College football viewership slides; what’s next for ‘Inside the NBA’ after Ernie Johnson; and SMAC’s Constance Schwartz-Morini dishes on ‘Madden’

0:00Coming up on the pod, college football viewership is lower, but his interest in the CFP is still strong. And with Ernie Johnson exiting, what's next for Inside the NBA? Plus, Smack Entertainment's Constance Schwartz-Morini talks about the new Madden movie.

0:21Welcome into the SBJ Sports Media Podcast. I'm Austin Karp. And I'm Josh Carpenter. Josh, I don't want to think about all the Halloween candy that I've already had this week. First thing I go to, obviously, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, any shape, any size. Did you also raid Young Walt's bag of candy? Yeah, I did a little bit. It's been wild to see the rise of the nerd gummy clusters. I'm sure our listeners are familiar with those out of nowhere in the last two or three years. That's easily risen to the top candy level in my household. More broadly, the fruity candy, I was pulling some elementary age kids this weekend.

0:56The fruity candy seems to have risen above chocolates now. in terms of Halloween. It's big in that Nielsen 2 to 17 demo. Yeah, the Starbursts you're talking about. Jolly Ranchers are big. Ring Pops are very in right now. They were in, you know, 30 years ago for me. Ring Pops, back in on Halloween. Anybody that's giving out anything with coconut for me, that always got thrown back because, like, I'm sorry. I'm not doing anything with coconut. You might as well be handing out rocks if you're handing out, what are the terrible, all the joys. No, I'm enjoying it. None of that. What about costumes, Austin?

1:27You strike me as a Jar Jar Binks type of guy. First off, I'm not a big Jar Jar Binks fan. Let's be honest. You know, it was his boat in the Galactic Senate that kind of led to the rise of Emperor Palpatine. So I'm not a big fan generally. But for my costume, Josh, it was a 70s themed outfit. We went to a party that was really themed around the 50th anniversary of the movie Carrie. So it was like a scary type party everyone was wearing. You know, a bunch of costumes related to the movie. But we then sat and watched that film from 1976. And let me tell you, movies that did not age well, the original Carrie movie.

1:57I'm glad they've updated it a couple of times just. Not really good in 2026. Yeah. Speaking of scary, Austin, let's talk about college football viewership this season. Not great to start for college football. Here we are in week, what, eight or nine at this point? So down probably low single digits, which is because a lot of these big teams, a lot of them are losing. There's so much parity, but parity means that you're not seeing some of the bigger teams up there that would have traditionally been draws. And I want to point specifically to my conference, the ACC, who is not doing well this season, that are marquee teams.

2:28You're talking about Clemson? They're not. Florida, yeah. Let's just call this what it is. And the ACC has lost almost half of its audience that it had at the same point last season, just not performing well. Georgia Tech, we were undefeated this time last year. Let's go back to when Clemson and Florida State were actually trying to get out of the ACC, though. One of the things that negotiated was, hey, we want to be kind of paid based on how we do in viewership. Well, they're not performing because they're two really bad teams this year. You saw Mike Norvell lose his job already, so Florida State and let him do the tailspin.

2:57But this is not just the ACC. You're seeing some reduction in the SEC numbers. ESPN, though, also coming off its best season last year since 2011. There was probably going to be a little bit of a pullback there. Fox also was up 12 % last season. They're not going to be up as much at this season, up just a little bit. But, again, that could go down a little bit. But I think it just gets back to that parody that you mentioned. I mean, obviously, you know, Indiana, are they a huge television draw? I will say I've seen a lot more Indiana fans that I know since they've won that national championship last year.

3:28Hell has frozen over that Kentucky, of all places, is tied for first place in the SEC as we record this. Usually it's basketball season in Lexington by now. Makes for really good SEC shorts on X, though. Yeah, for sure. But I don't know that Kentucky is bringing the viewership power that some of these other top dogs in the SEC would normally bring for Georgia to the world. But obviously Georgia's still up there. But you're seeing so much parity. It's got to be affecting the numbers. And to be fair, like you have radio outlets all over the country. They're also talking about attendance issues that are going on in college football.

4:00This is at large. Is there something brewing there? Does college football need to really take a step back and look at its product? Austin, I was having a conversation with someone this week about college football really just cannibalizing itself. I saw a photo of a Maryland-Illinois game, sparsely attended. You've got Maryland not bringing in these ACC schools that they used to play against the Big Ten. And UCLA, their top 10 school, not really getting a big audience there. UCLA, the top 10, if you look at the Rose Bowl pregame, it's not filled. There's a reason a lot of these UCLA staff probably wanted to move those games to SoFi.

4:34They can get a bigger crowd, more loyal crowd, more casual fans to come to UCLA games that way. Yeah, but speaking of that parody, also, we do have the first CFP rankings released this week. Do you see those numbers being impacted at all by the parody that we just talked about? I think they're still going to a bad way. Yeah, we haven't seen the viewership for that Tuesday night show yet, but it's going to be solid still. There's a lot of interest because of that parity. Who can actually make it, especially when you have teams like Ohio State, Texas, Alabama, further down there. Those schools want to see like, hey, do we still have a shot?

5:04Can we make it? Who can maybe survive a three-loss season and still make it in? The CFP, though, they're really going to need teams like that to get in. Like I said, Texas, Ohio State, these are the schools that the CFP wants in. I'm sorry, but Kentucky, Ole Miss, Texas Tech, Wake Forest, Houston, those are not going to bring huge eyeballs. Some of those teams, those are going to be the ones that are going to end up on TNT up against an NFL game. And I think you might get some additional tune in from viewers who have seen all this talk about the 2014 playoff. Maybe they don't even know that it starts next year.

5:33Maybe they think it starts this year, or they just want to kind of get an idea of if the 2014 playoff started this year, would my team be at Tennessee? For me, great example. Tennessee is going to feast on the 2014 playoff. I think people love counterfactuals, and they are going to pay attention to that. Would my team have been in if this was at 24 this year? Yeah. Awesome. Enough college football. Let's quickly put a bow on two finals that recently wrapped up from a viewership standpoint. Both the World Series and WNBA. A lot of thoughts and projections about what those matchups would draw, where they end up.

6:06Let's talk first about the World Series, the good and the bad. The good, if I'm Major League Baseball, I'm okay with how Brewers and Rays ended up. I would have wanted it to go longer than five. I don't think Foss is crying too much about it. They've been doing really well this year with the World Cup, but they always like things going six, seven games. A lot of the talk coming in, we talked about small payroll teams and small markets, particularly as it pertains to Milwaukee. Well, this wasn't anywhere close to the least watched World Series on record. We saw that a couple years ago with the Rangers and Diamondbacks.

6:36Back in 2020, you also had Dodgers and Rays. Those are the only two World Series that have been south of 10 million viewers. This stayed well above that. Did it get anything close to what Dodgers, Blue Jays did last year? No. The World Series was down 26 % year over year. That's the bad side of this for Major League Baseball. And it wasn't anywhere close to the 15 million or so viewers that watched a five-game Dodgers-Yankees series two years ago. But wasn't the worst, clearly not the best. If you are Major League Baseball and you are Fox now, if you have teams like this, though, especially the two best teams in baseball, you want to be sitting closer to 13 to 14 million viewers.

7:13And what this shows is, unless you're getting big markets, I don't know that you can get there unless you have six or seven games anymore. Dodgers, Yankees, that may be the only thing that's going to get you north of 15, 16 million viewers. Maybe the Cubs, like they showed what they can do in a seven-game series. to get just the two best teams in baseball. If they're not in big markets, it's going to be tough. And now we might be looking at two more years before we find out if Major League Baseball will clear that 13, 14 million. It's going to be a long winter. Winter is coming for Major League Baseball.

7:44December 1st, that collective bargaining agreement expires. Are we going to miss half a season of baseball? There are people out there planning for even a full season of no baseball, which would just crush me. And think about the business impact. That's 162 games per season, not just in ballpark. We're talking about lots of TV inventory. From a TV perspective, though, you have to figure some leagues that are very quietly, networks as well, maybe planning what they can do to take advantage of those windows, especially early in the season, maybe April, May, if there isn't any baseball. And quickly on the WNBA, Valkyrie's dream, that series did go to seven.

8:20Where did that add? First seven-game series in the history of the WNBA, that final game, Saturday night on Halloween. Valkyries getting the win over the Dream just north of 3 million viewers, around 3.3 million. That's going to be the best WNBA number since the opening weekend of the entire league. Back in 1997, those games were on NBC. It's a really strong number for this first year of the new media package. Versant has to be happy. That game aired on USA Network. It aired on CNBC and EE had the Tri-Park. That's just what TNT Sports does when it has had the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship.

8:54You see it on TNT You see it on TBS. You see it on True TV. So I don't want to hear that, oh, it was on three networks. Lots of places do this. The Super Bowl this year is going to be around 17 different networks. This is the new strategy that networks are deploying. And lastly, on the WNBA, Austin, there are a lot of discourse around that Game 6 that was moved to 1230 on a Thursday afternoon. Actually did pretty well, all things considered. 1.5 million viewers is probably better than anything that USA Network or SyFy, which is one of the networks that aired it, much more than they were going to get in that window for anything that they were showing rerun-wise.

9:26Would the WNBA and Versant have preferred that this was in primetime on another day of the week? Of course. But considering everything that they had to do and everything that they had to move and the situation that it ended up being, 1.5 million viewers, it's not bad. That's a normal playoff number. Probably, yes, would have been higher for a Game 6, probably north of 2 million. But ending up at 1.5, not bad. But now we have a new benchmark for Game 7. It's 3.3 million. So anywhere down the line, who has it, whether it's ESPN, ABC, or Versan with their networks, 3.3 million, first WNBA Game 7 on record.

9:58We've got some more basketball news we got recently, and that is Ernie Johnson. This is going to be his last season on Inside the NBA. Obviously, a historical figure in sports media. What did you make of the announcement, and who could potentially take his seat? Yeah, there aren't many people who retire or step aside, and you see social media and the vast sports world with the universal praise like you did for Ernie Johnson. I mean, I don't think I saw one person spouting off or saying it bad word about Ernie Johnson just with how he's dealt with his persona on the air or just how he's dealt with everyone away from the camera.

10:34It just seems like a stand-up guy. I can't say enough good things about Ernie Johnson. Is inside the NBA still the same without Ernie Johnson? It almost goes back to, I use college game day as an example. I grew up on Chris Fowler hosting college game day. Ever since he stepped aside from there and moved to that kind of top ESPN ABC booth, college game day has not been the same for me. So does that happen with Ernie Johnson stepping aside inside the NBA? Who comes in to replace him? Like there's some fun names to toss around. I think awful announcing tossed out Malika Andrews, who we've seen. You know, I recorded a profile on Malika less than a month ago.

11:07She is a rocket ship in sports media specifically. Knows basketball incredibly well. around the NBA. Scott Van Pelt was another name that was floated. I think that would probably be the easiest filler for that role. SVP, to me, is in the same league as Ernie Johnson in terms of everyone loves SVP, seemingly. That'd be a real easy fill-in. And I know Adam Lefkoe is big for you. That was another name thrown out there. You're a big proponent of his filling it to take over for Ernie in that spot. Adam Lefkoe in that scene would be the most seamless transition. He has done it before. He's filled in.

11:37He knows these guys from all that time within TNT Sports. He does podcasts with somebody. He does some stuff with Shaq. That would be a seamless transition. Not only that, he's earned it. This guy has done a lot of studio work, has really worked on his game. I know this decision is kind of going to be made, you know, in conjunction, ESPN and Skydance, you know, who they want to get in that sort of role. But I think Adam Lefkoe would be the best solution as host for the show going forward. And he's got that chemistry with those guys. Absolutely. And that's, to me, the biggest point of success around that show is the chemistry that Ernie has with Shaq and those other guys.

12:09Yes, that is a key part of that show, a key part of any show. So if you want to keep inside the NBA, even if Barkley leaves and you're keeping Kenny and Shaq and whatever mix it is, if it's just Shaq and Adam going forward, that's a good base to build around and who you want on that show. Certainly. Well, best wishes to Ernie Johnson as he signs off from inside the NBA at the end of this season. So we've still got a while left with Ernie Austin. And our guest this week on the SBJ Sports Media Podcast is Constance Schwartz-Marini of Smack Entertainment. She's got a new podcast. She works with Erin Andrews, Michael Strahan, a very diverse business portfolio.

12:48Well, Smack Entertainment is a big force in sports. Production work like Coach Prime helping Erin Andrews launch her fashion collection. So much more in there. And the latest effort that the agency is serving up is as executive producer on the new Madden film. that's set to release this month. So to talk about all the work that Smack is doing, let's welcome into the sports media podcast a 2018 SBJ Game Changer honoree, Smack co-founder and CEO Constance Schwartz-Marini. Hi there. Thank you so much for having me on. Thank you for coming on. We appreciate it. So Constance, I want to give listeners, though, a quick backstory here.

13:25You co-founded Smack with Michael Strahan back in 2010 or so. You've known Stray for a number of years, dating back to your time at the NFL League office, but like what led to you all wanting to get together and launch smack in the first place? When Stray retired, we stayed very good friends after I left the NFL and moved out to LA. I was managing Snoop Dogg at the time and Stray was out there. He had a place out there. And when he retired, he kept like just calling me for advice. He had a sitcom opportunity and I just looked at him and I said, why don't I manage you? and he said me he's like you have snoop he's huge and i was like straight you're going to be huge like let's just do this and so that's how the management clients started and then it was about a year later because he was in my office pretty much like every other day just hanging out wanting to learn asking questions like taking every meeting in town because he just wanted to learn that side of the business and finally i looked at him and i said hey if you're going to keep doing this, you should just become a partner in the business, you know, following like what Bon Jovi was doing, you know, with his company and his management company and Jay-Z with Roc Nation.

14:35And so we just took a flyer and there we were. We didn't even have our own office space at that time. I'd started this from my kitchen table first. And then Jodi Gerson, who's now the chairwoman of Universal Music Publishing, had given me office space at the company she was at. So as much as we like to pay it forward, we are super indebted to those that have helped us like Jodi. All right. Let's fast forward to 2026 a little bit. You and Stray, you guys decided to use that chemistry and launch your own podcast, Taking the Company's Mantra, Hustle Like You're Broke. That's the title of it, of course.

15:08You've already had some big names come on the pod like Roger and Jane Skinner Goodell, Cece and Amber Sabathia. I love the anecdotes, especially about putting ketchup on your eggs. I'm a big fan of that as well. Thank you. Thank you. But why now? Why did it now make sense for a podcast? And, you know, how has the initial effort been going from your perspective? You know, the time was now, I think more because I was ready. We'd been approached for years, Michael and I, to do something because those that know us and have seen just the authenticity, because you can't fake chemistry. You can't fake the trust and the loyalty and all the things that we have.

15:46And he's always been the upfront, front of camera, and he's great at it. For me, the way I was raised in the business was basically to be behind the scenes. But we just felt the time had come for us to come together because we have such a unique perspective on everything, not just sports. You know, it's sports, it's media, it's business, it's culture. I mean, guests that are slated, and I don't know when this one will air, but people that are coming out, Gary Vee with Chef, Josh, Capon, because they're business partners. Bobby Brown, you know, the amazing makeup artist and entrepreneur and all the things.

16:21So for us, I love business. I love learning about it. And I love looking at it from a perspective that maybe other people wouldn't see. And then when you add Michael, who's an Emmy Award, Peabody Award winning journalist and host, you put us together. The key says, I'm going to come at things in a different way than he will. And luckily for me, I have the best of the best sitting next to me. I don't know what his aversion is to catch up on eggs, though. We're going to have to get him past that. A hater. I know, right? Just off him. It's visceral, and it comes up in almost every episode. I thought that could be a side name for the pod is, you know, ketchup on my eggs.

16:58Ketchup on my eggs. We don't need that. That's the spinoff. All right. I want to get to perhaps one of Smack's biggest projects today, and that is the new feature film out this month. Madden starring Nick Cage as John Madden. Christian Bale as Al Davis. directed by David O. Russell, who knows a thing or two about great filmmaking and football, did Silver Linings Playbook. It's done in conjunction with Amazon Studios. So, first, what's the origin story on the project and how was it, you know, being on set for something like this? So, the way this came to be for Michael and I, we've had a great relationship and track record with Amazon Studios.

17:35We had three seasons of Coach Prime there, Evolution of the Black Quarterback and Madden the Game doc, which was a four-parter that we did in conjunction with A &E Factual Studios and Kevin Mischer. And our relationship with Matt Newman just kept evolving and getting stronger. And then fast forward to the feature film side, Snoop Dogg and I co-created and executive produced and he starred in a film called The Underdogs that was on Prime Video a couple of years ago. So when Matt called me a couple years ago at this point, it was right on the tail end of the Madden doc coming out about the game.

18:13And he said, I just acquired the rights to a Madden film written by David O. Russell and would love to see if you and Michael want to come on and executive produce. Just given, I think, the relationships that we have in the world and in the culture and with everybody. And that's really how it happened. And we were shocked at first, but then we were super honored and we understood the role that we had to play because I think no one outside of obviously Sandy Montag and the Madden family has as much respect and reveres John Madden as we do. And we wanted to just make sure that this was really done with the intent, which was a love letter to John Madden through the lens of David O.

18:54Russell, who, like you said, unbelievable director. His form of art is like no director I've ever seen. And I'm a huge fan of all of his films. And seeing how this came together, it's mind blowing. I mean, just from the time that we read the script to being on set and then watching all the iterations of the film. And this has been an amazing group coming together. Todd Black, who is another one of the best producers in the business. Matt Budman. I mean, just the whole gang really just stepped up. And when you see this, I think to a lot of young people only know John Madden as the game and to see the impact that he had on the game, not just as a coach, but how he changed broadcasting for everybody.

19:39It's remarkable. And I hope it's received with the love that it was made with. First off, for anybody that hasn't seen It's in the Game, that four part documentary series on Prime Video, one of the best sports business documentaries I've ever seen. So definitely need to check that out. But you described this as a love letter to John Madden. So how would you describe the genre of the film? I mean, you have a supporting cast here that includes the likes of Catherine Hahn, John Mulaney, Shane Gillis. There's certainly that comedic, lighthearted element to it. But how would you describe the genre there?

20:07I would say it's definitely got a comedic element. There's a love story, not just between John and Virginia, but with Al and Carole, as he calls her. So I'm not saying go into this thinking it's a love story, but the one thing that walked away for me is, believe it or not, I do have a friend who's not into sports, just one. And she came out of a screening with me. She's like, I loved it. It was a love story. And I looked at her and I was like, I didn't really think of it like that. But it's again, it's it's not a biopic. And I just want, you know, viewers and fans to know that that you have to go into this knowing that this is a fun ride.

20:45Just exploring the story and the history of John Madden and Al Davis's friendship and the impact they've had on sports and culture. And there's definitely a lot of laughs in it. The movie also goes into the development of another relationship there, and that's between Madden and Pat Summerall. it doesn't start very rosy. But how important was it to tell the growth of that Hall of Fame pairing? I believe every piece of this story was important to show it and to tell it because you can't just look at how things end. You have to know the journey. It's not just how you start. It's how you finish. But for me, it's the journey from beginning to end.

21:21And just watching the evolution. And look, yeah, everybody has to remember it's inspired by, right? Like there's some creative liberties taken. So it's not a documentary. There's other people that have done a great job. Joel Santos, shout out, on the Madden doc. So that's just another, you know, I think point we want to get across, that you have to go into this for entertainment and for just the love of John. And Al, I mean, Christian Bale, wow. He nailed it. He really did. Nailed it. Like, when I went on set, he stayed in character and was talking to Sandy Montague and I, and I just kind of froze because, I mean, I grew up at the NFL in the 90s.

21:55So seeing this happen and Sienna Miller, you know, playing Carole, just all of it. I've seen the film. It definitely has that David O. Russell feel to it. So if you've liked the films, you're absolutely going to like that one. Want to move on to some other topics here. Smack also recently partnered with CAA and Everwonder Studio for the debut of the Grand Slam of Flag. That's a women's flag football tournament. Scheduled to debut in February in L.A. around the Super Bowl. Women's flag football, huge right now, particularly as a participatory sport. What do you hope to achieve with this specific event?

22:29We were very intentional with what we wanted to call the tournaments, Grand Slam. When you think of the Grand Slams in golf, you think of the Grand Slams in tennis, you know it's the best of the best. And to be able to highlight these amazing female athletes, especially with the road to the Olympics, it was our honor. And for me, it's personal on many levels. But when I worked at the NFL, I was part of the team that brought NFL Air It Out to life, which little side note, that's where Madden had just first come out. And we had these kiosks at every tournament. Talk about grassroots marketing, because this is really way before social media.

23:07And I think the mid 90s, the Internet was, God, I feel old saying all this. I'm embarrassing myself. But I think it's just so important to just see the evolution of flag. and the most important person in this equation is Sam Rapoport. And I'm sure you guys know her, but she is the heart and soul of this. She is the reason that flag is so popular and so important for everybody. And what we've taken away in meeting with a lot of these athletes, you know, we do represent Deanna Flores. We've had a front row seat to watching that journey for about three years now, is this will not be the Grand Slam of flag for women.

23:46this is Grand Slam a flag. If at some point we do choose to expand to men, it'll be Grand Slam flag men. And that for me was so personal. And I can't take credit for that. It was one of the young athletes who just said, this is the first sport that's for women. And just watching, I think some of the men have played over the years. It's, it's a really like, it's choreography, you know, you're not going in and tackling. It's not about your brute strength. It's really about how you move and partnering with Vino and with Ian and Sam, Ian Orphus at Everwonder. Everyone has rolled up their sleeves. Our company, and look, Strahan has been leading the charge.

24:25He has daughters, as we all know. But look, I always say I'm all about female empowerment, but men are our allies. And when you can lock arms and link up with Strahan and Vino and Ian, and everyone is just pushing this forward, it's so cool to watch. And as the announcements have come out, I've gotten more texts from friends whose daughters are like, oh my gosh, our high school just got a team. I'm applying to this college because they're offering scholarships. And to be sitting here in the front row and being a tiny part of it and what the NFL is doing with Tomorrow Sports, with what USA Football or the other NGBs that we're working with, obviously it's so important to have an eye on the Olympics, but we're really focused on the Olympics and beyond.

25:14You mentioned earlier some of the great documentary docuseries work that SMAC has done that includes Coach Prime. That comes to mind. But what is next for SMAC in the documentary space? So Coach Prime was about his journey at Jackson State and then at Colorado. But we do have a partnership with Netflix that his life story doc will be coming out in 2027. The biggest challenge we're having with that is how do you pack that into a couple of the few episodes that we have. So that's the hardest thing. I mean, let's say you may need 10 parts on it. That's a that's a that's a long list of things to go over.

25:50Thank you. Netflix, are you listening? So that's a big one. We just I don't know if you had a chance to see this, but this one was so personal. We partnered with A &E Factual Studios with Cap 2, Derek Jeter's company and ourselves. And we launched a film about 9-11 called United We Stand 25 years later that was on Hulu and ABC. But I know everyone's like, how many 9-11 docs could there be? In my opinion, not enough because we can never forget. But we told this one through the lens of sports and entertainment. So hearing the stories firsthand from Jeter, from Strahan, from Joe Torre and Bobby Valentine and Marc Messier and the Druzies, I mean, that's just whole story.

26:34I get chills just thinking about it. But then add the entertainment lens. And Matthew Broderick told the story of how they got a call from the mayor, I think on the Wednesday after, and said, I need the producers to be live on Thursday. So there's just so many stories of that. And just seeing how everybody came together. And one of my best friends, Julia Collins, Linder, who was at the NFL at the time, unfortunately, your husband passed in the buildings. And I didn't tell her that I was making this until it was like done, done. And I called her and I said, we're screening this at the museum. Would you come?

27:07And she did, because I made this for her and for her to just have received it with what the intentions were. And she just said, thank you for doing this because we can never forget. But it's a celebration of healing as well. So that one was really special. But we are working with the great Lawrence Taylor on telling his story. So that one, we're just literally in the beginning phases of it. So hopefully that'll be out in, I would say, 28, if not sooner. That'll tug at my heartstrings. I know I have a picture of me, one years old, sitting on LT's lap in 1980 when he was still a young pup there in the Giants.

27:44No way. Wow. Strahan tells some great stories. He said when he was at practice, his feet didn't touch the ground. Like he just was magic. And I was lucky enough to have the chance to work with him when I was at the NFL. And he just set me up for a career being able to manage Snoop Dogg, which from some great stories with him. All right, Constance, we'll get you out of here on this. You all are doing so much at SMAC, whether it's documentaries, feature films, launching cosmetic lines, doing live events. Where else in the sports business do you think SMAC can bring its expertise to bear? Right now, a big, big focus is where by Aaron Andrews.

28:20You know, we have been so proud to say by women for women, and we're expanding with more and more leagues and WSL, WNBA, where we'll be front and center for Grand Sama Flag. So that's a big, big, real important expansion for us is continuing to just bring more women, more product to cheer their favorite teams on. Well, if you haven't listened to your new podcast, Hustle Like You're Broke, definitely give that a listen. It was a really fun, really fun couple of episodes you all have done so far. But the film, Madden, that's in select theaters on November 18th, also on Prime Video that day. Constance Schwartz-Marini, co-founder and CEO of Smack Productions.

28:58Thank you so much for coming on the SBJ Sports Media Podcast this week. Thank you so much. Have a great rest of your day. All right, awesome. Before we wrap up the show this week, who won the weekend for you? Well, I'm giving it to CBS and the end of that Indiana-Minnesota game. Not because of any number here, not because of a viewership number. And CBS's Big Ten numbers are not very good this season. But just great finish. You had dueling 60-yard field goals at the end of regulation from college kickers. College kickers never get 60-yard field goals. I was at a bar right before my Halloween party, and everyone was glued to that game.

29:33Everyone was watching. Not too many wins, like I said, for CBS and its college football these days, especially after it lost that SEC package. So really good game for them to get in that three-thirds window. I have to say, I kind of hate that college kickers, and really kickers in general, now are routinely hitting 60 yard field goals. It just kind of feels like the games, we've lost the plot a little bit. I liken it to like golfer shooting 59. It used to be like once every six years and now with this equipment and everything, guys are shooting 59 multiple times a year. Same with college kickers.

30:01Let's just scale back college kickers a little bit. We want to see them just - Any equipment changes on the college kickers? I don't know about that. I don't know if they can do that or not. Maybe just lay off the soccer players joining a college program to kick. But yeah, it was good to see a big time game in that 330 window on CBS. It felt like we were back in the days of Vern and Gary calling a big South Houston conference game on Saturday at 33rd. Well, since I stole your 330 window thunder, what was your win for the weekend? Yeah, speaking of CBS, I'm going to stick with them. And it's really how Jim Nance and J.J.

30:32Watt handled the Chiefs signing Justin Tucker before this past week. Your Georgia Tech guy, Harrison Butker, not doing too well with the Chiefs. Can't hit them. Missing more field goals. But they did address the Justin Tucker situation. I think most people know that what happened there in the last couple of years with him. They addressed it head on, very clean, got in and out of it, really just didn't spend a lot of time on it. But they made the point of addressing it. And you saw just last week, in the last week, with Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit, Amazon Prime Video had that Packers Thursday night game and kind of danced around or even downplayed the Josh Jacobs issue.

31:06So Jim Nance handling something in a professional manner, not surprising. but I did like how they handled that situation on Sunday night. Tim's a pro. Speaking of pros, Austin, we do want to give a quick shout-out at the end of this week's show to Michael Wilbon. I mean, we just talked about a few weeks ago about PTI celebrating their 25th anniversary on the air. Been such a staple in my life, certainly, and I think yours as well. I think most of our listeners know Michael Wilbon. Stepping away from PTI and ESPN for an indefinite period to kind of deal with some health issues. So we did just want to shout-out Michael Wilbon.

31:39Hope everything's well and look forward to seeing him back on the air very soon. Always been one of my favorite shows. I listened to that episode on Monday night. There still seemed to be some levity coming from Kornheiser when he was addressing it. I'm hoping it isn't something too serious. And like you said, we can see Will Bogg back on that show soon because he's just amazing. Absolutely. All right. That'll do it for this week's SBJ Sports Media Podcast. Thanks to our guest, Constance Schwartz-Marini from Smack Entertainment. Speaking of guests, we have a great lineup of guests and presenters set for our Media Innovators Conference November 17th in New York City.

32:14The lineup includes ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pataro, the NFL's Chief Media Officer Hans Schroeder, and the Lazarus Brothers, Craig, Mark, and Peter. Make plans to be in Manhattan for this event November 17th. For more information or to register, head over to sportsbusinessjournal.com. Getting back to the pod, thanks as always to our production team of Chris Mason, Reginald Walker, and A.C. Wyatt. And finally, thank you for listening. Please make sure to like and subscribe to the pod wherever you get your podcasts. For Austin Karp, I'm Josh Carpenter. We'll talk to you all again next week.