Craig Karmazin says AI is coming for podcasting fast. Speaking on The Andrew Marchand Podcast, he thinks it will make the top shows more valuable, not less.
What We Know: The Good Karma Sports CEO joined The Andrew Marchand Podcast to discuss AI’s growing role in audio. He warned that mass-produced, low-effort content — what he calls “AI slop” — is about to flood the space. Karmazin believes that flood will crater the value of most podcast impressions within five years. Meanwhile, he says his own company is already restructuring workflows around AI tools within the walls at Good Karma Sports.
What They Said: (All quotes via the Andrew Marchand Podcast):
Craig Karmazin on AI podcasts and the value of impressions: “If you wanted to, you could do 100 episodes of this podcast a week. You could have your AI agent spin out as many episodes as you want. The AI slop that’s going to be out there, including in the podcast space, is going to be extreme in the next five years. It’s going to take the value of podcast impressions down to almost zero.”
Craig Karmazin on how AI podcasts will affect advertising dollars: “What it’s going to do is make the most brand-safe, popular podcast worth even more. Because if you want to stand out, build a business, and [want] people to associate you with credibility. You’re going to have to advertise in Andrew Marchand’s podcast. Or the Kelce’s, Bill Simmons, or Brian Windhorst and the Hoop Collective that we represent. You’re going to want to be around those brands. Because there’s going to be so much slop out there. The value is going to go so low that being associated with the biggest brands becomes that much more scarce.”
Craig Karmazin on how Good Karma Sports approaches using AI: “Every single workflow that we have in the company is being challenged today. I expect that we’re going to be able to do the things we do with far less people. So, if we want to have more people, which is we’ve always been a top workplace… The reason we expect to grow the amount of people we have is because we think we lean into these tools so well, and the teammates we’re going to have are going to be so engaged in it that it will grow our business.”
What Remains Unclear: AI podcasts are growing in mass. It’s unclear how much impact they will have on data measuring human-produced podcasts. Many platforms are beginning to label certain podcasts as AI-generated. The labels alert listeners to the nature of the recording.
What It Means: Scarcity, not scale, may define podcasting’s next phase. As AI podcasts spread, brand-safe hits like Marchand’s or Simmons’ could command premium ad rates because of their originality and human touch. For companies like Good Karma Sports, AI adoption isn’t optional — it’s already reshaping how the business plans to grow. Karmazin continues to build a successful model in many of the top markets in the country in how traditional sports radio is evolving into the digital content space.
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