SPORTS
John Ourand
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September 29, 2025
NFL Dance Partners & Legacy Media War Cries
Super-analyst Michael Nathanson offers a candid view of the sports rights dialectic taking place between the legacy media companies, who need these games more than ever, and the hyperscalers with all the money in the universe.
John Ourand
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September 25, 2025
The NFL’s Premature Exhortations
The league and its broadcast partners are weighing early renegotiations of their billion-dollar media deals, with a possible 18th game and new streaming packages on the table.
The ESPN of the Affair
A month after the launch of ESPN Unlimited, what does the early data say about the platform’s prospects for long-term success? And what does “success” even mean?
John Ourand
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September 22, 2025
Netflix’s Trojan Horse
The sports media world erupted last month when word leaked that Netflix was looking at ways to stream the Notre Dame–USC game—despite the fact that Notre Dame is under contract with NBC, and USC’s rights are tied up with the Big Ten. The saga, more than anything, spotlighted Netflix’s aggressive plan to “eventize” sports.
John Ourand
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September 18, 2025
UFC Takes On the World
Even with Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon dangling global deals, TKO is betting on its in-house partner IMG and U.S. cash.
The NBA’s TikTok Paradox
Adam Silver knows that young people are watching NBA content on free social platforms rather than TV—not ideal when the league is trying to prove it’s actually worth the $77 billion that its partners just paid for games. So what’s he going to do about it?
John Ourand
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September 15, 2025
NFL ’29 Opt-Out Watch
Right now, we’re wading through a bizarre and likely ephemeral market in which the linear players have become preferred destinations for sports rights. Will this all end when the NFL hits the block? And when it does, who will get left out?
John Ourand
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September 11, 2025
The NBA’s Plural Marriage
As the NBA gathered media partners for its board meeting this week, one thing became clear: This year, viewing is going to be more complicated, more fragmented, and more expensive than ever before. Adam Silver wants to make sure that his media partners can work together amicably to mitigate some of the complaints.
The YouTube-NFL Postgame Show
It’s time to argue over the numbers for YouTube’s first NFL game. Was that 17 million figure soft, or should the real conversation be about the 69 million creators whose individualized viewing experience could be key to the league’s future?
John Ourand
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September 8, 2025
Mike & Tony’s Excellent Adventure
Even in ESPN’s anti-sentimental, multichannel, needle-mover era, the company is doubling down on the old-school curmudgeons who starred in its golden age. Mike Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser are being rewarded with new three-year deals that might truly mark the beginning of the end of an amazing journey.
John Ourand
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September 4, 2025
YouTube’s Friday Night Lights
Yes, YouTube is streaming its first NFL game tomorrow from Brazil, and yes the NFL seems to be conceding to the long-inevitable march toward streaming—even embracing YouTubers like Dude Perfect. But don’t let that fool you. The NFL is still about the TV business, and business is still good.
When Will YouTube Win the Super Bowl?
Nothing produces more sports media agita than YouTube, whose sports endgame remains a mystery. But former YouTuber turned Octagon executive William Mao has some ideas about what might be coming next.
John Ourand
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August 28, 2025
The Carriage Trap
YouTube and Fox reached a deal Thursday night. But their unusual carriage spat had YouTube asking Fox to treat it like Amazon, while Fox insisted the real comp should be Charter or DirecTV. The stakes of this battle could impact YouTube TV’s coming deals with NBCU and Disney, too.
Area Man Scores League Rights
We’ve entered a brave new world in which individual YouTube creators are signing deals with leagues for limited sports rights—perhaps foreshadowing an era in which viewers get to choose from 1,000 different Manningcasts.
John Ourand
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August 25, 2025
Crossing Jordon
A spirited, mediated, and unsanctioned debate between two of college football’s leading analysts over the viability of Bill Belichick at UNC, the potential pitfalls of recruiting a head coach from the professional ranks, the never-ending Jordon Hudson intrigue, and much more.
John Ourand
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August 21, 2025
Déjà Venu
When the opening day cheers subside for ESPN’s new streamer, some of the distributors who helped build the poky cable channel into a sports juggernaut may worry they’ll end up with Venu by another name.
ESPN Meets Gen A.D.D.
As it prepares to launch its long-awaited streamer, ESPN is looking to combine every facet of the fan experience—live games, news, fantasy, and sports betting—all in one app, the first step toward rebuilding its influence in an always-on, attention-shattered era.