It’s no secret that women’s sports are on the rise in America. From revenue, influence, and popularity, the increasing interest and investment from corporations and fans has produced one of the most remarkable sports stories in recent memory. During that time, traditional sports media has attempted to satisfy that appetite with a blend of coverage and commentary that doesn’t match the passion or approach given to their male counterparts. That’s where Jemele Hill and Cari Champion are looking to inject a new approach to covering women’s sports with their Flagrant and Funny podcast with iHeartMedia.
Last month, the iHeart Women’s Sports network announced the launch of the project as a mix of sharp insights, lively discussions, and plenty of laughs. Champion and Hill have been colleagues and friends for over a decade, dating back to their days working together at ESPN. For both, the timing felt right to pair up once again for a project aimed at providing a more honest approach to covering and discussing women’s sports.
“Women’s sports is something we are passionate and knowledgeable about. We have reporting and journalistic experience to add to the discussion,” said Hill. “This was a good opportunity for a space that needs somebody like us. Women who have credibility in the space that can be honest about what’s happening.”
With episodes releasing three times per week, Flagrant and Funny centers on women’s sports, but no topic is off limits. Cari Champion and Jemele Hill draw on their award-winning journalism backgrounds. They combine that experience with a long-standing friendship. The goal is to deliver a podcast rooted in both substance and personality.
“For so long we’ve been journalists. We’re reporting just facts and not telling anyone who we are. We do different things to show you our personalities, but this is going to give you a better lens into who we are,” explained Champion. “Everyone you’re watching, people want a little more investment. I hope people will understand this is a way in which we could talk about sports and still have some fun. We’ve earned that right being in the business for so long.”
Popularity Breeds Opportunity
What led Hill and Champion to team with the iHeart Women’s Sports network was simple math. Founded in 2024, iHeart Women’s Sports made an immediate impact in the women’s sports media landscape. In just one year, iHeart increased women’s sports coverage from less than one percent in 2024 to more than 34 percent in 2025, reaching 89 million monthly listeners across nearly 500 broadcast radio stations.
With surging television viewership and revenue generation, networks have begun building on the success of women’s sports in record numbers. Both Hill and Champion credit early podcast adopters with forcing networks to catch up to the growing popularity of the space.
“That’s why they [iHeart] built a whole network. It’s going to change how people have the conversation. Sarah Spain is doing a great job leading the charge, and that’s what I think we’ll do with our podcast,” said Champion.
With women’s sports generating over a billion dollars for the first time in 2024, that number reportedly leapt to near 2.5 billion last year. Hill believes the overarching reason this didn’t happen sooner was a lack of sustainability, which made the concept of Flagrant and Funny easier to create.
“Access points are better, and maybe more engaging than in men’s sports. The players still feel accessible. There is a dedicated focus on making it a fan first experience, and I think fans feel that,” explained Hill. “It’s finally reached a point where it can be sustainable.”
Equal Discussion
Hill and Champion’s backgrounds elevate the credibility of their conversations beyond what most networks offer. Far too often, the main criticism when networks approach conversations about women’s sports centers on how the editorial is presented. It remains rare on traditional network television to see women’s sports conversations delivered with the same tone used for men’s sports.
“It’s ok to use the same language about men’s sports when talking about women’s sports,” said Hill. “Because male sports media members have been the ones setting the narratives, the only nuance they know is the nuance of congratulations, patting women on the head and coddling them. Instead of talking about them in a real authentic way that gives them respect.”
Correcting that imbalance is a priority for both Hill and Champion with Flagrant and Funny.
“We’re okay with talking about who’s great and who’s not. I’m ok with saying I would be happy if Caitlin Clark came out and said she doesn’t like Angel Reece,” said Champion. “That would not blow anyone’s mind if LeBron [James] said that about Draymond [Green]. It’s just a normal conversation. Once we get to that point we will see the needle move in these conversations that will make everybody want to be with women’s sports.”
The goal is to break the narrow way of thinking about how discussions around women’s sports should unfold. Both Hill and Champion hope the context of their content shines as brightly as their lasting friendship.
“Everything that bros are allowed to do with podcasting, we want be allowed to do the sista. If we’re talking bad about each other, it’s because I love her [Hill],” said Champion. “The conversations are just natural extensions of our friendship. I don’t ever want to be nervous about doing the show. We will be all of ourselves.”
This marks the second time Hill and Champion have teamed up for a digital media venture, and they hope it creates better opportunities for others in the podcast space.
“What we plan to bring is something different to women’s sports that has never been discussed before. We’re women who have been let inside the barbershop,” said Hill. “There’s a narrow stereotype about how women discuss sports. If you guys think we’ll be sitting around braiding each other’s hair, that’s not what this is going to be about.”
WNBA Labor Strife
A good early measure for the podcast will be the ongoing labor discussions between the WNBA and the players’ union. After NBA All-Star Weekend, where the WNBA was relatively absent from the spotlight, the possibility of missed games feels more realistic by the day.
“If they miss games, that would be unfortunate. It would change the momentum that they’ve worked so hard on in such a short time, that they’d have to catch up,” explained Champion. “Women of the WNBA are listening. Ladies, you don’t need this. Some of them are probably ready to fight this. They don’t need this. I would want cooler heads to prevail, especially with the league.”
Hill remains optimistic that a deal will get done, albeit likely in the final hour before games are missed.
“Both parties realize why this moment is important to take advantage of. They both have to decide how right do you want to be,” said Hill. “If your only goal is to be right, then you’re in trouble. What these women are fighting for is trying to lay the foundation for what the next thirty years looks like… Both sides are going to have to grow up a little bit.”
Now, with the shift in the amount of coverage devoted to women’s sports, Hill and Champion hope to make Flagrant and Funny a top-of-mind destination, especially as the ongoing labor strife continues in the most popular women’s professional sports league in America. They plan to lean on their prior experiences in traditional media while changing the way women’s sports is discussed nationally.
Thus, podcasting’s informal setting gives Hill and Champion an opportunity their previous employers simply could not provide.
“Our desire is to turn this into something with cultural connection and become a fixture,” explained Hill. “The podcasting space is filled with males driving these conversations. I want to see us be an example of how women can contribute, add, and elevate the conversation… There’s this idea that women can’t be fun in this space. We’re a good time.”
In many ways, Flagrant and Funny arrives at the exact moment women’s sports has been waiting for — not just to be celebrated, but to be examined, debated, and even criticized with the same intensity as men’s sports.
That’s the real evolution. Growth isn’t just measured in television ratings, sponsorship dollars, or expansion franchises. It’s measured in tone, access, and honesty.
Hill and Champion aren’t looking to protect women’s sports. They’re looking to treat it like it belongs. And that may be the most important shift of all.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
