Top sports execs from the Cowboys, Cavaliers, Inter Miami, Timberwolves, Clippers (and more!) will be called to testify as the U.S. government opens its trial against Live Nation on Monday, per @eriqgardner.bsky.social.
The latest news in The Varsity:
puck.news/newsletter_c...
TKO’s Zuffa Boxing is on the precipice of a media rights deal with Sky Sports for the U.K. market.
The latest news in The Varsity:
puck.news/newsletter_c...
New pod: @andrewmarchand.bsky.social returns to gab about MLB media rights, ESPN's Sunday night strategy and NBC's Olympic performance.
open.spotify.com/episode/4Tv0...
New pod: Jay Bilas offers a spirited defense for the state of college basketball.
open.spotify.com/episode/3RL9...
As analysts scramble to calculate estimates for the NFL’s market-busting media rights, the league must consider the long-term viability of its linear TV partners—and whether sky-high, cutthroat negotiations could amount to a mortal wound.
puck.news/sky-high-nfl...
The Varsity
* New MLBPA head ready for a lockout.
* Monumental Sports Net lays off five staffers.
* NASCAR chief Steve O'Donnell: "Could we introduce midweek races and shorten the season? All of that is on the table."
puck.news/newsletter_c...
New pod: @cbrennansports.bsky.social on the biggest storylines coming out of the Winter Olympics.
open.spotify.com/episode/783d...
New pod: NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell on steering the motorsport’s high-stakes future.
open.spotify.com/episode/59cg...
With tanking and load management, the NBA regular season is veering into spring training territory. As one executive recently put it, “The majority of the value of these media deals is centered around the postseason.”
puck.news/why-the-nbas...
The Varsity
* NFL will start its season on a Wednesday this year, either in Melbourne or Seattle.
* Disney opens its Super Bowl ad sales pitch to the entire market on Monday.
* @benjstrauss.bsky.social on what it was like to be WaPo reporter at this year's Super Bowl.
puck.news/newsletter_c...
New pod: former WaPo reporter @benjstrauss.bsky.social on paper’s mass layoffs...plus all the sports media news you can use.
open.spotify.com/episode/4pvE...
Roger Goodell is preparing for an aggressive international expansion. @loudmouthjulia.bsky.social looks into whether America’s new national pastime can truly go global.
puck.news/can-the-nfl-...
The Varsity
* Super Bowl ratings coming Tuesday afternoon. Here's why I predicted a slight drop.
* We could be beginning the Great Rebundling.
* The NFL should start new CBA negotiations once the NFLPA settles on a new executive director, per @profootballtalk.bsky.social.
puck.news/newsletter_c...
"The NFL is going to auction off a package of four international games that the league took back from NFL Network."
Later in the podcast, John made Mike Florio cry.
(That was a heartwarming moment. Thank you, Mike and John!) 💚
New pod: Mike Florio (@profootballtalk.bsky.social) on the biggest issues facing the NFL.
open.spotify.com/episode/07rF...
New pod: Top NFL exec Jeff Miller on the league’s ESPN deal, the use of A.I. in player health and safety and why the Rooney Rule fell flat this hiring cycle.
open.spotify.com/episode/6Cun...
New pod: Top NFL exec Jeff Miller on the league’s ESPN deal, the use of A.I. in player health and safety and why the Rooney Rule fell flat this hiring cycle.
open.spotify.com/episode/6Cun...
* Is ESPN is worth nearly 3x Paramount Skydance?
* Amazon outspending other streamers on global sports rights.
* Are the Cowboys valued at $20B?
* Topics at Goodell presser: Rooney Rule, Epstein files.
* Adam Schein to host YouTube show for New York Post/California Post.
puck.news/newsletter_c...
Go behind the scenes of Main Street Sports’ wind-down, and what the leagues plan to do with their local rights. This move caps the slow-motion decline of a certain type of local sports deal. As the market resets, is there any future for the regional sports model?
puck.news/inside-the-s...
* Is ESPN is worth nearly 3x Paramount Skydance?
* Amazon outspending other streamers on global sports rights.
* Are the Cowboys valued at $20B?
* Topics at Goodell presser: Rooney Rule, Epstein files.
* Adam Schein to host YouTube show for New York Post/California Post.
puck.news/newsletter_c...
Main Street Sports’ wind-down this spring will cap the slow-motion decline of a certain type of local sports deal. As the market resets, is there any future for the regional sports model?
puck.news/inside-the-s...
New pod: A Super Bowl preview with the great @dvnjr.bsky.social. Topics include: Belichick, Kraft and the Hall of Fame; the NFL’s push to 18 games; NFLPA politics; Jerry Jones’ succession plans; and, of course, the Washington Post.
open.spotify.com/episode/2QWE...
The Varsity
* WaPo analysis: "This never ends well."
* Peacock shows signs of life.
* Poll: online sportsbooks have a 40% unfavorable rating.
* Why doesn't TikTok do more live sports?
* 45% of people who got Netflix for NFL games in 2024 still subscribed a year later.
puck.news/newsletter_c...
Embattled Main Street Sports owns local rights to 29 teams across three leagues, but it’s running out of money and options in its quest to stay afloat. Despite whispers of a mystery investor, a Monday deadline looms. Teams and leagues are ready to flee.
puck.news/will-anyone-...
New pod: @axios.com's @sarafischer.bsky.social on the biggest media biz storylines:
* Washington Post
* WBD–Netflix
* TikTok
* Peacock
open.spotify.com/episode/2jOE...
WaPo cuts, which could affect up to 300 employees, are the culmination of a two-year effort by CEO Will Lewis to transform the paper. Lewis will focus on a few core coverage areas—national security, politics, etcetera—and not sports.
My story with @dylanbyers.bsky.social:
puck.news/why-the-wash...
New pod: The perils of sports betting, with Washington Post contributor @dannyfunt.bsky.social. Danny's book, "Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling," published last week.
open.spotify.com/episode/7g3Q...
Assessing a full slate of football-related cases approaching their day in court.
* Duke v Darian Mensah
* The NFL Sunday Ticket class action anti-trust case
* Brian Flores’s potential Supreme Court case
* Jon Gruden v the NFL and
* Heather McPhee’s lawsuit against the NFLPA
puck.news/nfl-supreme-...
New pod: @andrewmarchand.bsky.social returns to outline the state of sports media as the NFL, MLB and World Cup come to market with their rights.
open.spotify.com/episode/5O79...
New pod: @theathletic.com's @evandrellich.bsky.social on what MLB's offseason tells us about the sport's coming labor battle.
open.spotify.com/episode/02yA...
