Sports media roundtable with SBJ's Austin Karp and SMW's Jon Lewis

·50 min·5 clips

Austin Karp and John Lewis debate whether TikTok stars like Katie Feeney are true celebrities in 2025.

The episode begins with a lively debate about celebrity definitions in 2025, with hosts Richard Deitsch, Austin Karp, and John Lewis discussing whether digital creators like Mr. Beast and IShowSpeed qualify as celebrities compared to traditional Hollywood stars. They apply this framework to sports media figures, questioning whether insiders like Brian Windhorst or Tim McMahon achieve true celebrity status. The conversation then shifts to baseball viewership data, with Karp presenting his Sports Business Journal research showing significant increases in both national and local MLB ratings for 2025. National broadcasts on ESPN, Fox, and TBS all saw double-digit percentage growth, while local games increased 3% overall despite cord-cutting trends. Lewis analyzes why baseball's 162-game schedule creates unique inventory value for regional sports networks. Karp reveals the surprising demographic finding that MLB TV viewers are now only one year older on average than NFL viewers. The hosts discuss Nielsen's latest media market rankings, noting the Bay Area has passed Boston to become the eighth-largest market. They examine college football's strong early-season ratings, with Texas-Ohio State drawing 16 million viewers in Week 1. The conversation covers NBC's Olympic coverage strategy, including the return of Snoop Dogg as 'Ambassador of Happiness' for the Winter Games and Terry Gannon's new role hosting the opening ceremony. They briefly discuss Paul Finebaum's potential political career before analyzing the YouTube TV-NBCU carriage dispute and how streaming services are changing distribution models. The episode concludes with promotions for the guests' own podcasts and upcoming interviews.

As heard by us

A celebrity debate turns into a sharper case for baseball's television strength.

This Sports Media Podcast roundtable starts with a loose but pointed question: what counts as celebrity in 2025? Richard Deitch, Austin Karp, and John Lewis test the idea through figures like Mr.

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Why you'd press play

You want baseball's TV-age surprise, with Mr. Beast and Robert De Niro along for the detour.

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