Marcus Spears has been one of the rising stars at ESPN since he joined the SEC Network in 2014. He has had the chance to not only talk football on First Take and Get Up, but other sports as well and he appreciates that ESPN has allowed him to talk about both football and basketball on some noteworthy shows.
Spears was a guest on the latest episode of The Dave Pasch Podcast and he said that he is glad that he is not known as ESPN as just a guy who can talk about football.
“I do TV just like I did when I was talking to my dad and my uncles about football and basketball. I think that’s the one thing First Take and Get Up allowed me to do was to talk more than just football. I never wanted to be pigeonholed into not thinking that this is just a football guy and that’s the only thing he does.
“Football is my passion. It’s what I love,” Spears continued. “It’s something that I have my 10,000 hours in. I understand the game. I have a ton of respect for the game. I have a lot of relationships in the game. I played basketball growing up, was very highly-recruited, so I understand that game on some fairly high levels as well.”
When Spears is on First Take with Stephen A Smith, he told Pasch it reminds him of the debates that he has had with his family in the past and those arguments helped prepare him for facing off with Smith about the hot topics in sports:
“Being on First Take with Stephen A just reminds me of what I did with my dad, uncles, family members, and best friends. It’s a debate show like we like to call it because we are politically correct, but it’s really just an argument show. To get your opinion across, you argue. When I was arguing or debating with my uncles and with my dad, obviously they didn’t think I knew anything about what I was talking about, but it got me ready for that arena.
“I think it really starts with respect knowing that you are entering his domain. But, Stephen A knows that I’m not afraid to go toe-to-toe and touch every topic. When we disagree, we disagree.”
One of the reasons Spears respects Smith is that he enjoys the fact that Smith will defer to the athlete he is debating with for their knowledge rather than trying to prove he knows more about the game than they do:
“If you watch Stephen A , he defers a lot to your expertise whether you are a former NBA or NFL player. I think he never tries to go toe-to-toe with football acumen when it comes from actual experience. He goes at it from a reporter standpoint and I say a lot of times, even from a fan standpoint because Stephen A, whether you love him or hate him, he does give a perspective of a sportswriter and also a fan. We can grill him about how bad the Knicks have been….Ultimately, when you watch when I’m on or Ryan Clark’s on or Dan Orlovsky, he defers to your football knowledge as a former player. That’s not a knock, but we respect him for that.”
Ricky Keeler is a reporter for BSM with a primary focus on sports media podcasts and national personalities. He is also an active podcaster with an interest in pursuing a career in sports media. You can find him on Twitter @Rickinator555 or reach him by email at [email protected].
After a report earlier today from John Ourand of Puck said ESPN and the NBA “have essentially come to terms on a package,” a new report from The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand says Amazon Prime Video will be one of at least three main players in the overall NBA media rights package.
Marchand reports the NBA and Amazon “have the framework of a deal,” and that it will include “significant regular season and postseason games, perhaps even conference finals.” With the current agreement expiring after next season, it is expected the Amazon deal would start in 2025-26.
Ourand’s reporting suggests Warner Bros. Discovery has had “productive” talks with the league. Marchand mentions NBC and WBD potentially battling to be the third partner or the potential of the NBA partnering with four outlets. It is believed ESPN will have around 20 regular season games cut from its package to make room for at least an additional partner, but Disney will keep the NBA Finals on ABC.
The expectation is that new NBA media rights deals will be for a 10-year period. The league is looking to grow on the $2.6 billion average per year it is getting now from ESPN and TNT Sports.
Peacock Revenue Increases 54% Year Over Year in 1st Quarter
Comcast’s Peacock added 3 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2024, which was helped by the exclusive airing of the Chiefs-Dolphins playoff game.
Comcast’s Peacock added 3 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2024, which was helped by the exclusive airing of the Chiefs-Dolphins playoff game, the company said in its earnings report this week. The report also said revenue increased 54% year over year from $685 million to $1.1 billion. In total, Peacock lost $639 million compared to a loss of $704 million the prior year.
“Peacock remains one of the fastest growing domestic streamers with impressive acquisition, retention and engagement trends,” Chief Executive Brian Roberts said in a release.
In total, Peacock subscribers have climbed 55% year over year to reach 34 million. While domestic advertising revenue was flat, the expectation is the upcoming Paris Olympics will boost the advertising dollars for the year.
The Chiefs-Dolphins game on Saturday January 15 was the most streamed event ever in the United States, drawing 23 million viewers. Engagement with the playoff game accounted for the largest internet event in history, according to this data, with 30% of internet traffic prioritizing the game.
Sports Podcast Festival Coming to Raleigh in August
“What we did was look for shows that had significant audience crossover with one another. I truly don’t think we could have asked for a better lineup in year one.”
The first podcast festival in America devoted solely to sports content is coming to Raleigh, North Carolina on August 24, 2024. Produced by September Creative, The Sports Podcast Festival Presented by Breeze Thru will feature three shows.
Popular national shows The Shutdown Fullcast and Hand in the Dirt will join one of North Carolina’s fastest-growing shows, Ovies & Giglio, live on stage to celebrate a new college football season.
“Shows like the three that will be on our stage are why sports fans flock to podcasts,” said September Creative founder Demetri Ravanos. “They deserve their own party and we’re going to throw it! What we did was look for shows that had significant audience crossover with one another. I truly don’t think we could have asked for a better lineup in year one.”
The Sports Podcast Festival will take place at the recently refurbished Rialto Theater.
“Working with Demetri to bring The Sports Podcast Festival here is perfectly in line with our vision,” said Rialto Theater owner Hayes Permar. “We can’t wait to build and grow this into an incredible annual event. But most importantly, we have a bunch of really cool people from the sports world coming and also Joe Ovies.”
Joe Ovies is one half of Ovies & Giglio, which will open The Sports Podcast Festival. He and partner Joe Giglio left Raleigh radio last year and launched their podcast which has already reached nearly 2 million people.
Next in the lineup for The Sports Podcast Festival is Hand in the Dirt. The hosts, Michael Felder, Michael Surber, and Stephen Hartzell, describe their show as a “gardening podcast about football,” which mixes talk about being a dad and owning a home with serious college football conversation.
Headlining The Sports Podcast Festival is The Shutdown Fullcast. Billing itself as “the internet’s only college football podcast,” the show, hosted by Holly Anderson, Spencer Hall, Jason Kirk, and Ryan Nanni, garners millions of downloads each year.
Tickets for The Sports Podcast Festival go on sale on Saturday, May 25 via eTix. For more information, including announcements about other events surrounding the festival, follow @SportsPodFest on Instagram and X.
