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🐴 A record Derby. About 25 million people watched NBC’s broadcast of the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday evening — a record, albeit one with caveats. Nielsen is now measuring far more out-of-home viewership, and the record number included 1.3 million viewers from Peacock.

🏀 The Worldwide Lead-Kerr. As Steve Kerr’s future with the Golden State Warriors hangs in the balance with his contract set to expire this spring, a report late Sunday indicated that ESPN is “aggressively pursuing” the veteran head coach for a (likely top) role on its NBA coverage.

🏈 ‘NFL Today’ eyes big names. CBS Sports is reportedly interested in both Russell Wilson and Luke Kuechly for the open seats on The NFL Today, its football pregame show. After reportedly not making a run at Mike Tomlin, the network appears to be leaning toward former players following the departures of J.J. Watt and Mike Ryan in recent years.

🤨 Correcting the Russini record. As the walls were closing in on Dianna Russini over her alleged relationship with Mike Vrabel, Page Six posted a random story about how the NFL insider came to the aid of an old man following a car crash in her neighborhood. The story was fishy from the start, and now the tabloid has issued a follow-up stating that Russini did not, in fact, help the crash victim.

Because it is owned by the Murdochs and part of Fox’s massive sports portfolio, FS1 has always been an object of intrigue in sports media.

The cable network airs MLB postseason games, FIFA World Cup matches, and a bunch of big college sports events. It has produced famous talent like Katie Nolan, Shannon Sharpe, and Nick Wright. And, partially as a result of its tie-up with Fox and Fox News, FS1 is in nearly the same number of homes as ESPN.

Yet that same daytime lineup has now been ground to dust, and as those rights deals expire, FS1 could be hanging onto its last bit of relevance in the coming years. A prominent spot in the FoxOne app and in Fox Sports’ partnership with Barstool signal a potential future strategy, but one for which there is no real proof of concept, as cable struggles to adapt to the modern media environment.

So last week on The Play-By-Play podcast, we discussed the future of FS1 as an “unanswerable question.”

In 2026, cable networks without premium live-event programming (sports and, to a far lesser extent, news or awards shows) have no value. But FS1 is set to lose the World Cup and NASCAR Cup Series races after this year, and baseball rights after 2028. The Westminster Dog Show and weekend MLS showcases do not make a network.

Elsewhere in the industry, media companies are looking for ways to integrate cable networks into broader portfolios while they milk whatever carriage fees and advertising dollars they can from them.

Versant, the spinoff of NBC Universal’s cable networks, launched a membership program around MS Now and bought smaller sports rights for USA Network. At the same time, it partnered with Crooked Media and is reportedly looking at buying the Vox Media Podcast Network.

ESPN is striking digital-exclusive deals with brands like the WWE and MLB while producing shows for Disney+ and YouTube. It works with Omaha Productions on celebrity-driven reality series and podcasts.

This is where Fox’s creative deal-making could help FS1 evolve for the future. The company has been aggressive in working with creators on Tubi, its free, ad-supported streaming service. It has licensing deals with MrBeast and Jomboy Media, produces original series and films with popular creators, and even partnered with TikTok on an incubator program in March.

At the same time, Fox has purposefully probed into the podcast and digital video space since purchasing Red Seat Ventures last year. The company recently partnered with the roast show Kill Tony on an expansive deal that will see Red Seat take over premium subscriptions and ad sales while episodes of the show appear on Tubi and FoxOne. Would anybody be surprised if Tony Hinchcliffe was on Big Noon Kickoff early next football season?

This is the blueprint for FS1. The network was reportedly in the early stages of a weekly show with Mark Sanchez before he was arrested last fall. Finding ways to incorporate Fox Sports and FS1 talent across all levels of the company will give that talent more exposure and bring the audience back to their on-air work.

Wake Up Barstool has been a viewership disappointment, but the idea is reasonable. Live, instant reactions to sports news each morning from the biggest personalities at Barstool should work. Nobody is exactly chomping at the bit for more content from sports media’s busiest content house, but if you want Dave Portnoy’s thoughts on the Boston Red Sox, WUB is basically the only place to get it.

Some day, the cable network will disappear from the strategy altogether, and Fox Sports will become a combination of the Fox broadcast network and FoxOne. The company could pursue another deal like Venu. It could pick up smaller sports rights, like we’ve seen USA, ION, and The CW do.

The most logical plan would be to continue blurring those lines now, bridging the gap between Portnoy, Wright, and Colin Cowherd on television for fans who watch games on Fox, subscribe to Tubi, listen to podcasts, or subscribe to FoxOne. Which of course begs the question, given Cowherd’s stature at FS1 and the fact that he just signed a new contract: Why wouldn’t Fox buy his podcast company, The Volume?

“The fact that Colin has continued his partnership with Fox and has continued to build The Volume separately, and the fact that Fox has been OK with him having this entirely separate brand and putting his own content there and promoting his own content elsewhere shows that I think there definitely is the potential to have a larger relationship between the two,” said AA’s Brandon Contes on The Play-By-Play.

Such an acquisition would give Fox its digital sports anchor, the same way Red Seat has become its digital news anchor, while creating a new roster of talent for whatever content might replace the FS1 lineup down the line. The Volume’s hosts could pass through any of its shows (they already do so on The Herd) and create original content for Fox Sports. With the production heft and institutional support Fox provides, The Volume could lean further into live programming and bigger swings, while maintaining its independence.

A similar setup could work with a similar outlet that Fox already owns: Outkick.

The larger moves at Fox suggest the company must already be thinking this way about FS1 and Fox Sports. Though the network clearly needs an offramp for its next chapter, there are only a few years to execute the plan, given the live sports losses FS1 will soon experience.

As we approach the summer lull of the American sports calendar, sports media (like all media) remains in flux. Network TV is fading, the popularity of leagues continues to shift, and audiences are looking to the internet for content more than ever.

With that in mind, on Friday’s episode of The Play-By-Play LIVE, I was joined by AA’s Brandon Contes to discuss three “unanswerable questions” facing the industry:

Watch the episode on YouTube to hear our analysis, or listen on Apple or Spotify.

“She’s been compromised. She knows the optics are bad on this, trust me, OK?” - Longtime Dianna Russini pal Jon “Stugotz” Weiner, relaying a recent conversation he had with the former Athletic NFL insider.

“Churchill Downs has officially decided the Kentucky Oaks belongs to NBC, not Louisville.” - A Louisville resident, quoted by the New York Times, lamenting the local impact of the primetime start for the Friday-night Kentucky Oaks.

“I was not behind that. I had nothing to do with that. I love Molly.” - ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith on former First Take cohost Molly Qerim; Smith added that Qerim’s departure may have resulted from ESPN rebuffing her push for bigger assignments.

“We make so many allowances for men. Jay Glazer is the perfect example.” - Former SI and ESPN reporter Jeff Pearlman, questioning why Fox NFL insider Jay Glazer is let off the hook in a way that Dianna Russini was not amid her scandal.

“I’m just trying to hold onto the people that I’ve got, forget about trying to get bigger, I’m trying to hold onto what I’ve got.” - Bomani Jones, as part of a larger rant about the difficulty he has advising young sports commentators, given the rapidly evolving, decentralized nature of the industry.

To ask the question that should be asked of every news leak: Who benefits from the report that ESPN is pursuing Steve Kerr?

Certainly not the Worldwide Leader, which just embarked on its first postseason with Tim Legler and Richard Jefferson as its lead game analysts. In theory, ESPN is giving those two a chance to win the top job permanently and solve the network’s perpetual issues with NBA coverage.

Kerr, on the other hand, benefits immensely. Ahead of a supposed meeting with Golden State brass looming Monday, news leaks that Kerr has another major suitor in the media? Great negotiating.

So the news almost certainly emanated from Kerr’s camp. But even if ESPN didn’t want this news out, and even if it may not be ironclad as a rumor, the idea that ESPN could show enough interest in Kerr even to allow this possibility to materialize tells us everything we need to know.

The Worldwide Leader is still not satisfied with its top NBA booth. And rightly so. The trio of Legler, Jefferson, and Breen is uneven. The overlapping perspectives of the two former players make it hard for either to know their lane and fill it. Breen continues to overcompensate for the lack of chemistry and high-level experience around him by going into radio mode. Perhaps the booth could mature into one worthy of the NBA Finals in time, but it is not there now.

Around it, ESPN has watched its competitors ramp up. NBC has put out Mike Tirico and Reggie Miller as its No. 1 booth, while Prime Video uses Ian Eagle and Stan Van Gundy (plus Steve Nash and Dwyane Wade at times). The fresh rosters elsewhere have underscored ESPN’s lack of star power and chemistry.

Going after Kerr is the smart move. ESPN should also have meetings with Doc Rivers and Chris Paul. The network badly needs a recognizable name and a respected voice to rise to the level of its rivals and deliver a product worthy of basketball fans’ attention on the biggest stage.

A strong postseason from Legler and Jefferson could deservedly push this conversation back another season. Chemistry being such a massive ingredient in great broadcasting, every group should get the time to gel if it shows promise. Plenty of great booths have improved to championship-caliber status over time.

But by entertaining Kerr enough for this leak to emerge, ESPN is signaling that it remains nervous about its NBA coverage as we head toward the biggest point on the league’s calendar.