Jim Miller on ESPN’s mega-contracts for on-air people and Grant Wahl on World Cup coverage

Episode 193 of the Sports Media Podcast features two guests. First up is James Andrew Miller, best-selling author of books on CAA, ESPN and Saturday Night Live and HBO. He is hosting a new chapter of the podcast “Origins” titled “HBO: Present, Past, and Future.” He is followed by Grant Wahl, who writes the Futbol with Grant Wahl at GrantWahl.com and works with CBS Sports and Meadowlark Media.In this podcast, Miller discusses the ESPN deals for Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Adam Schefter and Adrian Wojnarowski; what it means salary-wise for others; how much has the talent office changed at ESPN over the years; ESPN employees participated in walkouts over Disney’s response to the Florida legislation coined the “Don’t Say Gay” bill; whether it is a good time to be a talent agent, and more. Wahl discusses the World Cup draw; World Cup viewership in the U.S.; the interest in group stage matches; the importance of the U.S. getting out of knockout stage; the prospects of Ukraine making the World Cup and what it would mean; how he will cover this World Cup; how Fox Sports , in his opinion, will not talk about the rights of migrant workers in Qatar; on rightsholders not being critical of the host country, and more.You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, and more.