The Sports Media Podcast

Brian Josephs, VP at Sportradar who builds data and AI for broadcasts, and Elle Duncan, broadcaster turned Netflix sports lead. They talk about NCAA Tournament viewership trends and TV rights pressure. Elle shares why she moved to Netflix and its live-sports ambitions. Brian explains how data, tracking, and personalization are changing sports telecasts.

On this week's pod, host and SBJ media reporter Austin Karp discusses the big audience numbers for college basketball’s regular season and the conference tournaments. Karp also looks at the healthy prospects for the WNBA with a CBA done, how the WBC delivered big numbers and the PWHL getting its first national TV deals done in the U.S. Plus, with the NCAA Tournament underway, NBC Sports’ John Fanta comes on to talk about the broader college hoops landscape. Sign up for SBJ 360, our free, daily newsletter. SBJ 360 delivers a concise, high-level overview of the most important stories shaping the sports industry. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this week's pod, host and SBJ media reporter Austin Karp opens up with a conversation at the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament with Commissioner Jim Phillips, who dishes on the recent meeting with President Trump at the White House, resurgent viewership for college hoops and likely expansion of the ACC’s efforts with in-game replay review audio for fans. Plus, Karp gets into college basketball regular season viewership, the prospects for an NFL game on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, CBS’ UFC debut, Apple TV’s F1 debut and the “Soul Power” doc currently on Amazon Prime Video. Sign up for SBJ 360, our free, daily newsletter. SBJ 360 delivers a concise, high-level overview of the most important stories shaping the sports industry. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this week's pod, host and SBJ media reporter Austin Karp discusses the implications of David Ellison and Paramount Skydance winning a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. Also, what the Red Wings and Tigers are doing for local games in Motown and what Unrivaled needs to accomplish in Season 3. Plus, CAA Sports’ Matt Kramer and Tom Young dish on what they look to accomplish for their broadcasting clients, and what trends they’re following for talent in 2026. Sign up for SBJ 360, our free, daily newsletter. SBJ 360 delivers a concise, high-level overview of the most important stories shaping the sports industry. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on the SBJ Sports Media Podcast, host and SBJ media reporter Austin Karp delivers his takeaways from the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, including a look at NBC’s cross‑platform strategy that helped drive record viewership for the USA–Canada women’s hockey gold‑medal showdown. Later in the episode, the president of NHL Business Keith Wachtel joins the show to share on‑the‑ground insights from his Olympic experience and to lay out why the league views major global events as a cornerstone of its long‑term plan to expand hockey’s international reach. Sign up for SBJ 360, our free, daily newsletter. SBJ 360 delivers a concise, high-level overview of the most important stories shaping the sports industry. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rachel Axon, SBJ Olympics and women's sports reporter on the ground in Milan, shares on-the-ground color from the Winter Games and media operations. Short takes cover travel logistics between venues, NBC’s split production approach, snowy visual challenges, influencers and social strategy, and questions around LA-28 leadership.

On this week's pod, host and SBJ media reporter Austin Karp is joined by SBJ special contributor Richard Deitsch, and the duo break down Super Bowl viewership, changes coming to NFL media rights, the start to the Milan Cortina Olympics, this weekend’s NBA All-Star Game and Daytona 500 and more. Sign up for SBJ 360, our free, daily newsletter. SBJ 360 delivers a concise, high-level overview of the most important stories shaping the sports industry. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this week's pod, host and SBJ media reporter Austin Karp brings on colleague Tom Friend to talk about the latest with Main Street Sports Group and its RSNs. Then, Karp gets into the closing of the NFL-ESPN equity deal and what surprised him. Then, Octagon media rights expert William Mao joins the pod to dish on the NFL, college sports, a potential squeeze on mid-tier properties and more. Sign up for SBJ 360, our free, daily newsletter. SBJ 360 delivers a concise, high-level overview of the most important stories shaping the sports industry. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this week's pod, host and SBJ media reporter Austin Karp breaks down the NFC/AFC conference championship, and whether he thinks Patriots-Seahawks will set a Super Bowl audience record. He also breaks down the CFP title game number, and why the SEC’s regular season numbers still dwarf the Big Ten on the whole. Plus, FanDuel President Christian Genetski gives insight on how sports betting is helping TV viewership, how he’s monitoring the Main Street Sports RSN mess and why the company’s ads feel different. Sign up for SBJ 360, our free, daily newsletter. SBJ 360 delivers a concise, high-level overview of the most important stories shaping the sports industry. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this week's pod, host and SBJ media reporter Austin Karp looks into what a potential CFP format expansion would mean for interested media. Sticking with college, the hardwood is heating up and so are audience numbers, as Karp shares why the Big Ten Network isn’t just relying on football for a record start.  Plus, with the NFC and AFC championship games set for Sunday, NFL media chief Hans Schroeder dishes on the matchups, plus where things stand on media rights and Nielsen’s Big Data. 00:55 CFP RECAP 01:45 FIRST TRIP TO TGL 03:27 CFP EXPANSION? 05:20 HANS SCHROEDER INTERVIEW 23:17 KARP'S CORNER Sign up for SBJ 360, our free, daily newsletter. SBJ 360 delivers a concise, high-level overview of the most important stories shaping the sports industry. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.