Season 2 Premiere Of "The Deal with ARod & Jason Kelly" & Two New Shows On The Rich Eisen Network

 Sports has been a growth engine for podcasting, especially women's sports shows. Today, we have two news items that may not shock the sports world, but are significant for sports podcasting. First, any time Billie Jean King is on any media source, she's worth our undivided attention. Second, Rich Eisen is one of the good sports announcers, who doesn't fish for ratings by screaming incendiary comments like so many others. He's growing his network with a show about basketball and one about wrestling.

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The Season 2 Premiere of Bloomberg’s video podcast The Deal, hosted by Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly, is available

In the latest episode of the show, Rodriguez and Kelly sit with tennis champions Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss to discuss the current buzz around women’s sports. King and Kloss, the dreamer and builder (respectively) behind Billie Jean King Enterprises, King says, tell the hosts about their investments in the Los Angeles Dodgers and Angel City FC, the story behind how they helped launch the Professional Women's Hockey League and the lessons they think athletes should learn about the business of sports.

CLIPS:

King says she’s always wanted the men’s and women’s professional tennis circuits to unify, saying, “We should be for each other. I don’t care what gender you are.”

While discussing why it’s important for athletes to talk to each other about business opportunities, King shares the toll her off the court work took on her during ‘70s and says, “I was exhausted. I averaged 4 hours of sleep a night. And I’m playing by the way.”

Listen to the full podcast episode HERE.

See HERE for a link to Jason Kelly’s article about the interview with King and Kloss and how athletes can win off the court.

The Deal brings together A-Rod Corp CEO and owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx, Alex Rodriguez, and Bloomberg’s veteran business journalist, Jason Kelly to explore the stories behind the biggest deals across industries.

Upcoming guests this season include David Rubenstein, Adena Friedman, Marc Lasry, Ted Leonsis and more. Watch the trailer for the series HERE and catch up on previous episodes HERE, with guests including Maria Sharapova, Michael Strahan, Derek Jeter, Serena Williams and more.
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Two New Shows On The Rich Eisen Podcast Network

Cumulus Media has announced two new podcasts from the Rich Eisen Podcast Network, the fourth and fifth shows in Marconi-winning and Emmy-nominated host Rich Eisen’s expanding network of sports programs for the Cumulus Podcast Network.

Eisen is tag-teaming with actor O’Shea Jackson, Jr. to bring the new weekly original podcast, No-Contest Wrestling, to the Rich Eisen Podcast Network. Together with co-host TJ Jefferson, No-Contest Wrestling’s first episode dropped on October 2 and featured WWE Superstar, CM Punk. With new shows airing weekly, No-Contest Wrestling combines Jackson’s and Jefferson’s unique takes on sports entertainment by interviewing the biggest stars, going behind the scenes with untold stories from the world of wrestling while covering the past, present, and future of WWE, AEW, and independent promotions.

Do they know it's all fake? I won't say anything if you won't.

Jackson is best known for his starring roles in “Straight Outta Compton,” “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” “Den of Thieves,” and “Cocaine Bear.” Jefferson can be seen daily on The Rich Eisen Show, where he doubles as an on-air producer and talent for the Emmy-nominated sports and entertainment talk show.

The Rich Eisen Podcast Network also debuted The Jim Jackson Show, an all-new weekly podcast hosted by two-time All-American and 14-year NBA veteran Jim Jackson, that released on October 3 with guest Charles Barkley. The Jim Jackson Show will cover the sport he loves from the college game to the highest levels of the Association, sitting down with superstar guests and sharing his experience in finance, business, lifestyle, travel, and more. As a studio and game analyst for FOX Sports, Turner Sports, NBA TV, and Westwood One, Jackson has on-court perspective and access to the game's biggest names.

"I've been in a constant search for new, fresh, thought-provoking, and entertaining voices to add to our growing podcast business, and I'm thrilled to add both O'Shea Jackson, Jr. and Jim Jackson to the roster," said Rich Eisen, owner and CEO of Rich Eisen Productions. "We've doubled our number of podcasts. And Jacksons."

No-Contest Wresting and The Jim Jackson Show are available on most major podcast platforms. The Cumulus Podcast Network distributes, markets, and monetizes all existing and forthcoming podcasts from the Rich Eisen Podcast network.

The Rich Eisen Podcast network also includes the flagship podcast, The Rich Eisen Show, which blends sports, pop culture, humor, and interviews, discussing topical issues not commonly addressed by sportscasters; Overreaction Monday, which expands the most popular segment of the flagship podcast into its own weekly podcast with Eisen and co-host Chris Brockman reflecting on the biggest fan- and hysterical media-driven overreactions from the previous weekend’s professional and college football games; and What The Football with Suzy Shuster and Amy Trask, a unique blend of witty banter, offbeat conversations, and expert sports commentary hosted by Emmy Award-winning broadcaster Suzy Shuster alongside the first female CEO in the NFL, Amy Trask. 

Eisen also hosts the pregame and halftime shows for Westwood One’s syndicated Monday Night Football coverage and anchors “The Rich Eisen Show,” also syndicated by Westwood One for national radio.