SPORTS
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.
John Ourand
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May 3, 2024
Preschlack Your Luck
A Hail Mary from Amazon may save Dave Preschlack’s Diamond Sports from oblivion—and soften the blow of the Comcast “cliff path.”
John Ourand
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April 29, 2024
The Caitlinsanity Revolution Will Be Televised
The Sports Innovation Lab is staging a NewFront this week in order to help monetize (and infrastructure-ize) the massive growth in the women’s sports space.
John Ourand
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April 25, 2024
The Diamond-Comcast Collision, Part 1,000
News and notes on the latest chapter of the R.S.N. saga of our time (and all time).
John Ourand
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April 22, 2024
Silver’s Spoons
As it turns out, the NBA did a whole lot more negotiating with ESPN and WBD during their exclusive rights window, which expires tonight, and now they appear closer than ever to a deal. As the clock strikes 12, the heat is on NBCU, Amazon, Netflix, and YouTube.
John Ourand
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April 18, 2024
ESPN’s Norby Replacement Rodeo
Shockingly, given its traditional insularity and promote-from-within culture, ESPN is looking externally to replace Norby Williamson. And I’ve got names that should be on the list…
John Ourand
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April 16, 2024
Of Mice and R.S.N.s
Another setback looms for Diamond Sports as it heads into its latest bankruptcy court hearing: DirecTV and Comcast are going full-blown “cliff path.”
John Ourand
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April 12, 2024
As I Lay Diamond
News and notes on the most famous bankruptcy restructuring in the history of regional sports networks.
John Ourand
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April 9, 2024
Norby or Not to Be
Inside the drama surrounding the Bristol defenestration.
John Ourand
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April 4, 2024
The NFL Paramount Deal Sweetener
David Ellison may be most interested in Paramount’s Hollywood studio, and I.P. that he views as underutilized. But he also sees value in the broadcast network, thanks mainly to that NFL deal.
John Ourand
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April 2, 2024
Give Me Liberty
Nearly a decade after transforming F1 into a juggernaut, John Malone’s Liberty Media is looking to employ the same makeover on its newest multibillion-dollar portfolio toy, MotoGP.