SPORTS
John Ourand
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June 28, 2024
Big East of Eden
The inside story of how NBC and WBD negotiated with Fox to land Big East basketball. In the modern sports media business, one company’s “nice-to-have” content is another’s “need to have” package.
John Ourand
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June 25, 2024
The Stephen A. Plot Thickens
ESPN’s biggest star doesn’t simply covet McAfeebucks—he also wants a McAfee-style deal structure that would pay him out like he’s running his own production company. What should Pitaro do?
John Ourand
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June 21, 2024
Stephen A.’s $18 Million Offer
ESPN and Pitaro have put an $18 million-per-year offer in front of their generational star. It’s an insane amount of dough for a TV personality… but it still might not be enough.
John Ourand
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June 18, 2024
All Eyes on ESPN’s Flagship
Fifteen months out from the launch of ESPN’s new streaming property, dubbed internally as Project Flagship, questions are mounting alongside expectations.
John Ourand
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June 14, 2024
Malone’s New F1 Fantasy
The ageless mogul’s decision to take a controlling position in Formula E suggests that he’s looking to re-create the magic he found in its sister racing sport.
John Ourand
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June 10, 2024
Caitlinsanity: A Pre-History
A very candid chat with Cathy Engelbert, the former Deloitte C.E.O. who became the commissioner of the WNBA in 2019.
John Ourand
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June 7, 2024
Is There Life After the NBA?
The NBA is closing in on a whopping $76 billion for its media rights packages, partly because there won’t be anything else to buy for a very, very long time.
Eriq Gardner
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June 5, 2024
The NFL’s $20B “Sunday Ticket” Gamble
After a decade of twists and turns, the league is facing down a 10-figure lawsuit that could also allow teams to cut their own deals with streamers, reshaping the business forever. Can the NFL afford to take that risk?
John Ourand
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June 4, 2024
Chicago Fire Sale
The R.S.N. hellscape, once the province of smaller markets, is now about to jump the shark.
John Ourand
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May 30, 2024
The Zaz NBA Backtrack
As the clock ticks on the NBA rights deals, and matching rights definitions are reimagined, a new consensus is emerging: WBD probably shouldn’t bid on a package that it really can no longer afford.
John Ourand & Julia Alexander
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May 27, 2024
Does Netflix Really Need the NFL?
Streaming analyst Julia Alexander joins John for a brutally honest conversation about the state of streaming in its sports rights era, and why Amazon, not Netflix, is going after the biggest deals.
John Ourand
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May 23, 2024
Kings of Leonsis
As team valuations skyrocket, I sat down with D.C. sports magnate Ted Leonsis to get his candid take on why Cuban sold the Mavs, the future of R.S.N..s, and how Ballmer changed the game.
John Ourand
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May 20, 2024
Berson of Interest
New CBS Sports C.E.O. David Berson rips a page from McManus playbook, predicts more of the (lucrative) same, and says “Nothing to see here” about Esiason and Simms as Paramount’s deal-or-no-deal drama continues.
John Ourand
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May 17, 2024
The NFL-Netflix Broken Hearts Club
Perhaps sports media executives shouldn’t be surprised that the NFL—which does whatever it wants because it can—went with Netflix for a pair of Christmas Day games. But that doesn’t mean that they aren’t pissed about it.
John Ourand
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May 14, 2024
Roku at the Bat
The streaming device slash platform, now in more than 80 million homes, makes its maiden voyage into Major League Baseball.
John Ourand
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May 10, 2024
Netflix’s NFL Christmas Miracle
It looks like Netflix will wind up carrying the two NFL games scheduled for December 25, per a bevy of sources. It’s a first-of-its-kind deal, and almost certainly not the last.
John Ourand
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May 6, 2024
NBA Hunger Games Enter the Fourth Quarter
I’ve got my hands on what Pitaro is getting, Jassy’s deal, and what Zaz and Roberts are putting on the table. Oh, and I’ve also got the skinny on that wild notion of breaking the third package into two, so that TNT and NBC would each get a cookie.