John Ourand and Tim Burke on Deadspin

Episode 76 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features two guests: First up is Sports Business Daily media writer John Ourand. He is followed by Tim Burke, who worked at Deadspin for seven years as a video editor, writer and editor. He now runs Burke Communications, a media consulting group. 

In this podcast, Ourand discusses World Series viewership and where the health of MLB is regarding those metrics; why Ourand thinks MLB and Fox should be pleased with postseason numbers; why baseball’s local ratings remain so strong; Deadspin writers quitting the site en masse last week; CBS’s decision to get rid of Gary McCord and Peter Kostis; the calculus behind DAZN starting the Canelo Alvarez-Sergey Kovalev fight at 1:18 a.m. Eastern Time after waiting for a UFC card to end; a discussion on whether Inside The NBA should be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame, and much more. 

Burke offers his view on how Deadspin writers ended up in the untenable position they found themselves in; why private equity firms such as Great Hill are interested in media ownership; why Deadspin was able to resonate in the marketplace; Deadspin’s abilty to offer unique content in a crowded marketplace; whether his personal decision to leave in 2018 was because he saw this as a potential outcome; whether he sees any parallels between G/O Media’s stick to sports edict and ESPN management wanting staffers to avoid ‘pure politics’; why, in his opinion, Deadspin was important historically; whether any form of Deadspin at G/O Media can continue; the services he provides at Burke Communications; working as a media consultant in 2019, and more. 

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