Episode 514 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Cat Osterman, one of four general managers for The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL). Osterman is one of the greatest pitchers in the history of softball, a four-time All-American pitcher for Texas who also starred for Team USA. The AUSL begins play on June 7 and games will air on ESPN and MLB Network among other entities. In this podcast, Osterman discusses why 2025 is the right time for the American sports public to support a pro softball league; why the league is not city-based in Year 1; the funding for the league; games airing across ESPN Platforms, MLB Network, MLB.com, FanDuel Sports Network and All Women’s Sports Network, with regional coverage across MSG Network, NESN, Fox 32 Chicago; what kind of player access the broadcasters will have; the robust viewership for the Women College World Series; softball returning to the 2028 Olympics; wanting to face Jeff Bagwell and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more.

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Episode 513 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features host and podcaster Donnovan Bennett of Sportsnet (Canada), Sports Media Watch founder and editor Jon Lewis and Boston Globe sports media columnist Chad Finn. In this podcast, we discuss what kind of interest the Thunder-Pacers NBA Finals will have; what it means that last year's NBA Finals averaged 11.31 million viewers; why we have not seen an NBA Finals game get more 14 million in five years; the Stanley Cup Final between the Oilers-Panthers; why this series will pop in Canada; WBD doing the series as opposed to ABC/ESPN and what that means; the celebrations for Inside The NBA; will ESPN keep the show the same, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more.

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Episode 512 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Kate Scott, who hosts UEFA Champions League Today studio coverage alongside analysts Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards. CBS Sports will air UEFA Champions League Final coverage between PSG and Inter Milan in Munich on May 31 across the CBS Television Network, CBS Sports Network, Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network. In this podcast, Scott discusses Munich as a setting for the Champions League Final; what to expect from PSG and Inter Milan in the final; the broadcast prep for a Champions League Final day; the fame of Thierry Henry; why her show continues to grow in popularity; Netflix’s upcoming Women’s World Cup event; working on both boxing and soccer productions; and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more.

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Episode 511 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Mike Breen, the lead NBA game-caller for ESPN and ABC. Breen will be the play by play voice of the NBA Finals, which will be his 20th straight NBA Finals, the most any play-by-play voice has called consecutively. In this podcast, Breen discusses what is unique about calling games in Oklahoma City and Minneapolis; how surreal it would be to call the Knicks in the Finals given he is the long time play-by-play announcer for Knicks telecasts on MSG Networks; whether people outside of New York care about the Knicks;  calling Game 5 of the 1994 NBA Finals between the Knicks and Rockets as O.J. Simpson led Los Angeles police on a low-speed chase after a warrant for his arrest was issued in connection to the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman; adjusting to significant analyst turnover over the last few years; his interest in how NBC and Amazon will put on NBA games; being part of Hubie Brown's last broadcast; NBA viewership and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more.

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Here’s a short clip from our upcoming interview with Mike Breen, the lead play by play caller ESPN/ABC’s NBA coverage. The full interview will be available on Tuesday. In this clip, Breen discusses calling Game 5 of the 1994 NBA Finals between the Knicks and Rockets as O.J. Simpson led Los Angeles police on a low-speed chase after a warrant for his arrest was issued in connection to the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more.

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Episode 510 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features James Andrew Miller, the best-selling author of many books including on CAA, ESPN, Saturday Night Live, and HBO. In this podcast, Miller discusses the end of Around The Horn after a 23 year run and nearly 5,000 episodes; why the show was successful for so long; the show's true success as an incubator of young sports TV talent; praise for Tony Reali for being ego free as an on-air talent; whether Horn deserves criticism for being part of a sports TV culture of quick sports takes and thereby devaluing larger sports discourse; why ESPN would end a show that still draws more than 300,000 annually; the future of Pardon The Interruption from Jim's perspective and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more.

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Episode 509 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features host and podcaster Donnovan Bennett of Sportsnet (Canada) and Sports Media Watch founder and editor Jon Lewis. In this podcast we discuss the NFL schedule overall; what network schedule looks best; the Monday Night Football doubleheader issue; have the Chiefs passed the Cowboys as the NFL’s most popular viewership; why has schedule release day become so big; the WNBA’s opening weekend; the depth of major stars from A'ja Wilson and beyond; nationalizing games with Caitlin Clark; Bennett’s thought that the viewership comparison for Clark is Mike Tyson in his prime, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more.

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Episode 508 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s EVP for Media Distribution. In this podcast, Schroeder discusses whether the NFL front-loaded its schedule and how the league thinks about the first two weeks of the season; Fox’s desire to have more AFC teams on its schedule this year; how the league parcels out the Chiefs and Cowboys knowing everyone wants them; the most request game; the NFL’s Christmas Day schedule and how should fans of other sports view the NFL playing on days associated with other sports; the Chiefs-Cowboys on Thanksgiving afternoon and the viewership potential for that game; where things stand on who will air the 2026 NFL Draft; what would it mean media-wise for NFL players to compete in the Olympics; the NFL’s global desires and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more.

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Episode 507 of the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch features Annie Costabile, a women's sports reporter for Front Office Sports. In this podcast we discuss the WNBA's upcoming season; where the league is as far as media coverage; the importance of Caitlin Clark and the Fever to the product; the challenges of covering the league as a beat reporter; covering the WNBA as you would cover any other sport; why Costabile left the Chicago Sun-Times; the future of beat reporting at newspapers; expanding Front Office Sports's coverage of women’s sports; the the impact of social media on women's sports, both positively and negatively; and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more.

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Episode 506 of the Sports Media Podcast features S.L. Price, the longtime Sports Illustrated writer who has a new book out: "The American Game: History and Hope in the Country of Lacrosse." The book comes out May 20. In this podcast, Price discusses why he wrote the book; where the sport sits today in America; how the Duke rape case and the murder of Yeardley Love still resonates and reinforces the sport’s elite “laxbro” image; the tie between Wall Street and finance and lacrosse; where the growth of women's lacrosse sit as far the overall growth of the sport; lacrosse sixes will be one of five new sports set to feature at the L.A. 2028 Olympic Games; lacrosse as part of the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy identity; the Haudenosaunee Confederacy attempts to compete in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics under their own flag and where it stands with them with the IOC; why people spoke to him, and more. You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more.

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