On the latest edition of the Sports Media Watch podcast, Jon Lewis is joined by ESPN play-by-play voice Bob Wischusen, who discusses his role as an NHL broadcaster, his career and more. But first, Jon discusses the future of MLB on RSNs and the Mets' drawing power this postseason.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
On the new edition of the Sports Media Watch podcast, Jon Lewis is joined by special guests Randy Scott and Gary Striewski of SportsCenter (11:35), who discuss their popular partnership, how their SportsCenter differs from the 1990s heyday and much more. But first, Jon dives into the Christine Brennan-WNBA controversy and the broader culture war over Caitlin Clark, and explains why everything is lining up for a strong MLB Postseason in the ratings.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
On today's episode, Jon Lewis and Drew Lerner talk more Caitlin Clark, and how her presence lifted the WNBA to big playoff viewership directly against the NFL. Then, the crew takes a look at football viewership from the weekend, including whether the Kansas City Chiefs have a legitimate claim to the title of "America's Team," and how Fox's Friday night college football game could turn into another viewership draw for the network.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
On the latest edition of the Sports Media Watch podcast, Jon Lewis and Drew Lerner examine the WNBA season and the Caitlin Clark effect with Fever analyst and Basketball Hall of Famer Debbie Antonelli and Scripps Sports (ION) president Brian Lawlor. Plus, some discussion about NFL ratings, Tom Brady and more.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
On today's episode, Jon Lewis and Drew Lerner start the podcast discussing the carriage dispute between Disney and DirecTV, how it differs from the Charter dispute last year, and whether it will be solved in time for Monday Night Football. Then, the crew takes a look at the first full weekend of college football, including a discussion about Nick Saban's debut on College GameDay, and whether Saban or Bill Belichick will have the better media chops this season. Jon and Drew then discuss Tom Brady's NFL broadcasting debut, and whether he will even make it through a full season with the restrictions placed on him by the league. To close out, Jon overviews the Nancy Lieberman-Sheryl Swoopes drama currently unfolding.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
On today's episode, Jon Lewis and Drew Lerner discuss ESPN's executive restructuring and what it could mean for its live sports coverage, in particular the NBA. Then the crew does a legal roundup covering the Paramount deal, Venu's appeal, Amazon pulling its funding from Diamond Sports, the NFL Sunday Ticket case, and the NBA filing a motion to dismiss WBD's matching rights.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
On today's episode, Jon Lewis and Drew Lerner talk about the preliminary injunction levied against Venu in federal court last week, whether the ruling should have been made, and what it means for the future of "bundling" sports properties. Then the crew discusses ESPN's decision to fire Sam Ponder and Robert Griffin III, and why Laura Rutledge should get the "Sunday NFL Countdown" job over Mike Greenberg. Jon and Drew then put a bow on their Olympics ratings discussion to close the show.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
On today's episode, Jon Lewis and Drew Lerner start off by discussing Leigh Diffey's call of the Men's 100m Final and look back at some other notable announcer blunders. Then, the crew continues their discussion about NBC's Olympic viewership, and how Paris compares to past Olympics. Jon and Drew close the show with the NFL "Sunday Ticket" verdict getting overturned, and MLB announcing flexible scheduling for the World Series.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
On today's episode, Jon Lewis and Drew Lerner wade through the somewhat confusing methodology that NBC is using for measuring its Olympics viewership, and how much of this year's success is real versus manufactured. Then, the crew discusses their opinions on Gold Zone and the whip-around format more broadly, asking whether it is the future of live sports consumption. Jon and Drew close out the show with a discussion about what WBD is trying to gain from its battle with the NBA over its matching rights.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
On today's episode, Jon Lewis and Drew Lerner dive into the NBA and its respective broadcast partners formally announcing their upcoming media rights agreements. The crew discusses what this means for WBD who had their "match" denied by the league, and what stood out in the announcements that we didn't already know. Then, Jon and Drew discuss the WNBA portion of the rights agreements and the success of the league through the All-Star break before closing out the show with an Olympics discussion.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
On today's episode, Jon Lewis and Drew Lerner discuss the NBA finalizing its media rights deals, and what to expect from WBD's efforts to match Amazon's package of games. Then, the crew highlights the WNBA portion of the deal and whether that rights fee will look like a bargain down the line. Jon and Drew close out the show talking Copa America and Euros viewership on Fox, and Skip Bayless leaving FS1.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
On today's episode, Jon Lewis and Drew Lerner start the show discussing more viewership records for the Clark-sparked WNBA, including the Fever-Sky game that beat its own one week old record and a Fever game that set another record for ION. Then, Jon dives into his new piece on why the NBA has been able to land such lucrative media rights deals despite so-so NBA Finals viewership. The crew closes out the show talking about Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals and the new Big East media rights deals.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
On today's episode, Jon Lewis and Drew Lerner start the show discussing the lackluster NBA Finals viewership before shifting over to a conversation about Charles Barkley's latest retirement saga, and whether his announcement this time around is different than the past. Then, the crew wraps up with U.S. Open viewership and the Stanley Cup Finals.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
On today's episode, Jon Lewis and Drew Lerner take a look at how the NBA and Stanley Cup Finals are faring from a ratings perspective through two games. Then, the crew closes out the show with a discussion on TNT's recent media rights acquisitions, whether the network is doing enough to maintain its rates with distributors, and if they'll secure a fourth package of NBA games.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
On today's episode, Jon Lewis and Drew Lerner unpack the media discourse surrounding the WNBA, including recent incidents with Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee. The crew then discusses the NBA Finals before having an impromptu conversation about the league's media rights deal and what it signals for the cable industry writ large. Jon and Drew wrap up with a discussion on the Stanley Cup Finals.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
On today's episode, Jon Lewis and Drew Lerner quickly go over weekend ratings for the NBA, PGA Championship, and Preakness before diving into our main topic: ESPN's game 7 broadcast of Knicks-Pacers. Jon details how ESPN's failures have resulted in a product that has become a disservice to NBA viewers, why the problem is systemic, and whether the network can reverse course over its next decade-plus of NBA rights. The crew closes out the show with a discussion of the coverage surrounding Scottie Scheffler's incident Friday at the PGA Championship.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
On today's episode, Jon Lewis and Drew Lerner run through the many announcements surrounding the NFL's schedule release, starting with the league's decision to give NBC and FOX extra Week 16 games that will directly compete with the College Football Playoff. Then, Jon and Drew discuss what we know about the first couple weeks of the NFL schedule, how Tom Brady will fare at FOX, and NBC producing three standalone games in Week 1. The crew then gets into NBA playoff ratings and the ongoing NBA rights negotiations as WBD looks less and less likely to retain its package. Jon and Drew close out the show with some WNBA discussion as Caitlin Clark debuts with the Indiana Fever.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
On today's episode, Jon Lewis and Drew Lerner discuss the latest reporting surrounding the NBA media rights negotiations and whether NBC or TNT would be a better partner for the league. Then, the crew jumps into a ratings roundup and takes a look at weekend ratings from the NBA, Kentucky Derby, and NHL. Jon and Drew close out the show with some quick hitters including NBC's U.S. Open coverage plans, MLB on Roku, Michael Irvin, The NFL Today shakeup, ABC's Monday Night Football inventory, and the upcoming WNBA season.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
On today's episode, Jon Lewis and Drew Lerner dive into all the reporting surrounding NBA rights negotiations. To start, the crew discusses whether NBC's huge bid could mean the end times for the NBA on TNT or if WBD will find a way to match NBC's deal, or split the package between them. They also discuss possible landing spots for the Inside the NBA crew should TNT miss out on NBA rights. Then, Jon and Drew go over NBA playoff ratings thus far, before returning to a discussion of the live sports rights market writ large, debating whether a huge financial windfall for the NBA bodes well for the MLB and NHL when they go back to market.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
On today's episode, Jon Lewis and Drew Lerner take a look at recent reporting surrounding the NBA's media rights negotiations and discuss expectations around the dollar figure the league will ultimately receive, and what the inventory breakdown looks like for the league's media partners. Then, Jon and Drew go over viewership for the opening weekend of NBA playoffs, and how the postseason is shaping up from a ratings perspective. The crew also takes a look at the substantial year-over-year increase for the NHL's opening playoff games. To close out the show, Jon and Drew remember ESPN's Howie Schwab and talk about ESPN under Mark Shapiro. Then Jon has some final remarks on the conversation surrounding the WNBA.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy