#Storyteller - An Insider's Look Behind the Scenes Across Sports, Media and Entertainment

#Storyteller - An Insider's Look Behind the Scenes Across Sports, Media and Entertainment

By #Storyteller, TagboardTV & FilmSportsNews
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#Storyteller - An Insider's Look Behind the Scenes Across Sports, Media and Entertainment episodes

  • Building the NASCAR Channel with Dan Barker

    Dan Barker has one of the best career arcs in sports media. English teacher. Cruise-ship poker. And now Senior Managing Director of Content Strategy and Distribution at NASCAR.

    In this episode of #Storyteller, Sky Muller sits down with Dan to go behind the build of the NASCAR Channel, NASCAR's free ad-supported streaming (FAST) channel that launched in January 2025. We get into why being late to FAST actually worked in their favor, why they almost didn't call it the NASCAR Channel, the fan-first content strategy driving it all, and how the live L-bar (powered by Tagboard) keeps the channel fresh 24/7.

    Plus Days of Thunder, the first-time Daytona 500 experience, Memory Lane, and why "if you're not winning, you're losing."

    Skip Ahead Guide:

    01:06 Cold open: Days of Thunder

    01:46 Feeling American: growing up in England

    03:31 Two Truths, No Lies: English teacher to media exec

    04:44 Poker, cruise ships, and testing games

    07:57 Pinch-me moments and the first Daytona 500

    11:42 Behind the build: launching the NASCAR Channel

    12:52 Why it's called the NASCAR Channel

    13:25 Getting it right: vendors, content, and hiring

    15:45 Tubi, 10+ platforms, and "we're cooking now"

    17:27 Who the channel is really for

    18:48 Feeding a 24/7 channel + the Concord studio

    22:10 The live L-bar, powered by Tagboard

    26:28 The Production Playbook: what makes a great partnership

    28:34 "If you're not winning, you're losing"

    30:00 Time Machine: a culture of experimentation

    32:43 Original content: Rising and NFL athletes in race cars

    35:14 Kidney stones, Panthers, and Leicester City

    39 min
  • Building the Future of Local News: Inside the "Live Desk" with KSNV's Evan Schreiber
    In this episode of Storyteller, we sit down with Evan Schreiber to break down the grueling, addicting, and rewarding world of broadcast journalism. Evan shares what it's really like to cut your teeth in a small market like Eureka, CA, including "trauma bonding" with coworkers and working under high-stakes deadlines.
    📌 What We Discuss:
    00:23 – Welcome Evan Schreiber to Storyteller
    01:15 – Finding the broadcasting bug at Chico State radio
    04:05 – Small market survival: Scriptwriting on Microsoft Word in Eureka, CA
    07:25 – The internal "nervous clock" and adapting to daily TV deadlines 08:35 – Full spectrum: Covering the 2024 Las Vegas Super Bowl
    12:00 – Building the "Live Desk" from scratch & updating viewers on the fly
    15:58 – Behind the scenes of a 3-hour morning broadcast (4 AM - 7 AM)
    18:33 – Long-form journalism & earning trust through community reporting
    22:20 – The Future of News: Why local stations must think digital-first
    27:13 – Storyteller Shout-outs: Mentors, friends, and the grind of journalism
    31 min
  • Live TV Chaos, Championship Parades, & The Future of Sports Broadcasting with Tim De Lay
    What does it actually take to broadcast over 250 live events a year, including back-to-back championship parades with thousands of fans jamming cellular towers?
    In this episode of Storyteller we sit down with Tim De Lay, Senior Director of Operations at Altitude Sports & Entertainment. Tim takes us behind the scenes of live sports production, sharing incredible career stories from his early days freezing as an endzone camera operator to driving a $750k satellite truck through mountain passes.
    Chapters:
    0:00 - Introduction
    1:36 - Cold Open: Wisconsin Rose Bowl Memories
    3:55 - Two Truths, No Lies: Running Camera in a Snowstorm
    6:16 - Stories from the Satellite Truck Era
    9:41 - Pulling Off the Avs & Nuggets Championship Parades
    14:38 - Dealing with Bonded Cellular & Tower Jamming Challenges
    18:26 - The Altitude Sports Production Playbook (250+ Broadcasts a Year)
    20:51 - Production Flexibility, Scaling Budgets, & Tiered Events
    22:10 - The Intersection of Linear & Digital Broadcasting in 2026
    25:02 - Innovating with Skycam & Altitude Plus Subscriber Growth
    26:09 - The Streaming Playground: Testing, Analytics, and Learning to Fail
    29 min
  • From English Teacher to Emmy Stage: How Stephen Brown Shaped TV's Biggest Game Shows
    What does an English teacher, a $400 one-way ticket to LA, and Legends of the Hidden Temple all have in common? Stephen Brown.
    In this episode of Storyteller, recorded live at NAB from the SiriusXM studio, we sit down with Stephen Brown, EVP of Programming and Development at FOX First Run and FOX Television Stations, for a raw and unfiltered look at one of TV's most fascinating careers.
    From writing scripts on Love Connection under a notoriously brutal executive producer, to dreaming up a Mayan temple run that became a defining show for an entire generation, Stephen has lived the full arc of the entertainment industry. And he's not done yet.
    In this episode, we get into:
    - How a movie theater epiphany and a one-way ticket to Hollywood changed everything
    - The inside story of creating Legends of the Hidden Temple, from paper maze to pop culture icon
    - How 25 Words or Less became the first-ever live syndicated daytime game show
    - Why listening to your audience (and actually responding) is the only real playbook
    - The future of broadcast in a streaming world, and why Stephen still wakes up optimistic every single day
    If you're in media, marketing, entertainment, or just love a great story about grit and reinvention, this one's for you.
    41 min
  • Magnetic Tables, Vertical Streams & AI insights: Innovation Inside WWE & UFC
    We sit down with Alon Cohen, EVP of Innovation at TKO Group, fresh off WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas. Alon pulls back the curtain on the cutting-edge (and surprisingly physical) work happening behind the scenes of WWE and UFC, from re-engineering breakable tables with industrial electromagnets, to rethinking how live sports are packaged for vertical streaming on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts.
    If you've ever watched a WWE event and thought "that just felt better," chances are Alon's team had something to do with it.
    Topics covered:
    - Magnetic tables & WrestleMania 42 innovations
    - IShowSpeed's insane table spot with Logan Paul
    - Vertical streaming & the "one capture, many outputs" strategy
    - AI and IBM fight metrics: the difference between a stat and a story
    25 min
  • Discovering Celine Dion & Drumming for the Mafia: The Bob Cutarella Story
    In this episode of Storyteller, we sit down with Grammy-winning producer and industry legend Robert Cutarella, whose 40-year career includes over 160 platinum records. From his early days in a blue-collar Queens neighborhood where "people didn't dream" to conducting 80-piece orchestras without knowing a single note of music, Bob’s journey is a masterclass in persistence and instinct.
    Bob shares incredible behind-the-scenes stories, including:
    - The Celine Dion Gamble: How he fought for two years to release her first American hit after executives called her an "average singer".
    - Drumming for the Mafia: The two-year stint playing 360 gigs a year where "you didn't hear nothing".
    - Creative Instincts: How a dream about Sam Cooke led to a legendary collaboration with Les Paul, Eric Clapton, and Jeff Beck.
    Bob also previews his upcoming book, Mentor, offering timeless advice on networking, staying humble, and carving out your own lane in any industry.
    37 min
  • Adding Personal Flavor to Live Sports Production with FOX Deportes
    In this episode of Storyteller, we sit down with Julián Arredondo, Assistant Producer at FOX Deportes, to discuss the high-octane world of live sports production. From his "welcome to the show" moment producing his first solo soccer match to the grind of producing the Super Bowl in New Orleans, Julián shares what it takes to thrive in a fast-paced control room.
    In this episode, we discuss:
    🔹The Power of Production "Flair": Why TV has already been invented and how adding your own unique "flavor" is the key to engaging a modern audience.
    🔹"Welcome to the Show" Moments: Julián recounts the adrenaline of his first solo production and the high stakes of live television where you never want to "go to black".
    🔹Producing the Super Bowl: A look at the most stressful and rewarding week of Julián's career, including blending New Orleans culture with sports storytelling.
    🔹World Cup Prep: How FOX Deportes is already a year into planning their massive coverage and finding ways to integrate linear TV with digital platforms.
    🔹Driving Fan Engagement: The secret to using "spicy questions" and social media polls to spark instant debate and keep viewers hooked.
    15 min
  • Real-Time Storytelling With The Jim Rome Show
    In this episode of Storyteller, we sit down with Nick Zacharczuk, Producer & Content Manager at The Jim Rome Show, to break down the art of real-time storytelling in live sports media.
    From producing 20 hours of live content every week with a lean team to pivoting instantly when breaking news hits mid-show, Nick shares what it really takes to stay nimble in modern production.
    Inside this episode:
    ➡️ The energy (and pressure) of live production without a safety net
    ➡️ How a two-person streaming team powers a 4-hour daily show
    ➡️ The mindset behind reacting to breaking news in real time
    ➡️ Wearing multiple hats in the control room
    ➡️ Why “adapt or die” is more than a motto, it’s survival
    If you’re in sports media, live production, streaming, or content creation, this conversation is a masterclass in agility and execution.
    30 min
  • Inside Nightcap: Building One of YouTube’s Biggest Sports Shows | Storyteller ft. Jacob Hazzard
    How do you build one of the biggest sports shows on YouTube?
    On this episode of Storyteller, Tagboard’s Sky Muller sits down with Jacob Hazzard, Director of Nightcap at Shay Shay Media, to go behind the scenes of the fast-growing live sports show hosted by Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson.
    Jacob shares his unforgettable “welcome to the show” moment during a live production scare, what it really looks like to run a modern digital broadcast while wearing five hats at once, and how Nightcap has built a passionate community through instant reaction shows and live audience interaction.
    From chaos behind the scenes to community in the chat, this is the new blueprint for sports media on YouTube.
    19 min

About #Storyteller - An Insider's Look Behind the Scenes Across Sports, Media and Entertainment

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#Storyteller is dedicated to the doers, the makers, the producers, marketers, and storytelling teams innovating across the evolution of media, sports, and entertainment. Each episode features guests…