John Ourand

Sports media agent Matt Kramer extemporizes about the agency's shifting strategy and the overall evolution of the industry, in which the on-air talent market increasingly resembles the sports media rights economy writ large, with huge salaries for premium pundits and insiders (Stephen A., McAfee, Woj) and belt-tightening everywhere else.

The NFL's decision to allow ABC to simulcast six extra ‘Monday Night Football' games from sisterco ESPN has enraged executives from rival networks, prompted some pretty vicious phone calls and accusations of favoritism, and led to animus and chit-filing. It's also the latest example of a familiar trope in the industry: The Shield can do whatever it wants.

A candid chat with the commish about Major League Baseball's evolving local media predicament, its strategy of pooling games, and the challenges inherent in iterating a national pastime.

Welcome back to The Varsity, my twice-weekly private email on the business of sports and the people who run the show. I am coming to you today from my hometown of Washington, D.C., where I am recovering from last week’s trips to Los Angeles (I took in a Dodgers-Mets NLCS game) and Dallas. (I also […]

As ESPN wrestles with attracting younger audiences away from YouTube and TikTok, and fortifying its forthcoming streamer, Jimmy Pitaro is talking to Jason Kelce about helming his own late night show—a decidedly last-decade solution to a very modern dilemma.

Welcome back to The Varsity, my twice-weekly private email on all the personalities who run the sports business. I’m in D.C. today, preparing to jet off to visit my daughter in Ireland next week. Jon Kelly, whose grandparents fled the English many moons ago, has authorized me to scout locations for Puck’s E.U. HQ on […]

TV distributors are struggling to play hardball with the likes of ESPN, Peacock, and Paramount+ as sports programmers move their best content to streaming.

Welcome back to The Varsity, my twice-weekly private email on everything that happens off the field. Special thanks to the scores of people who sent in World Series viewership predictions that ranged from 15.5 million viewers to 27.8 million—and lots of bad Marchand jokes. The first two games have averaged 14.6 million, which tracks with […]

How America's homegrown motorsport is branching out: to new countries, new venues, and most importantly, more broadcast partners. NASCAR president Steve Phelps explains how they plan to grow without pissing off their faithful. (Michael Jordan is another story.)

Welcome back to The Varsity, my twice-weekly private email on the sports media business––Puck’s very own politics-free zone. Today, let’s ignore the forthcoming election (the most consequential in our lifetime!), and instead revel in the slow-motion collapse of the cable TV business, shall we? First, congratulations to Big Ten Network comms executive Pat Kenny, who […]