Father’s Day Gift alert: You can give the gift that keeps on giving in Marchand Sports Media (link here) and we also have Papa Clicker’s Father Day’s Book Gift Guide.

In the 34-minute sports media podcast, Andrew Marchand and Jon Meterparel provide inside information and opinions. Here’s what you need to know:

* Why the MLB talks about ESPN opt out package feel a little like the Pac 12

* Maybe MLB will have a great deal, but right now with NBC’s low bid and Apple without great distribution, will MLB be able to make up ESPN’s $550 million per year and reach

* “Inside The NBA” says goodbye and hello all in one breath

* Why Marchand thinks ESPN’s “Inside The NBA” will likely be same show as it has been on TNT

* The NFL and ESPN talks have optimism on both sides that a media deal will get done. It’s not done yet.

* What’s the real deal about Peter Schrager getting an ESPN show

* The end of the NBA on TNT felt like …

* What ESPN and TNT have done right on its NHL coverage

* Why CBS’ Kate Scott and Champions League did so well

* What Apple MLB TV analyst did very well

* Which Fox Sports MLB analyst did Meterparel not enjoy. Longtime listeners will know

* How Karl Ravech could get more out of David Cone & Eduardo Perez on SNB

* Amazon vs. Fox on NASCAR

* What do we think of the Big 10 TV draft and others

* What do we think of Indiana-Oklahoma City Finals and ratings

* Sponsor: WSC Sports … Tell them Marchand sent you

* On Deck Thursday (or earlier): Tim Corrigan is The Main Event

* Subscribe at AndrewMarchand.com

In the 33-minute sports media podcast, Andrew Marchand and Jon Meterparel provide inside information and opinions. Here’s what you need to know:

* NBC has a much low offer for most of MLB's ESPN $550M package, while Apple may have some interest

* Why neither spot may fully work for what MLB wants

* Why MLB should turn back to ESPN

* How MLB is not getting its TV bang for its buck with Dodgers-Mets & Dodgers-Yankees with Apple Friday leadoff exclusives

* How MLB's owners' desire for a salary cap is linked to a national streaming package

* Why Around The Horn was a success, but not journalism

* The comparisons of ATH to Oprah or Letterman were a little much

* How will ESPN replace ATH

* What does the Justin Connolly hiring from Disney tell us about YouTube

* Disney feels YouTube should not be allowed to make the move

* TNT's French Open coverage feels big

* Reggie Miller & Kenny Albert reviews

* Why TV is driving college football and what's next

* After the NFL, which sport is trending up in United States

* Should the NBA have its lottery draw on live TV

* Why NBC's Premier League growth is a perfect example of how to boost a sport

* A tribute to the retiring Mark Packer

* Red Sox play-by-player Dave O'Brien and listening

* Harry the Cat, instant replay

Marchand Sports Media is a listener-supported platform. To receive new pods, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

On Tuesday, June 3rd, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will be the guest for OTR in midtown Manhattan. Click here or the above image to request a spot.

* Sponsor: WSC Sports … Tell them Marchand sent you

* On Deck Thursday (or earlier): Mark Kriegel is The Main Event

* Subscribe at AndrewMarchand.com

We are sending the pods early if they are done. You will always receive the pods by 5:45 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday in your inbox and pod player.

In the 48-minute sports media podcast, Ariel Helwani joins “The Main Event with Andrew Marchand.” Helwani, 42, decided at Syracuse he wanted to become the “Howard Cosell of MMA" and has used modern media to enact the plan. Here is what you need to know:

* How Helwani’s career has been a dream mixed with some improbable lows

* In 2001, at Syracuse, he decided to become an expert on the fledgling sport of MMA

* How his parents and family history had such an impact on him in terms of dreaming big and never quitting

* The NBA on NBC influence on him

* He went to Syracuse after he found out Bob Costas and Marv Albert went there

* How he needed his family’s help to do his first MMA show

* Helwani quit his first job at Spike TV because he didn’t see an MMA future there, which his boss at the time said would ruin him

* He had a deadline for his own website to succeed that he nearly missed

* How, at 29, Fox Sports hired him to be the Jay Glazer of MMA in 2011

* How the “MMA Hour” on Vox allowed him to do TV and grow on the internet, the first seeds of the future of sports media platforming

* In 2015-16, the major paycheck mistake that Helwani still regrets

* How he got fired by Fox Sports at UFC’s request

* Helwani reacted by trying to break every story, like he was Woj or Schefter

* UFC thought he had a mole inside the company and went to great lengths to try to prove it

* How he had a close relationship with Dana White

* White encouraging him to break stories and not worrying about the UFC PR folks

* How White told him that UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta “put a bullet in his head and his career was over”

* In June, 2016, Helwani has his UFC credentials yanked after breaking two big stories and it all gets very intense

* The advice his agents, Nick Khan and Matt Olsen, gave him to get the word out … and he did after the incident

* How Kahn and company got him into ESPN before ESPN-UFC’s deal

* How Helwani said UFC went to ESPN’s top executives, Jimmy Pitaro and Burke Magnus, to back out at the Helwani contract

* UFC would complain to Pitaro and ESPN about Helwani’s coverage, he said, but ESPN backed him

* Why Helwani left ESPN

* How he nearly stayed at ESPN to spite White, but he said he came to his senses

* How he went back to Vox and Jim Bankoff, who was prescient how the ESPN tenure would unfold

* How Bill Simmons and Ryan Spoon influenced the next stage of his multi-platform

* How the Simmons, Pat McAfee, Dan Patrick, Dan Le Batard and Rich Eisen model works for him

* How UTA’s Jerry Sibolwitz guided him through the next stage of being a multi-platform personality

* How he ended up with Yahoo and Spoon

* Helwani said he created 25 jobs with his new venture

* How does it work with Helwani, Khan and White, who are under the TKO umbrella with WWE and UFC

Related Sports Media Podcasts

* Jason McCourty: The blueprint to go from NFL player to media star

* Peter Schrager: The King of connections

* Fred Gaudelli: How a Hall of Fame producer changed sports TV

* Joe Buck and the craft of sportscasting

* Bomani Jones and sports media’s gamble on its future

* On-deck Tuesday: Marchand & Meterparel: Everybody Loves Sports Media

* Sponsor: WSC Sports … Tell them Marchand sent you

* Subscribe at AndrewMarchand.com

We are sending the pods early if they are done. You will always receive the pods by 5:45 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday in your inbox and pod player.

In the 32-minute sports media podcast, Andrew Marchand and Jon Meterparel provide inside information and opinions. Here’s what you need to know:

* Can a pure sports streamer, like ESPN DTC, work on its own

* Why ESPN DTC may be Disney’s next sports step, but not its final one

* ESPN ruled the cable bundle, but now will compete with YouTube’s, Amazon’s and Netflix’s

* What YouTube likely having its first exclusive NFL telecast means

* Amazon is way ahead of the behemoth digital streamers

* Why Rich Eisen is headed to ESPN after more than two decades away

* John Ourand owes Marchand a steak

* With ESPN potentially adding tens of millions for a ninth SEC league game, what is college football mirroring

* Caitlin Clark has two TV comps … Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods

* The big lesson from the Ryan Ruocco podcast

* Pablo Torre’s unfair quote in the Jordon Hudson-Bill Belichick saga

* MLBN’s Kevin Millar goes all in, and rightfully so

* Papa Clicker Reviews on “In Legends and Soles (The Memoir of an American Original” by Sonny Vaccaro and Armen Keteyian and “Mornings with Madden (My Radio Life with an American Legend)” by Stan Bunger

* What to make of the Big Ten/SEC reportedly favoring playoff expansion

* What is Allie LaForce’s future

Marchand Sports Media produces twice-a-week sports media podcasts. To listen to our full podcasts and the complete archive, upgrade at AndrewMarchand.com.

* Sponsor: WSC Sports … Tell them Marchand sent you

* On Deck Thursday (or earlier): Ariel Helwani is The Main Event

* Subscribe at AndrewMarchand.com

We are sending the pods early if they are done. You will always receive the pods by 5:45 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday in your inbox and pod player.

In the 42-minute sports media podcast, ESPN and YES’ Ryan Ruocco joins “The Main Event with Andrew Marchand.” Ruocco, 38, is the voice of the WNBA and the Women’s Final Four, while also calling the NBA, the Nets and the Yankees. Here is what you need to know.

* How Marchand “discovered” Ruocco when Ruocco was a student on Fordham's WFUV station

* Ruocco's start selling steaks and doing interviews for the Yankee Stadium scoreboard

* How Fordham's Bob Ahrens and the school's alumni had such an influence on Ruocco

* The stories of how Joe Buck, Gary Cohen, Ian Eagle, Mike Breen and Michael Kay advice were the backbone of his career

* How, by 27, he was calling his first Yankee game on YES after doing stats for Kay at 21

* How he was doing updates on ESPN Radio in New York at 21

* His move into hoops when Marv Albert left YES and he got the No. 2 job on the Nets behind Eagle

* Ruocco's No. 1 play-by-player is ...

* Ruocco's very intensive vocal health regiment

* How Buck taught Ruocco to set up anticipation

* How he nearly had a bathroom issue during one NBA game

* How, at 22, Ruocco was in running to be on Dodgers crew at end of Vin Scully’s career and Kay put in a great word for him

* Ruocco's dad worked in the NFL for 34 years, allowing him to meet Bob Kraft and Roger Goodell and Brian Rolapp, among others

* Why he has done basketball and baseball instead of football

* Breen expressing pride in Ruocco’s work

* How Eagle has been like a big brother to him

* Dave Sims' career advice everyone should hear

Links to Related Sports Media Podcasts

* Joe Buck and the craft of sportscasting

* Ian Eagle tells funny stories … oh yeah!

* The inspiring story of how Jason Benetti became elite

* The future of local rights and baseball with SNY president Steve Raab

* Sponsor: WSC Sports … Tell them Marchand sent you

* On Deck Tuesday (or earlier): Marchand & Meterparel: Everybody Loves Sports Media

* Subscribe at AndrewMarchand.com

We are sending the pods early if they are done. You will always receive the pods by 5:45 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday in your inbox and pod player.

In the 30-minute sports media podcast, Andrew Marchand and Jon Meterparel provide inside information and opinions. Here’s what you need to know:

* What should ESPN actually be marketing its brand around

* How does the Bill Belichick-Jordan Hudson media saga end

* What was the biggest takeaway from NBC’s Kentucky Derby coverage

* What lane do NBC and Amazon have open on their forthcoming NBA coverage

* What do we make of the Stan Van Gundy hiring for Prime Video

* How Steve Kerr or a wild card could be out there for No. 1 game analyst roles

* What do we make of the Carmelo Anthony hiring for NBC

* How about Roundball Rock coming back to NBC

* Why did Kenny Albert get a 5/5 clickers on his Blues-Jets call

* Why did Fox Sports Kevin Kugler and Tom Verducci get props and Adam Wainwright did not

* What to watch for with Tennis Channel’s Jeff Blackburn hire as chairman

* Why the Ted Cruz invite of top league executives on streaming is one to watch

* Should the NHL have regional national regular season TV coverage

* Will the NFL opt-out of its media deals

* Meterparel’s mentioned in the Ithaca College alumni magazine, but …

Marchand Sports Media produces twice-a-week sports media podcasts. To listen to our full podcasts and the complete archive, upgrade at AndrewMarchand.com.

* Sponsor: WSC Sports … Tell them Marchand sent you

* On Deck Thursday (or earlier): Ryan Ruocco is The Main Event

* Subscribe at AndrewMarchand.com

We are sending the pods early if they are done. You will always receive the pods by 5:45 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday in your inbox and pod player.

In the 42-minute podcast, MoffettNathanson’s Robert Fishman joins “The Main Event with Andrew Marchand” to discuss his belief of how Netflix could change the way the NFL is presented, MLB/UFC/F1’s next rights deals, the legacy media forthcoming sports pricing dilemma, Google-YouTube’s “king of all media” potential sports aggregator status, what Disney-ESPN-Hulu should be doing and the battle between Amazon and Netflix.

Here’s what you need to know:

* “Netflix is going to keep getting bigger and better in sports,” Fishman says

* How Netflix could end up with the top NFL games by the end of the decade

* Will the traditional networks be able to afford what the NFL wants to be paid for top games by the end of the decade

* Where Netflix could be on UFC, ESPN’s MLB opt-out package and F1

* Did ESPN make the right move in opting out of its MLB package

* Will MLB come close to the $550 million per year average for ESPN’s opt-out package

* What should MLB be trying to do by 2028 when all its media deals are up

* Can MLB shift regular season regional dollars to national ones

* Where does Fox stand after being the winners of the first round of the sports streaming wars

* Will Fox’s DTC pricing playbook be similar to Disney/ESPN’s

* How ESPN/Disney/Hulu must simplify its price point as NBC/Peacock and CBS/Paramount + have done

* How YouTube could be the great sports aggregator of the future

* Could Netflix recreate what Fox did in the mid-to-late 1990s

* If Fishman were to put money on who will be the biggest sports streamers by the end of the decade, he would say …

* Where does Apple stand in the sports streaming game

Marchand Sports Media offers twice-a-week sports media podcast. To listen to the entire podcasts becomes a full-time subscriber at AndrewMarchand.com

Links to Related Sports Media Podcasts

* Is ESPN’s sports streaming strategy baffling? The future of Sports Media is The Main Event with MoffettNathanson

* The Great Rebundling and Google YouTube with John Ourand

* The future of sports radio with the most powerful executive in the business, Chris Oliviero

* The future of baseball & local rights with SNY president Steve Raab

* Rick Cordella explains NBC’s NBA logic and how sports drive Peacock

* How Fox won the first sports streaming war

On Tuesday, May 6th, NBC Sports President Rick Cordella will be the guest for the second OTR in midtown Manhattan. Click here or the above image to request a spot.

* Sponsor: WSC Sports … Tell them Marchand sent you

* On Deck Tuesday (or earlier): Marchand & Meterparel: Everybody Loves Sports Media

* Subscribe at AndrewMarchand.com

We are sending the pods early if they are done. You will always receive the pods by 5:45 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday in your inbox and pod player.

In the 34-minute sports media podcast, Andrew Marchand and Jon Meterparel provide inside information and opinions. Here’s what you need to know:

* The duo hands out NFL TV Draft grades

* What did we make of the Kiper Jr.-Shedeur Sanders meltdown

* How much of a focus should Sanders have been on the coverage

* Where ESPN shined and where it didn’t

* NFL Network’s best moment in comparison to ESPN was …

* How well did the McAfee stream of the first round work

* How was ESPN Radio’s draft coverage

* Breaking down the Bill Belichick CBS interview

* The New York Islanders’ radio failure

* What was ESPN's recruitment of Colin Cowherd about

* What do we make of Robert Griffin III’s move to Fox Sports' college booth

* The takeaway from Norby Williamson reuniting with Mike Golic Sr. and Jr. is ...

* Adam Silver said that NBA is "almost" trapped in the cable bundle with RSNs, what do we think ...

* Where will free agent-to-be Tim McMahon end up ..

Marchand Sports Media is a listener-supported platform. To receive new pods and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber at AndrewMarchand.com. To listen to this entire 34-minute podcast, our archives and future pods, upgrade to paid. Thanks.

On Tuesday, May 6th, NBC Sports President Rick Cordella will be the guest for the second OTR in midtown Manhattan. Click here or the above image to request a spot.

* Sponsor: WSC Sports … Tell them Marchand sent you

* On Deck Thursday: MoffettNathanson’s Robert Fishman is The Main Event

* Subscribe at AndrewMarchand.com

We are sending the pods early if they are done. You will always receive the pods by 5:45 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday in your inbox and pod player.

In the 41-minute sports media podcast, Fox Sports and Detroit Tigers’ play-by-player Jason Benetti joins “The Main Event with Andrew Marchand.” Benetti, 41, is asked how he ascended to become one of the best broadcasters in the business and his life with cerebral palsy. Here’s what you need to know:

* How the Bulls, White Sox, Nintendo, DirecTV and a high school radio station shaped him

* The crazy story of how he almost didn't get into Syracuse

* How he went camping once and almost missed his ESPN big break

* The life changing job of being hired to call his hometown White Sox

* Why Ian Eagle has been an inspiration for him

* Why he left his childhood dream job with the White Sox for the Tigers

* How he moved from ESPN to Fox in 2022 and how NBC was in play

* His admiration for Fox Sports' Brad Zager and NBC's Sam Flood

* What it meant to him as someone with cerebral palsy to be named the lead voice of NBC/Peacock's MLB package

* How a TV executive told him to focus on radio, which he felt was directly related to how he looked

* How he was born prematurely, which led to growing up in rehabilitation

* His parents influence on him

* How middle school was a difficult place for someone with cerebral palsy

* How his middle school shop teacher/basketball coach, Bill Menig, made him an assistant coach, not a manager, and how that was so impactful

* His inspiring advice for kids with a disability

* His total admiration for Bill Walton

* Bill Walton licking his Grateful Dead tie

Marchand Sports Media is a listener-supported platform. To receive new pods and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber at AndrewMarchand.com. To listen to this entire 41-minute podcast, our archives and future pods, upgrade to paid. Thanks.

Related Sports Media Podcasts

* Joe Buck and the craft of sportscasting

* Ian Eagle tells funny stories … oh yeah!

* Jim Nantz tells his story

* Bomani Jones and sports media’s gamble on its future

* The future of local rights and baseball with SNY president Steve Raab

On Tuesday, May 6th, NBC Sports President Rick Cordella will be the guest for the second OTR in midtown Manhattan. Click here or the above image to request a spot.

* Sponsor: WSC Sports … Tell them Marchand sent you

* On Deck Tuesday: Marchand & Meterparel: Everybody Loves Sports Media

* Subscribe at AndrewMarchand.com

We are sending the pods early if they are done. You will always receive the pods by 5:45 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday in your inbox and pod player.

In the 30-minute sports media podcast, Andrew Marchand and Jon Meterparel provide inside information and opinions. Here’s what you need to know:

* What percentage are we putting on the NFL-ESPN deal being completed

* How should the potential agreement be looked upon

* With the NFL Draft this week, who will have its coverage in the future

* The NFL is increasingly going digital …

* The league networks from NFL to NBA are in flux …

* How should we take Netflix’s Ted Sarandos’ comments on live sports

* What is to be learned from Lee Corso’s career

* How Aaron Rodgers is likely going to be looked at by TV execs

* Mike Tirico shines in a new role

* NBA Playoff first weekend reaction from ESPN and TNT broadcasts

* Who stood out in the booth and who didn’t

* The verdict on TNT calling some of its NHL playoff games remotely

* WrestleMania reaction

* Al Michaels says he doesn’t want a retirement tour …

* The future of Inside The NBA …

* Atlanta Braves’ reporter/pickup-artist reaction

Marchand Sports Media is a listener-supported platform. To receive new pods and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber at AndrewMarchand.com. To listen to this entire 30-minute podcast, our archives and future pods, upgrade to paid. Thanks.

On Tuesday, May 6th, NBC Sports President Rick Cordella will be the guest for the second OTR in midtown Manhattan. Click here or the above image to request a spot.

* Sponsor: WSC Sports … Tell them Marchand sent you

* On Deck Thursday: Jason Benetti is The Main Event

* Subscribe at AndrewMarchand.com