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🎤 QUICK START ✍️

🏇 NBC’s Mike Tirico abruptly left the network’s coverage of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday due to what he later wrote on X was a “significant reaction” to his nut allergy. However, Tirico’s pre-recorded interview with infamous horse trainer Bob Baffert did air on NBC ahead of Baffert’s first Kentucky Derby since his 2021 suspension from Churchill Downs.

🇺🇸 Alabama football legend and ESPN analyst Nick Saban introduced President Donald Trump at the university’s commencement over the weekend. But beyond the pomp and circumstance of the ceremony, Saban and former Auburn coach and U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville reportedly lobbied Trump to help level the playing field on NIL regulations across different states.

🏈 Your daily Bill Belichick update: After the legendary coach’s disastrous CBS book promo interview, he is reportedly consulting with longtime former Chicago Bears PR lead Brandon Faber. But the change of pace was not in time to save himself from being spoofed on Saturday Night Live over the weekend.

️‍🚨LEADING OFF 🚨

The ground shifts beneath Dan Le Batard

This week's back half saw CEO John Skipper and titular cohost Jon “Stugotz” Weiner move on from Meadowlark Media, the four-year-old production house that distributes The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz. Aside from Le Batard himself, you could argue they are two of the company's three most prominent public-facing figures. Skipper will remain on one of the network’s podcasts, while Stugotz is reportedly negotiating a deal to appear on DLS less regularly through the remainder of 2025.

This comes after a period in which Charlotte Wilder, Lucy Rohden, and Jessica Smetana also left or scaled back their roles with Meadowlark. Since its launch, the company has churned through podcasts and talent, including Tom Haberstroh, Renee Montgomery, Spencer Hall, and more. Le Batard has said Meadowlark’s licensing deal with DraftKings is ending this year.

However, the Miami-based host struck a hopeful chord in a post last week thanking Skipper. Le Batard pledged that Meadowlark will continue to produce films and docs (though it will struggle to reach the “10 to 20” he promised in the next year or so) and hinted at impending “good news” on its podcast network.

From the start, Meadowlark struggled to find a guiding light. Whereas Bill Simmons’ The Ringer and Colin Cowherd’s The Volume kept a more narrow focus and sought a bigger audience, Meadowlark appeared to overestimate the power of its audience to create new cash cow shows off the sheer magnetism of its talent. Rather than pinpoint rising talent with a following and take them up a level, Le Batard seemed to believe his fans would be predisposed to consume anything under his umbrella.

Aside from the acclaimed Pablo Torre Finds Out, which has produced countless viral moments and reporting scoops in its 18 months on air, the network has not generated hits. In the big picture, Meadowlark's primary value remains the DLS.

This is why when Le Batard left ESPN in early 2021, most assumed he would strike a distribution deal with Spotify, Sirius XM, or another platform. Dan Patrick, Rich Eisen, and Cowherd also went this route when they left the Worldwide Leader. Instead, the ambitious Le Batard partnered with the former ESPN president and magazine editor bigwig Skipper on a broader mission. Despite employing smart, well-liked commentators with big ideas, they simply have not produced enough content to consider that mission accomplished.

Perhaps Meadowlark will be forced to narrow its focus. If the Kelce brothers can reel in a nine-figure deal, the DLS can at least bring in enough money to allow the whittled-down Meadowlark staff to continue experimenting.

As for the show itself, the departure of Stugotz shortly after EP Mike Ryan stepped down hurts the product. But Le Batard has a fiercely loyal audience. DLS will live on.

This media environment still rewards talent with great content. Distributors and advertisers will pay to be associated with great work. But aside from proving that adage, Meadowlark doesn’t appear to have much going for it right now.

🗣️ Matt Miller joins the Awful Announcing Podcast 🗣️

On the latest episode of The Awful Announcing Podcast, ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller joined the show to discuss his move from Bleacher Report to ESPN and his first broadcast at the Worldwide Leader in Green Bay. Miller also discussed Mel Kiper Jr.’s tirade about Shedeur Sanders and whether he would be interested in being a “successor” to Mel Kiper Jr. at ESPN.

The Awful Announcing Podcast is available anywhere podcasts can be found, including Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, as well as in video form on the Awful Announcing YouTube page.

📣 SOCIAL EXPERIMENT 🌟

NBC really capitalized on corporate synergy at the Kentucky Derby over the weekend. In addition to debuting the return of Roundball Rock, the network also introduced Carmelo Anthony as an NBA studio analyst.

After some bigoted kids put up an antisemitic sign at the Barstool Sports bar in Philadelphia, founder Dave Portnoy channeled his anger toward a solution. According to Portnoy, the guys have agreed to travel to the Auschwitz concentration camp on his dime to educate themselves.

📈💰INDUSTRY INSIGHTS🧐

• ESPN host and reporter Malika Andrews will join the network’s WNBA coverage this season. As the Worldwide Leader puts more investment into the growing league (coming off a re-up of its rights deal at a huge bargain), Andrews will host WNBA Countdown from L.A. opposite Elle Duncan, anchoring the show from Bristol. Andrews is reportedly set to be a free agent this year, but this news is a good sign that she will stay at ESPN.

• The new 11-year NBA broadcast rights package did not appear to have much space for the league’s NBA TV network, but Puck’s John Ourand reported late last week that the league still doesn’t “have a plan for the network.” NBA TV is in fewer than 33 million households, even fewer than Peacock, the relatively tiny streaming service that will air exclusive NBA games on the new deal.

• Taking advantage of the Kentucky Derby spotlight, NBC Sports finally announced it has negotiated the return of “Roundball Rock.” The classic intro song will return alongside the NBA on NBC this fall. Given the prolonged talks here, we can only hope John Tesh got a massive bag for the rights.

🔥 THE CLOSER 🔥

The end of the NBA playoffs on local TV

Mike Breen attacked the NBA last month for ending the tradition of local broadcasters calling the first round of the playoffs. He’s right to note the evolution.

While it can be impossible to find certain teams on local TV these days, and more people continue to “cut the cord,” this is a big occasion. For many years, local broadcasters were allowed to air the first round of the NBA playoffs. Under the new 11-year, $7.6 billion contract with Disney, Amazon, and NBC Universal, those rights have ended. The league had to carve out more national playoff exclusivity to get money from a third partner, so it axed the local windows.

That means no more Walt Frazier, Brian Scalabrine, Adam Amin, or Sarah Kustok on the call. The NBA has abundant local broadcasting talent, with many national A-listers calling local games. No more postseason.

This was probably inevitable. All content is becoming more nationalized and globalized in the internet age. Radio broadcasts stick with teams for the playoffs, but that’s hardly a standard consumption mode. National deals are where leagues make the most money, and fandom stretches across state lines. This is why MLB, for instance, is trying to package all 30 “local” broadcast rights packages into one national deal with a streamer. Financially and technologically, this is a logical move.

But it will contribute to an undeniable cultural shift. Whether you’re talking about free agency, the rise of sports insiders, or media consumption trends, sports fandom is becoming less regional and less permanent. Fans follow players, laundry be damned. Player movement is constant, creating a media cottage industry of its own.

The departure of local broadcasters from fans’ playoff experience signals a devaluing of one more part of team-specific fandom. NBA fans will no longer experience any postseason with announcers with a vested interest in the team.

The league will continue to grow, local broadcasts will evolve beyond cable, and the general picture will not change much. However, this shift will affect the way fans interact with the league and their favorite team, just as all the other little changes before this changed what it felt like to follow the league year after year.