On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including Tom Brady’s much anticipated return to Gillette Stadium to play the New England Patriots. The Brady-led Bucs beat the Pats 19-17 in a game that went down to New England’s final drive, which should make it one of the NFL’s most-watched regular season games in recent memory.
The game continues a strong start to the season for NFL telecasts, which have benefitted from good matchups and tight scores to further separate themselves from almost everything else on TV. The league just recently inked roughly $115 billion in new media deals, including extensions with FOX, NBC, CBS and ESPN.
The hosts also talk about NBA players and various local COVID-19 vaccine laws, which might prevent players like Kyrie Irving from playing in home games. The league’s 75th season starts in just a few weeks, and about 95% of the athletes are vaccinated.
The hosts also discuss what’s happening in the NWSL, where the revelation of abuse and sexual misconduct by multiple coaches spurred the resignation of commissioner Lisa Baird and the launch of multiple independent investigations. They close with a conversation about the MLB playoffs and the new carriage dispute between MSG Network and Comcast.
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