SPORTS
John Ourand
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June 30, 2025
MLB in the Post-Peak TV Era
Sports may be the last remaining jewel of live TV, but the era of the 10-figure rights deals is a thing of the past for everyone besides the NFL and NBA. The current marketplace tells the story.
John Ourand
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June 26, 2025
A Spulu Silver Lining
Venu, the sports frankenstreamer that died on the vine, did have one lasting impact on the sports viewing universe: It gave birth to skinny bundle offerings, like DirecTV’s, that were meant to compete against it.
Netflix’s French Connection
Netflix’s ultimate goal is to transcend its dominant streamer status and simply become TV, itself. That grand plan is now playing out with sports at its center, and a new partnership with France’s TF1.
John Ourand
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June 23, 2025
Gunnar, Germs & Steel
The newly separated TNT Sports will keep bidding on sports packages… but rights holders are wondering if they’ll see big numbers in the Gunnar Wiedenfels era.
John Ourand
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June 19, 2025
Cordella Cutters
NBC Sports president Rick Cordella chats candidly about Peacock’s streaming journey, leveraging premium sports to drive subs, the prophetic decision to carry the Big Ten, why they got into the NBA, and what linear and streaming still have in common.
The Zaz Sports Streaming Fallacy
As the dust continues to settle on the Warner Bros. Discovery partition, David Zaslav’s decision to leave live sports coverage on the curb has baffled the sports media world.
John Ourand
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June 16, 2025
Earnhardt Knocks
Racing legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. candidly discusses NASCAR’s post-pandemic blues, the lessons from F1, and the on-track value structure.
John Ourand
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June 12, 2025
Rolapp Ditches His Bridesmaid Dress
It’s not easy being Roger Goodell’s number two. Now, Brian Rolapp, a longtime resident of the NFL commissioner shortlist, is at the precipice of taking a job with the PGA Tour, instead.
The Zaz-Gunnar Sports Showdown
Now that WBD’s unwieldy marriage of streaming and cable has dissolved, there will likely be instances—most notably, regarding sports—where Zaz’s interests and those of his trusted financial henchman, Gunnar Wiedenfels, who will run the spun-off Global Networks, diverge.
John Ourand
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June 9, 2025
Top Gunnar
Amid the seismic news of the WBD divorce, Zaslav’s hodgepodge of post-NBA sports assets will find themselves in an excised cable company run by a severe belt-tightener. There are worse options, right? Right?! Actually, yes.
John Ourand
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June 5, 2025
Sports Rights in the Multiverse
The full impact of a post-monoculture world, where sports are viewed on multiple platforms, is beginning to emerge. To no one’s surprise, the streamers, who are younger and new to the ad game, are already starting to dominate.
Size Doesn’t Matter: A Sports Streaming Morality Tale
Yesterday’s fine-tuned sports streaming-versus-broadcast math is rapidly becoming obsolete, with Amazon poised to take in billions more in ad revenue this year, Netflix targeting more than $3 billion, and streamers leaning into younger—albeit much smaller—audiences.
John Ourand
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June 2, 2025
The Connolly War
News, notes, and the latest court filings on the Disney–YouTube–Justin Connolly battle royale.
John Ourand
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May 29, 2025
NASCAR’s Demo Derby
Amazon streamed its first NASCAR race over the weekend, drawing fewer, but more youthful, viewers than last year. Is this just a speed bump on the way to comprehensive live sports streaming? As one TV exec said, “Look, the fact is, there’s still a big moat between streaming and broadcast.”
YouTube’s Disney War
The video platform’s surprise acquisition of a high-level Disney executive is the latest, and most poignant, strategic advance in its high-stakes, ongoing battle to become the go-to hub for the burgeoning sports media multiverse.
John Ourand
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May 22, 2025
MLB’s Sophie’s Choice
The current market for new sports media deals suggests that we’ve entered an era of belt-tightening for everyone besides the NFL. Now Major League Baseball, in particular, will have to choose between awareness and pure cash.
Jimmy on the Spot
ESPN hopes its new D.T.C. streaming service… err, app… will become the first stop for sports fans looking to watch a game, place a bet, play fantasy, and anything else sports-related. But it’s a lot harder than it looks—just ask Netflix.