The CW Network is expanding its sports lineup. The network announced a new multi-year deal with Professional Bull Riders (PBR) to become the exclusive broadcast home for all Saturday and Sunday Camping World Team Series events. The partnership officially kicks off with a weekend doubleheader live from Sunrise, Florida—Saturday, August 9 and Sunday, August 10 —and continues across 10 additional weekends.
The season culminates with the championship rounds from Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on October 25 and 26.
“PBR on The CW brings a whole new level of grit, adrenaline, and edge-of-your-seat action to bull riding fans nationwide,” said Mike Perman, Senior Vice President of Sports at The CW Network. “Paired with the NASCAR Xfinity Series, weekends on The CW will be a can’t-miss destination to experience two of the nation’s fastest-growing sports with some of the most passionate fanbases in the country.”
This move underscores The CW’s aggressive push into live sports programming, a strategy that has seen the network align itself with an eclectic mix of leagues and events. The addition of PBR complements a growing portfolio that includes the full NASCAR Xfinity Series, WWE NXT on Tuesday nights, AVP beach volleyball, ACC and Pac-12 college football, and PBA bowling starting in 2026.
The network also plans to showcase the viral baseball sensation Savannah Bananas in their broadcast network debut on Sunday, July 27.
For PBR, which already boasts a presence on CBS Sports Network and RidePass on Pluto TV, the new partnership offers an opportunity to expand reach even further—particularly through over-the-air television access.
“We are thrilled to welcome The CW Network as our new broadcast partner,” said Sean Gleason, CEO and Commissioner of PBR. “With over-the-air access on Saturdays and Sundays, everyone, no matter where they are, can experience the excitement of bull riding games. This partnership perfectly complements our existing television schedule, delivering even more thrilling action to fans, making it easier than ever for them to stay connected to the sport they love.”
PBR has seen substantial momentum in recent years. The organization hosted 1.43 million fans at live events in 2024 and now reaches more than 288 million households across 67 countries. Its team-based league, launched in 2022, follows a five-on-five format where teams compete in head-to-head matchups based on riders’ aggregate scores from qualifying 8-second rides.
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Candace Owens has not been shy in sharing disparaging comments about French President Emmanuel Macron, and has often focused criticism on his wife. Now, the Macrons are fighting back.
On Wednesday, Emmanuel Macron and his wife — Brigitte — filed a defamation lawsuit against the podcast host after Owens continually claimed that Macron’s first lady was born a man.
The complaint was filed in Delaware Superior Court. The dollar figure being sought by the Macrons was not made available.
An eight-part series produced by Candace Owens continually claimed that Brigitte Macron was born a man, then later stole the identity of another woman, before undergoing a transition surgery to become a woman.
“These claims are demonstrably false, and Owens knew they were false when she published them,” the lawsuit says. “Yet, she published them anyway. And the reason is clear: it is not the pursuit of truth, but the pursuit of fame.”
In a statement, the Macrons said they grew determined to launch the defamation lawsuit after Owens continued to share the comments after several requests by lawyers for the couple asked for retractions to be made.
“Ms. Owens’ campaign of defamation was plainly designed to harass and cause pain to us and our families and to garner attention and notoriety,” the attorneys said. “We gave her every opportunity to back away from these claims, but she refused. It is our earnest hope that this lawsuit will set the record straight and end this campaign of defamation once and for all.”
The lawyers added that they sent three separate demands for Candace Owens to retract her statements, with the final one sent on July 1st. When she failed to do so, the lawyers determined a defamation lawsuit was the best course of action.
Candace Owens has yet to publicly address the lawsuit. However, on her Tuesday show, she questioned if she was going to be the subject of a lawsuit after the author of a book that made similar accusations was also sued.
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After a storied 45-year career in Seattle radio, Northwest Newsradio anchor Mark Christopher has announced he’s retiring from the industry.
Christopher spent more than 20 years as midday host at 97.3 KBSG in Seattle, including 35 years as a music radio host. He worked at the station until it flipped formats to become the FM home of KIRO NewsRadio in the market.
Most recently, he’s served as a weekend anchor and producer for Northwest Newsradio. He also filled in as a host on sister station 570 KVI.
“45 years. I’ve done it. I’ve hit the checkered flag,” Christopher said. “And it feels great.”
In an interview with KING5 TV in Seattle, Mark Christopher joked that he’s retiring at the perfect time.
“I’ve asked people, ‘What’s it like to retire? What’s the best time to retire?'” he shared. “They all said, ‘Don’t do it to fall in winter. Four o’clock, it gets dark. There’s nothing to do. Do it in the spring and summer so you can enjoy the nice weather and feel like the last day of school.'”
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Time Magazine today released its highly anticipated list of the 100 Best Podcasts of All Time, spotlighting a dedicated section for sports-themed audio shows. Correspondent Eliana Dockterman, who helmed the project, emphasized in the accompanying methodology article how she weighed influence, longevity and storytelling quality over mere celebrity buzz.
Making the list for the sports category were the following:
30 for 30 (ESPN)
The Bill Simmons Podcast (The Ringer)
Men in Blazers (Wondery)
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce (Wondery)
Pablo Torre Finds Out (Meadowlark Media)
The Tennis Podcast (The Athletic)
Dockterman explained that the selection process began by reviewing nearly twenty years of podcasting history. Rather than simply chasing the biggest household names or top-charting downloads, she prioritized influence — “shows that shaped their genre” — and staying power TIME. To that end, she included both active podcasts with consistent archives and classic series whose episodes still resonate today, a strategy she described as seeking “the best of the best.”
Moreover, in the sports category, Dockterman took care to balance mainstream appeal with journalistic rigor. She deliberately curated a list that spans everything from long-form investigative reporting to comedic breakdowns of game-day culture. She observed that, in a landscape where celebrity-hosted and big-money shows are increasingly prevalent, “sorting out who can conduct an insightful interview or piece together a compelling monologue from who is just a big name” was a key challenge TIME.
Once the list was publicized, some sports podcasts took note of their absence from the list. Most notably, Pardon My Take hosts Dan “Big Cat” Katz and Eric “PFT Commenter” Sollenberger took to social media to share their reaction to the list.
I can’t wait to give Time a take for ratio of the year. The question is will they accept? https://t.co/zAf6sDu3HG
Other notable podcasts that did not make Time Magazine’s Top 100 list of the best podcasts of all time include The Joe Rogan Experience, the Ben Shapiro podcast, or the Kill Tony podcast.
As Dockterman noted, the final list functions as both a historical archive and a listening guide. Whether listeners are looking to revisit groundbreaking content or explore newer productions with archival depth, the curated top 100 in sports offers a reliable road map.
Introducing TIME's list of the best podcasts of all time: 100 podcasts that shaped the genre and pushed it forward https://t.co/2FAGCBJ0kv
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Substack has seen strong growth in recent years. Now, it’s being rewarded with a $100 million investment to help entice audio and video creators to the platform with new and expanded features.
“We’ll invest in better tools, broader reach, and deeper support for the writers and creators driving Substack’s ecosystem,” the company said of the investment. “Already, hundreds of millions of dollars flow from audiences to creators there every year. Millions use the app weekly and pay for the work they discover. But this is just the beginning.”
Substack will take a 10% share of all revenue generated by creators that have enabled paid subscriptions, plus credit card fees. The platform will also equip creators with the ability to own their subscriber lists and provide other analytics.
Additionally, the company provides an RSS feed for the thousands of podcasts already utilizing the platform. Substack also says it will work more closely with advertisers and marketers to ensure that creators utilizing the platform are able to better monetize their content.
The round of funding comes from the likes of Investors at Bond and The Chernin Group, as well as Skims co-founder and CEO Jens Grede, Klutch Sports Group CEO Rich Poll, and Andreessen Horowitz, among others. With the $100 million in funding secured, the digital platform is now valued at $1.1 billion.
“We’re thrilled to partner with these investors, who bring a wealth of experience across tech, media and culture, as we put this capital to work serving creators and their communities,” Substack co-founders Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie, and Jairaj Sethi said in a joint statement.
The platform has grown to be a popular one with independent creators, especially in the news media. Dan Rather, Tara Palmieri, Chris Matthews, and Jim Acosta, among dozens of others, have utilized the digital platform to launch independent endeavors.
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Classic Rock 106.7 WLLZ Detroit is bringing back “The Josh Innes Show” to its morning lineup, beginning Monday, July 28.
Innes is no stranger to WLLZ listeners. He previously held mornings at the station from April 2021 to February 2023 while broadcasting from “105.9 The Rock” WNRQ in Nashville. Most recently, he was heard in afternoons at Classic Rock 94.7 KSHE in St. Louis.
Innes made a brief return to the WLLZ airwaves earlier this week, co-hosting part of a special tribute to Ozzy Osbourne on Tuesday night. His career began in sports talk, with stints at Houston’s KILT, KBME, and KFNC, as well as WIP in Philadelphia, before transitioning to Classic Rock in 2021. While at WNRQ, his show also aired in Detroit and on WEGR Memphis.
The WLLZ morning shift has been handled by Spencer Graves of “102.5 The Bull” WDXB Birmingham since May 2023, with Graves hosting a separate show for the Detroit audience.
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The kickoff of ESPN’s College GameDay will bring a new season while also saying goodbye to a key member of its legendary past. As the show begins a new season on August 30, Lee Corso will be joining the program for the final time. Consequently, the program’s lineup will officially be set as Corso exits, transitioning to a five-man team that includes the most recent additions: Nick Saban and Pat McAfee.
Meanwhile, McAfee’s co-host on GameDay, Kirk Herbstreit, made headlines earlier this summer when he told the Net Positive with John Crist podcast a tale of how McAfee stepped up with his personal wallet to help the GameDay program avoid behind-the-scenes budget cuts from ESPN. According to Herbstreit, McAfee’s gesture seemed to catch ESPN’s upper management off guard, then changing their thinking on budget moves associated with the signature television franchise.
In response, former MLB executive David Samsonreacted to the story on today’s Nothing Personal with David Samson program. He explained that the gesture by McAfee—if true—will not change any mindset about how budget cuts occur.
“When a company is downsizing, they’re doing it purposefully. Not in order to have the big feed talent like [Pat] McAfee, like a [Dan] Le Batard pay to keep those people. They’re doing it because they believe it’s in the best interest of the company to not have those people in the positions they’re in,” explained Samson.
Furthermore, Samson went on to describe how the process of layoffs and budget cuts typically works from the top on down. It’s a process, he said, in which financial numbers align through layers of decision-making, ultimately trusting local managers to make tough calls. Therefore, the former MLB executive doesn’t believe that the gesture by McAfee will change anything in the approach from ESPN, as Herbstreit described.
“If you think that Pat McAfee [doing] that changes the philosophy of Disney, and that Disney will stand up and say, ‘Alright, we’ll do that. We’re not going to fire anyone in your crew,’” said Samson. “Then you’re high like McAfee. I don’t mean on drugs, I just mean in general on life.”
Additionally, he noted that no matter what gesture any talent may make, companies will continue to do what they believe is in the best interest of the organization.
“Getting the money to have a band-aid put on a situation that you know is secreting blood and gunk in a way that can’t be stopped by one band-aid,” noted Samson. “Getting one band-aid seems irrelevant when you need two, and you may just need to wrap a tourniquet around the whole darn thing. Pat McAfee covering budget cuts of ESPN, he’s not.”
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Kirk has grown his podcast to become one of the most-listened-to programs in the genre. According to data from Triton Digital, Kirk’s podcast rose into the top five of the Top Podcasts By Weekly Average Downloads category during June. In addition to his podcast and operating the Turning Point USA group, Kirk also hosts a nationally syndicated radio show with the Salem Radio Network.
The news that Kirk will guest host FOX & Friends Weekend comes a week after Kirk’s organization hosted a large conference in Florida, which featured several high-profile speakers — namely Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly — lambasting the Trump administration and Attorney General Pam Bondi for the handling of the Epstein Files. Kirk later said that he was “done talking about” the situation, and that he “trusted his friends in the administration” and in the government to do the right thing regarding the situation.
Charlie Kirk has had, at times, a tumultuous relationship with Fox News. After the network ousted primetime host Tucker Carlson in 2023, a report surfaced that it was attempting to distance itself from Kirk and his Turning Point USA organization. That came after Kirk accused the network of leaking videos that went viral in an attempt to make the host look bad.
In December of that year, Kirk stated that he hoped that the relationship could be repaired. “I love Fox (News). They’ve been very good to me,” he said at the time. “I hope we can heal our relationship because — for whatever reason — it’s gone off the reservation.”
FOX & Friends Weekend is seen from 6-10 AM ET.
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Sports media have some of the most lucrative opportunities to make money at their disposal. They cater to billions of sports fans, cover the most popular events, and offer unique expertise — however, all this potential is often crushed by one unfortunate truth. Their market is oversaturated, and there are millions of competitors they have to contend with.
That’s where looking into related niches might provide effective solutions. Online casinos face the same fierce competition, so they have learned to use smart digital strategies to engage and retain users. Sports media can apply these same tactics to grow their own audiences, and we’re going to establish how to do it right below.
Personalization
These days, customers expect special treatment, and that’s what casinos know how to deliver. They take the following aspects into consideration:
The games or sports team pages a user visits most often.
Their location and preferred payment method.
Their overall gambling and sports betting patterns.
Casinos collect and analyze this data, and then they send personalized offers. For example, a user who loves crash games can get a tailored cashback bonus for Aviator delivered at the end of the week; a person who always bets on Arsenal will get notifications about related matches and offers.
Sports media can tailor their content and notifications in similar ways. All they have to do is start tracking fan preferences more attentively.
Instead of sending general updates and messages, sports websites can divide their users into different categories based on their interests. Fans of one league should get only relevant notifications; those who love watching videos should be invited to check out the pages with quality video content, and so on.
Multi-Channel Approach
If you check out the most successful online casinos, you will see that they actively use every communication channel available. This includes social media, email contact, and app notifications. Sports media should share their unique content across different platforms to achieve a greater reach as well.
For example, posting brief updates on X will stimulate the excitement of fans looking for quick news. Using Instagram to post reels with the most impressive moments from the match will grab the attention of curious audiences. Game analysis on YouTube will appeal to hard-core viewers; all these channels will inevitably increase the organic traffic to a sports media’s primary website.
Gamification
Casinos use increasingly unique bonuses and rewards to attract the attention of their target users. It’s not just about something as simple as free spins any longer. Modern times demand more creative offers, and a platform that succeeds in making them gets bigger rewards.
The most compelling feature is when the customers can access practical bonuses from the very beginning. As an example, if they choose to play at a $5 deposit casino Canada with an extensive game selection, they get to experience different titles without risking a substantial sum of money. The competitors might require a $100 deposit minimum, which can scare off those players who don’t like taking big risks, pushing them in the direction of platforms with better offers.
Sports media can come up with a wide range of offers, too. For instance, they can:
Launch contests where the winners get team-related prizes.
Set up fantasy games to drive more engagement.
Establish loyalty programs to reward regular visitors.
The more unique the offer, the larger the traffic you can expect.
Social Media & Influencers
Making one’s name known through social media and influencers is an effective tactic for both casinos and sports media.
Social Media
Did you know that social media advertising spending was predicted to reach 234.14 billion dollars in 2024? It seems like a ton of money, but the results are often worth the investment, as many casinos can confirm.
Just now, TikTok was ranked among the top three platforms that set leading consumer trends worldwide. Casinos use this fact by hosting TikTok challenges or sharing quick, high-quality videos from the lives of their top gamblers. A list of the best paying online casinos often appears in these videos to catch the interest of potential players. Sports media can feature a column for local athletes or provide exclusive videos with tidbits of personal info about global fan favorites.
Even better, sports media can offer live updates to their readers, announcing match winners, publishing betting odds, and sharing their personal game predictions. All these strategies will result in stronger fan loyalty.
Influencers Marketing
Partnering with social media influencers is another excellent solution. You might have seen online stars streaming how they play casino games, recording their anticipation and joy as they win.
Sports media can learn from them by collaborating with former athletes and hosting podcasts with detailed analysis of past and future matches. Larger brands can get sports stars to wear shirts with their emblems to boost their visibility.
Email & SEO
Casinos have proved that segmented email campaigns still work. That’s why they:
Send emails with new offers to users who haven’t used their accounts for a while.
Make tailored promotions and send them to clients who expressed interest in specific teams or events.
Craft birthday messages and deliver them with extra bonuses as a gift.
Sports media can use the same strategies with relative ease. It’s possible to send out a newsletter summarizing the highlights of the week. Bigger channels can share articles where their founders discuss the latest controversies in sports industry. Premium subscribers can get full versions of exclusive interviews; finally, emails featuring behind-the-scenes content are guaranteed to draw attention.
Strong SEO can drive growth, too. Your content should be optimized, especially player pages, and if you decide to invest in backlinks, watch out for common pitfalls. In the past, casinos that tried to buy hundreds of links on random websites tanked, while those that approached this process by carefully vetting their hosting platforms succeeded.
Sports media that combine different approaches and learn from the mistakes and victories of casinos stand a great chance of increasing their traffic. Quality will always triumph over quantity because customers appreciate high-level content with true value.
Former Breakfast Ball co-host Danny Parkins is staying with FS1 following last week’s announcement that the FS1 morning program was being cancelled. Parkins will now be moving from mornings to afternoons on the FOX Sports network, as he will be joining Nick Wright, Chris Broussard, and Kevin Wildes as a fourth co-host on First Things First for a new third hour of the program beginning closer to the start of the NFL season.
Barrett Media has confirmed an initial report by Front Office Sports, Parkins’ arrival at the program will also add another hour to the show where he will be featured, alongside Eric Mangini and Greg Jennings who will continue to serve as regular contributors. As a result, the show will now air from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. instead of the two-hour block the show currently has from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. However, he did mention last week on 670 The Score with Laurence Holmes and Matt Spiegel that there was something in the works.
“Obviously, I can’t say as much as I would like to right now, but I promise that when I can, I will say more,” Parkins said last week on Spiegel and Holmes. “Which hopefully, maybe will be by next week or the radiothon, I don’t know.”
Previously, Parkins hosted afternoon drive before his move to FS1 in August of 2024 to take the role with the now-former Breakfast Ball program, which was also co-hosted by Craig Carton and Mark Schlereth. In fact, Parkins filled in for Nick Wright last week as Wright served duties calling commentary on the World Series of Poker Main Event Final Table. Parkins told 670 The Score last week he was looking forward to sharing the news.
“I’m still going to be here. I’m really, really excited for what’s next. It’s an incredible opportunity. I unfortunately can’t say anything more than that right now. But I promise when I can, I will,” said Parkins last week.
The former Score host’s addition to First Things First is just the latest in a series of moves FS1 and FOX Sports have made over the last 10 days. For example, FOX Sports announced a new partnership with Barstool Sports last week, where founder Dave Portnoy will appear on FOX Sports’ Big Noon Kickoff as a regular contributor.
In addition, Portnoy announced that Barstool Sports will debut a two-hour daily program on FS1 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. However, while no official start date or talent lineup has been confirmed, Portnoy mentioned the show “could” begin near the start of the college football season in late August. Furthermore, FOX Sports Radio host Colin Cowherd hinted on his The Colin Cowherd Podcast this past weekend that the initial plans are for the two-hour Barstool Sports program to repeat from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. as The Herd with Colin Cowherd’s lead-in.
At this time, there has been no official word on any other remaining FS1 talent staying with the network following the cancellations of Breakfast Ball, The Facility, and Speak.
First Things First is officially expanding to three hours!
More news: @DannyParkins will join the crew for the newly added third hour along with mainstay contributors Eric Mangini & Greg Jennings! pic.twitter.com/R33HauZW3y
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