Why NFL ratings are up in 2018 & Did ESPN get too political?

Episode 25 of the Sports Media Podcast features Sports Business Daily media writer John Ourand for a discussion on the latest sports media news.    In this podcast, Ourand and Deitsch discuss the current NFL viewership numbers and why they are up from 2017; whether the league can sustain the ratings through the end of the regular season; the impact of quarterbacks, competitive games, and news fatigue on the viewership; the World Series matchup between the Dodgers and Red Sox and what kind of interest there will be nationally; a look at Fox’s MLB pregame show; the NBA viewership numbers from the opening week of the season and the impact of LeBron James moving from the Eastern to Western Conference; whether the Boston Celtics can fill the TV role that Cleveland played last year with James; Ourand’s interview with ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro; the stylistic difference between Pitaro and John Skipper; Pitaro’s discussion with Ourand on the role of political talk and ESPN and the impact it had; the opposing views of Ourand and Deitsch on covering politics at ESPN; Ourand’s piece on Around The Horn and how that show will move to ESPN’s Seaport studios in lower Manhattan and will use a new graphics package that will employ augmented reality; the impact of Tony Reali as a host; whether PTI can last post-Wilbon and Kornhesier and much more.    You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher and more.