demands could be of interest to Ryen. We also hit on why The Volume, and their ability to offer Russillo equity, may be more in play than some are thinking. Plus, we get into podcasteconomics, contrasting The Ringer vs. Barstool, and JF questions a few moves Bill is making with some Ringer shows.After we finish up with Russillo, we talk ESPN's new streaming app. For $30, you can now buy all of ESPN standalone, instead of only being able to access the network via a cable TV bundle like YouTube TV. Will this be a success? We don't think so. And, we admonish ESPN for squandering a decade where they've developed no talent and continued putting together weak studio shows - there's no creative vision at the network. We finish up the pod going more in-depth on cable TV andESPN economics, and why the network developed such hubris while diminishing their brand.

We bring on Russillo expert Mason for a highly detailed look at everything Ryen Russillo: his time at ESPN, the art of a Russillo take, the beauty of Life Advice, whether his contract being up is causing tension with Bill, and, of course, where he'll land next. We finish up talking future of sports media. Enjoy!

Welcome to the latest r/BS Pod! We bring on two returning guests for a 3-man weave covering every angle of Ryen Russillo's looming free agency. Enjoy!

Welcome to Episode #121! We bring on Gracie from Twitter for a classic r/BS Pod ep, starting off with the Perk-Simmons beef. Bill launched some aggressive takes against Big Perk, who came firing back with a long monologue of his own including going into Bill's WNBA archives - we assess who won the feud.Next we hit on ESPN's horrific NBA coverage - Perk included - and wonder why they've struggled so much to create a good NBA product. We discuss why the RJ/Doris/Breen booth isn't working and predict that the Amazon and NBA broadcasts will easily surpass ESPN's. Plus, will ESPN ruin Inside the NBA?We celebrate Zach Lowe's return to podcasting, and discuss which we prefer between Lowe and Russillo. With Russillo's contract up soon, we break down where he might go - and if he stays with The Ringer, is there anything he could be doing differently to improve his content? We also agree Rob Mahoney has been stepping up lately.We then hit on some Ringer pop culture pods including The Big Picture, which is a favorite of Gracie's. We compare that pod to The Rewatchables; each have their own strengths. And we again contemplate why they don't release the Rewatchables movie ahead of time. We also give some love to The Town and Belloni's appearances on Bill's pod.We finish up talking Gracie's evolution from being a major Barstool listener to now consuming much more Ringer content, and also discuss how she got blocked by Buster Olney.If you liked the episode leave a 5-star review on Apple Pods and we'll read it next show!

Welcome to episode #120! We bring back the Chanch brothers from Episode #98 for another 3-man weave breaking down the recent Big 3 Simmons/Russillo/Lowe pod. Then we dive into Chuck Klosterman's latest appearance on the BS Pod and discus his wonky AI takes. Enjoy!Check out Kyle's fantasy league idea here: https://clubhousefantasysports.io

Welcome to Episode #119! We bring on returning guests Roman, Chris and Chenny for a rare 4-man panel to cover every angle of the Bill Simmons-Pablo Torre story. We discuss the origin of the feud, what we liked about Pablo calling out Bill several times, why we think Bill did the pod given he clearly hadn’t listened to Pablo’s shows, Bill’s hypocrisy on Pablo making this a story when Bill makes anything a story, whether Bill considers the pod a success, and we wonder if Bill will do more "sports media beef" content like this (Nick Wright?) after seeing such a strong listener reaction to the pod.Plus, we discuss this show's, and Awful Announcing’s, role in the feud and comment on the evolving ecosystem of podcast aggregation and whether this, along with Bill Simmons Twitter and r/BillSimmons becoming more popular lately, is changing Bill’s mindset so he has more fun online at his expense in order to further grow his pod, especially with a younger audience.For anyone who’s followed this story over the past week and listened to their pod, this is must-listen. Enjoy!

Welcome to Episode #118! We bring on Roman from TikTok for an absolutely classic r/BS Pod. We start off with Roman’s successful tales of bringing Bill Simmons lingo to non-Bill listeners. We then discuss The Rewatchables and the hilarity of film buffs having to put up with Bill Simmons’ takes, and find new ground with the answer to the age old question of why Bill doesn’t reveal the movie until after the episode drops.We next celebrate how great Russillo is at being acontributor to The Ringer and discuss why he should stay there when his contract is up.We then hit on how much we’re loving Zach Lowe at TheRinger, but wonder why he’s not bringing on better guests, while praising the excellent and growing Lowe-Mahoney partnership.We then get meta and talk r/BillSimmons, and how beautifuland hilarious and wonky it is to share in an inside joke with thousands of other people online. Also, how much is this podcast/account, Bill Simmons Twitter andr/BillSimmons affecting Bill and Ringer content? Who of the staff is most aware and do they use it for feedback?We turn back into some deep Russillo analysis before Roman gives us a scouting report and breakdown on a CR vs. Van 7 game series, before finishing up touching on underrated Ringer 3-man weaves.Leave a 5-star review for the podcast on Apple Pods and we'll read it on the next episode, and follow Roman on TikTok @romankingbarbershop

Welcome to Part 2 with Imperial Twilight! We start talking Bill's next career steps - IP says Bill should livestream games similar to the ManningCast - an OG idea by Simmons himself. He could also do a tour of all 30 NBA arenas with a documentary crew following him.  Ultimately Simmons needs to get the video-first Gen Z generation as fans; we’d love seeing him watch an NFL game with Cousin Sal.Next we discuss Bill’s obsession with making it in Hollywood - and IP argues that it’s not too late for Bill. His idea? Bill writes another book, launches a book publishing company with it, uses The Ringer to market books by their podcasters, and then options them to films. When Bill does this to add even further to his legacy by 2032, we’ll know the original idea came from this pod. We touch a little on Parent Corner before IP argues that Bill needs to aggressively expand The Ringer into college basketball to be the true sports media home for basketball, especially because he’s completely abandoned baseball and has invested few reosurces in football coverage.We next hit on the new NBA media deal and the future of sports rights deals - will the NBA deal age well or not? We finish up talking Bill’s Apex Mountain - when he had the most juice - before reminiscing about Grantland and talking about an interaction with a famous Grantlander.Check out Part 1 with IP here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-r-billsimmons-podcast/id1698894319?i=1000705334569Check out IP's podcast here: https://imperialtwilight.substack.com/

We have a sports media feud! We break down it all down on the show and assess who is right about NBA ratings. Enjoy!

Welcome to Episode #115! We had on fellow podcaster Imperial Twilight and went for over two hours - so like our recent two episodes, we're breaking this into two parts. We kick off Part 1 by talking about Bill's background - how much of his persona is real and how much has he exaggerated his Boston fanhood over the years? Imperial thinks Bill's everyman sports fan persona is more of a LARP than what's been let on.Next we ask whether Bill is more of a homer now than he used to be - or, is he simply a more insufferable homer now? Is Bill worse when his teams are good or bad? We discuss his strong dislike of Pete Carroll in the late-90s when Pete was actually a decent coach, and how Bill became the poster boy in the 2000s for the annoying Patriots fan. We discuss how the perception of Simmons' homerism has changed since he stopped writing.We then talk some Simmons & Russillo and challenge Ryen's tape grinding - have they discussed the new NBA trends in inbounds passes? It appears not - so how much tape is Russillo really grinding? And we wonder about Cousin Sal's humor - why is he not funny at all outside of the Simmons pod? And how was Kimmel funny on his late night show when Bill and Sal were writing bits? We also reminisce about some of Carolla's epic movie pitches including Pedof-IsleDid Bill Simmons change sports writing or did he destroy it? Imperial argues that Bill's initial foray into the medium changed sports writing and eventually destroyed it. Bill created a lot of copycats and diminished the idea that the beat writers had unique insights - and why not read a fellow fan? Imperial tells us a story of talking 3 hours with Bob Ryan and his meticulous preparation and work that went into writing about the Red Sox; could Simmons could have ever been a Bob Ryan; working sources, being on-site, talking with front offices.Next we hit on Bill's evolution over the years. Did Simmons evolve from everyday sports guy to rich guy? Was Simmons always the rich guy at heart? How and when did he go from outsider to insider? We talk about the evolution where Bill went from "I'm a sports fan like you" to "I'm Bill Simmons"; Imperial remembers when Bill covered Super Bowl week without even staying for the game. We next hit on 30 for 30 and how some of the details they left out in certain docs showed that Bill was becoming an insider quickly, and that this went against one of Bill's original premises of his writing - calling out the insiders.We finish up Part 1 asking why Bill sat out the 2024 Podcast Election - how did the Podfather not partake? And why didn't Bill claim he felt vindicated as a podcaster when they factored so heavily into the election outcome? We ask why Kamala didn't go on his pod, and wonder why hasn’t Bill been the subject of cancellation attempts with all the content from his past.If you liked the show, be sure to stay tuned for Part 2. Follow Imperial on Twitter at @ImperialTwilite and listen to his podcast on his substack at https://imperialtwilight.substack.com/

Welcome to Episode #114! This is part two of our excellent conversation with journalist David Quiñones.David opines on what he feels are under-appreciated guests on the BS Pod; he likes Bill with Sean Fennessey and Mallory Rubin. We then discuss how it's odd people don't mention The Ringer and Barstool in the same breath when they have overlapping audiences. We weigh the pros and cons of Russillo staying at The Ringer or leaving for Barstool - David argues that Russillo needs The Ringer more than The Ringer needs him, and identifies the drawbacks of Russillo moving to Barstool. We do a little MJ vs. LeBron debate before assessing who was patient zero for the current NBA rings culture - it wasn't LeBron or MJ, it was Wilt Chamberlain. And, Jordan was also a victim of rings culture until he won. We hit on how rings culture is very unfair to NBA players that are fun to watch and are highly skilled but "can never be the best guy on a winning team" according to Bill.David highlights his biggest gripe with Bill - his constant demand for the NBA to play less games - despite the league being more successful than ever. We finish up talking the incredible proliferation in gambling since David joined the sports media game in the mid-2000s . How much is gambling impacting ratings? How has gambling lexicon changed from being looked down upon to being accepted and now pushed. Is it sustainable? And what is Bill's role?Hope you enjoyed the two-part, nearly 3 hours of conversation with David - rate the show 5-stars and mention this episode, and we’ll read it next show.

Welcome to Episode #113! We bring on David Quiñones, a Miami-based podcaster and former sportswriter at the Miami Herald. David combines a deep history with Bill Simmons with his vast experience of working in media and sports media specifically, and the result is one of the r/BS Pod's best episodes yet. We recorded for 2 hours and 45 minutes, so I split the pod into two parts - Part 2 will release later this week.In Part 1, David and I discuss his experience writing for the Miami Herald sports desk and how he was inspired by, and attempted to channel, the groundbreaking work Bill Simmons was doing at Page 2 for ESPN. David explains the internal pushback he received when pitching some of those ideas, and then discusses his time at Fusion TV, an early 2010s media startup backed by Univision and Disney.Next we dive into Bill Simmons' legacy and impact on sports journalism. Can we trace today's aggressively negative coverage of the NBA back to Bill's refreshingly honest sports takes, which spawned copycats and made everyone eventually talk like Bill to try to duplicate his success?We then hit on Bill's frustration with NBA player pods, and David identifies what changed over the years between players and journalists, as we moved away from the days when Bill's childhood hero Bob Ryan dined out with the Celtics players; now stars simply repeat PR-approved lines to the media. We next discuss the evolution of media and hit on the current leader in the clubhouse - short-form video content, on TikTok specifically. We examine The Ringer's video push of late, and assess how different generations consume media differently, and what that means for the future. Plus, is media critiquing media going to have a larger presence in the future? We finish up Part 1 with David's view of Bill's takes on the Miami sports scene, including Bill's general anti-Miami sports coverage, East Coast bias, and the odd fact that no one at The Ringer even covers Miami, the city. David discusses the quirks of Dan Le Batard's show, which, similar to Bill's, has its legions of fans who are in on the joke. We talk his hypocrisy with KD and LeBron, and then hit on why Bill seems to strongly dislike mid-tier stars.Hope you enjoyed the show, and come back for Part 2 later this week! David's podcast about Florida called "Why Are We Like This?" can be found here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/why-are-we-like-this/id1645419175

Welcome to Episode #112! We bring on Mike from Twitter for a classic r/BS Pod rip. Mike and I assess the current state of Bill Simmons and his content and identify some issues that have caused us - former listeners of every one of his pods - to drop off considerably.We start with the thesis that Bill has lost touch with the average sports fan and highlight the recent Masters Pods as an example - who are those for: Bill, or his fans? We next hit on his failure to adapt in video and how him not embracing YouTube post-ESPN and instead creating a worse version of his podcast for HBO was a real sliding doors moment for his career. Then we discuss Bill's lost art of interviewing - not only is he not bringing in elite celebs anymore, but he's not bringing on up and coming talent like he did with Nathan Fielder a decade ago when Nathan For You first got going. And when he has had on the rare celeb lately, he hasn't evolved his interviewing style from the early days of podcasting.We next hit on how while we used to love Bill for his takes, they seem to have gotten outrageously hot lately, and it feels like this has coincided with him not writing and not watching as much sports. This also plays out in the drafts and games he plays on his pod, which used to feel well thought out and now he's re-drafting NBA drafts less than a year after they happened.Enjoy the show! And leave us a 5-star review on Spotify and Apple Pods - we'll read it next pod.

Welcome to Episode #111! We bring back @HubieTalksHoops for a wide-ranging show talking Bill Simmons, NBA, sports media and more. We first continue our ongoing coverage of Zach Lowe to The Ringer, where Hubie hits on some points we haven't discussed over the last few episodes. We also get his view on how Lowe fits with Russillo and whether Ryen will re-up or stay when his contract is up.Next we get into NBA playoff scenarios and look at the best and worst case outcomes for Bill. Obviously the Celtics and Lakers factor strongly into the discussion, and we explore just how crushing an LA win over Boston would be. But we also touch on several other outcomes where Bill could come out on top vs. taking an L were they to happen - we're loaded with potential storylines this postseason. And Hubie breaks down why he thinks the Lakers actually have a legit shot to win - music to the ears of Bill Simmons listeners. We finish up the pod talking NBA Twitter stories with Hubie, including his interactions with Woj and the rise of NBA Centel - who Hubie knew and gave advice to very early on. Hope you guys enjoy the episode, and be sure to follow @HubieTalksHoops on Twitter - and check him out on Episode 29.

We bring back Aaron from Episode #100 for a wide-ranging and fast-paced r/BS Pod rip hitting on Bill Simmons current events including Zach Lowe signing with The Ringer - what's the salary cap hit and will The Ringer make any moves in response? Plus, who's more valuable, Lowe or Russillo?We also hit on Pardon My Take's NFL-centric approach and recurring guests, in some ways making it the evolutionary BS Report in our view given Bill's change in style over the years. We also discuss Gruden's instant success at Barstool which has already rehabbed his image.We then get into the Stephen A vs. LeBron feud and later address Bill's unwarranted KD love. We identify ESPN's struggles during an odd time in sports media, as well as Around the Horn's issues, and the state of McAfee's show. This is a perfect blend of Simmons Universe current events mixed with sports media analysis with a fellow sports podcaster influenced by the one and only Podfather.If you like the show, check out Aaron's podcast For the Love of the Game: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/for-the-love-of-the-game/id1386844352

Incredible news today - Zach is back! We break it down from every angle. Enjoy!