On a brand new edition of the Sports Media Watch Podcast, host T.J. Rives and Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch have plenty to discuss in the worlds of football, baseball and basketball — plus special guest Mike Hall of Big Ten Network.
First, the guys discuss the latest success for CBS Sports and their SEC coverage that featured Tennessee’s dramatic 52-49 win over Alabama last Saturday. It was the highest rated college football game to date this season. Jon has thoughts on Alabama’s brand and how it helps generate more interest.
Then, the topic turns to Week 6 of the NFL season, which started with poor ratings for Thursday Night Football and finished with multi-year highs for CBS and NBC. Jon has perspective on it all.
At the half-hour mark, Big Ten Network’s Mike Hall joins the show for a conversation about his current roles and his unusual entry into the industry as the winner of ESPN’s first season of “Dream Job” in 2004. Mike talks about the pressures of being hired under those circumstances, how people like Scott Van Pelt mentored him, and how he later helped launch ESPNU before leaving for his current roles at BTN. He also discusses how his current job has evolved and talks about the future of the Big Ten in the era of expansion.
Finally, Jon and T.J. play some weekly “Love it or Leave it?” about the baseball postseason format, the month of October being a great sports month and more.
