The California Sports Lawyer Podcast with Jeremy Evans

In this episode of the California Sports Lawyer Podcast, host Jeremy Evans examines who could profit from expanding the College Football Playoff from 12 to 24 teams. NIL deals, revenue sharing, and player movement are changing college athletics and giving programs more ways to build competitive rosters. A larger playoff could create more opportunities to compete for a championship, along with additional revenue and compelling matchups.

Jeremy discusses ongoing media rights negotiations, the possibility of reducing the regular season to 11 games while retaining conference championships, and a proposed limit of one FCS opponent per FBS team. The episode considers how additional playoff revenue would be weighed against lost regular season revenue, athlete workload, travel, and guarantee payments to FCS programs. The discussion also explores private capital and institutional control, drawing on the Jeanie Buss–Lakers arrangement and Utah’s private equity deal.

The episode examines television and streaming distribution, including the Emmys’ move to Prime Video and DAZN’s local sports partnerships alongside traditional television. Exclusivity can bring more money, but pricing and access affect how many fans can watch. A 24-team playoff could be good for college football if it improves competition, preserves school control, makes financial sense, and remains easy to watch. The division of revenue among conferences, schools, and athletes matters as much as the size of the bracket.

(Season 8, Episode 40).

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In this episode of the California Sports Lawyer Podcast, host Jeremy Evans examines whether California’s challenge to the Paramount Skydance–Warner Bros. Discovery merger was worth the delay.  A federal court temporarily halted the deal before approving a settlement with twelve states.  The question is whether the challenge helped Hollywood or held back two legacy companies seeking the scale to compete.

Jeremy compares the merger with Disney’s acquisition of Fox, including the difference between a deal’s price and the revenue of the combined company.  He discusses the regional sports networks Disney was required to sell, the size of Disney today, and the competition Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery face from larger media and streaming companies.

California has already lost production spending to other locations.  Jeremy considers what the settlement secured for workers and domestic film production, and whether the state could have obtained those commitments without a prolonged delay.  The episode examines what California must do to keep entertainment jobs and business in the state.

(Season 8, Episode 39).

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In this episode of the California Sports Lawyer Podcast, host Jeremy Evans examines why companies continue developing more capable artificial intelligence systems even as warnings about catastrophic risks grow louder.  AI is already part of daily life, and its use is increasing.  The challenge is to evaluate warnings against evidence while considering the opportunities that innovation can create.

Jeremy discusses the difference between a warning and a credible risk, including what happens when incorrect AI results go unchecked.  The episode explores business incentives, global competition, human oversight, and the concern that relying too heavily on AI could weaken creativity and the value of work.  AI can be a thought partner, but humans must remain the thought leaders.

The discussion also considers independent oversight, testing and disclosure, intellectual property accountability, and when deployment should pause.  AI can make work more efficient and create jobs and opportunities, but its future depends on sound policy, responsible practices, and human control.

(Season 8, Episode 38).

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In this episode of the California Sports Lawyer Podcast, host Jeremy Evans examines why free television may win the streaming wars. Streaming originally promised lower prices, fewer advertisements, greater consumer control, and easier access to entertainment. Multiple subscriptions, increasing prices, advertising tiers, and fragmented content have gradually recreated many of the disadvantages associated with cable television.

Jeremy discusses how free ad-supported streaming television provides scheduled channels and on-demand programming without requiring another monthly subscription. The episode explores services including Samsung TV Plus, Pluto TV, Tubi, and The Roku Channel, along with the addition of Front Office Sports Tonight to Samsung TV Plus. Additional topics include subscription fatigue, the cost of streaming compared with cable, the separate cost and broader uses of internet service, sports programming, content discovery, advertising revenue, audience data, and privacy.

As entertainment, media, sports, advertising, technology, and law continue converging, the future of television will likely involve a hybrid model combining paid subscriptions, transactional purchases, traditional broadcasting, and free ad-supported platforms. Success will depend on legal and business frameworks addressing content licensing, advertising inventory, audience measurement, data collection, privacy, exclusivity, territorial restrictions, intellectual property, and distribution rights. The streaming wars may ultimately be won by the platforms that give audiences the easiest access and most compelling reasons to watch.

(Season 8, Episode 37).

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In this episode of the California Sports Lawyer Podcast, host Jeremy Evans examines what happens when audiences become investors in films and entertainment companies. Through investment models offered by companies such as Legion M, fans may purchase company stock, participate in a film fund, or invest directly in individual projects when those opportunities are available. These investments can deepen the relationship between audiences and entertainment while creating financial opportunities, securities law obligations, and the risk of loss.

Jeremy discusses how fan investment differs from traditional film financing and donation based or reward based crowdfunding. The episode also explores Legion M’s involvement in the theatrical release of Coyote vs. Acme, the use of audience capital to support the distribution of completed films, and the importance of disclosures, audit rights, recoupment provisions, revenue definitions, and payment waterfalls. Additional topics include creative control, fan ambassadors, access to financing, and how creators may reach audiences before securing representation while still benefiting from representation once opportunities emerge.

As entertainment, finance, technology, intellectual property, and law continue converging, fan investment may complement traditional financing and create new paths for filmmakers and audiences. Responsible growth will require compliance with securities laws, clear explanations of investment risks, transparent offering terms, and realistic expectations about financial returns and creative authority. Fan financing can lower the barrier to entry for creating entertainment while allowing experienced representatives, producers, distributors, and other professionals to add value as projects develop.

(Season 8, Episode 36).

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In this episode of the California Sports Lawyer Podcast, host Jeremy Evans examines whether prediction markets and sports betting platforms are good partners with sports leagues. As leagues enter sponsorship, licensing, official data, and integrity agreements with wagering businesses, the financial opportunities are apparent. These relationships also raise moral, legal, and governance questions involving competitive integrity, parity, consumer protection, participant conduct, and public trust.

Jeremy discusses how prediction markets differ from traditional sportsbooks and why markets regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission remain subject to challenges from state gaming regulators. The episode also explores Major League Baseball’s partnership with Polymarket, the U.S. Open’s partnership with Kalshi, and the tension created when sports organizations profit from wagering while disciplining players and other participants for betting. Additional topics include proposition bets, the misuse of nonpublic information, promotional credits, gambling addiction, personal responsibility, and Pete Rose’s eligibility for consideration by the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

As sports, wagering, finance, technology, and law continue converging, responsible growth will require clear restrictions, information sharing, monitoring, education, and meaningful enforcement. Success will depend on legal and business frameworks addressing official data, intellectual property, market types, participant conduct, consumer safeguards, and the respective authority of federal and state regulators. Prediction markets and betting platforms can be good partners only when the commercial relationship serves the sport without compromising the integrity of the competition.(Season 8, Episode 35).

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In this episode of the California Sports Lawyer Podcast, host Jeremy Evans examines whether government or parents should decide how children use social media. A court-approved settlement between Meta and a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general establishes new protections for users under 18, including default time limits, overnight restrictions, school-hour notification controls, age-assurance measures, and expanded parental tools.

Jeremy discusses how the settlement balances platform accountability and child protection against parental authority and family autonomy. The episode also explores the use of litigation and consent judgments to establish rules affecting millions of families, the influence of default settings, privacy concerns surrounding age-assurance technology, and whether government-backed protections may become permanent controls in practice.

As social media, technology, privacy, public policy, and law continue converging, protecting children will require responsible product design, truthful disclosures, meaningful parental tools, and accountability for unlawful conduct. Success will also depend on legal frameworks addressing data collection, age assurance, parental consent, platform features, transparency, and clear limits on government authority while preserving parents as the principal decision-makers in their children’s lives.

(Season 8, Episode 34).

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In this episode of the California Sports Lawyer Podcast, host Jeremy Evans is joined by veteran broadcast journalist, host, moderator, and content creator Dave Briggs. Currently a co-host of Connecting America and Sanity with Alisyn & Dave, Dave has spent more than 25 years across Fox News, CNN, NBC Sports, Turner Sports, Yahoo Finance, and Cheddar Business News. His career has included seven Olympic Games, a dozen Super Bowls, March Madness, and an appearance as an ATN news anchor in HBO’s Succession.

Jeremy and Dave discuss the business behind television news and sports programming, including how corporate priorities, editorial decisions, audience expectations, and economic incentives influence what viewers see on screen. They also consider what Succession captured about corporate media, editorial pressure, and the relationship between news and business.

The conversation examines the movement of sports rights among broadcast networks, cable channels, streaming services, and direct-to-consumer platforms. Jeremy and Dave explore where leverage is shifting and the next major legal and business fault lines in college athletics following NIL, athlete compensation, and revenue sharing.

Jeremy and Dave also discuss how artificial intelligence can improve journalism and sports production while preserving human judgment, transparency, privacy, and consent. As media professionals increasingly become independent creators, they examine how ownership of intellectual property, audience data, sponsorship rights, and distribution can give talent greater control over their careers and businesses.

(Season 8, Episode 33).

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In this episode of the California Sports Lawyer Podcast, host Jeremy Evans examines why the next media empire will be built around live experiences. As digital content and streaming technology create an abundance of media, live entertainment remains scarce, increasing the value of experiences that combine intellectual property, technology, venues, ticketing, and direct audience participation.

Jeremy discusses how Sphere’s The Wizard of Oz and MARI’s proposed acquisition of ATG Entertainment reflect the convergence of content, production, physical distribution, ticketing, and audience relationships. The episode also explores how artificial intelligence and immersive technology can transform existing intellectual property, how live experiences generate revenue beyond ticket sales, and why content libraries may become the foundation for the future of live entertainment.

As entertainment, media, sports, intellectual property, technology, and law continue converging, companies that can repeatedly transform intellectual property into live experiences across venues and markets may be positioned to build enduring media businesses. Success will depend on legal and business structures addressing talent and intellectual property rights, technology licenses, music, approvals, venue terms, sponsorships, ticketing data, territories, and future formats.

(Season 8, Episode 32).

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In this episode of the California Sports Lawyer Podcast, host Jeremy Evans analyzes how the Protect College Sports Act could significantly reshape college athletics. With the legislation placed on the U.S. Senate’s September calendar, its national standards could determine how schools, conferences, athletes, and governing associations approach compensation, eligibility, competition, and education.

Jeremy discusses why support from the Big Ten and SEC matters, how limited antitrust protection could strengthen the enforcement of uniform rules, and why the Act may provide much-needed stability across college sports. The episode also explores name, image, and likeness (NIL) compensation, revenue sharing, transfers, athlete eligibility, agent conduct, health and educational protections, athlete representation, and collective bargaining.

As sports, education, business, labor, and law continue converging, the Protect College Sports Act could establish the most consequential national framework of the NIL era. Its ultimate effectiveness would still depend on courts defining legal boundaries, conferences and schools applying workable standards, and athletes having a meaningful voice. An act of Congress may not resolve every issue, but it could fundamentally change how college sports are governed and conducted.

(Season 8, Episode 31).

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