Amazon Poaches Former ESPN Talent In Sports Podcast Push

Amazon is off to a strong start in its endeavor into the sports world with “Thursday Night Football,” and it reportedly made a bigger push Wednesday.

The NFL signed an 11-year media rights deal that includes exclusivity to “Thursday Night Football.” That deal expanded to include a Black Friday game for the 2023 season.

The “Thursday Night Football” broadcast includes big names like Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit for the in-game broadcast, and Richard Sherman has made a big name for himself as an analyst.

Amazon continued its push into sports when it brought on former ESPN talents Michelle Beadle, Trey Wingo, and Dan Le Batard’s Meadowlark Media for its Wondery podcast network, according to Front Office Sports. Amazon acquired the podcast company in 2020 in a deal valued at $300 million.

“Wondery’s new original programming debuting this month through the fall includes Beadle’s ‘Beadle Royale,’ a weekly show covering sports and pop culture, while Wingo, the former ‘SportsCenter’ host who worked at ESPN for 23 years until 2020, will host an alternative sports history podcast called ‘Makin’ Waves.’ Shea Serrano, a former Ringer journalist, will also host a new untitled basketball podcast,” Front Office Sports wrote.

“We’ve done a bunch of activations around ‘Thursday Night Football’ for our (podcast) shows, and we’re constantly looking for ways to work together,” Wondery’s chief content officer Marshall Lewy told Front Office Sports. “I think Amazon’s commitment to sports across the board is really important to us, but we’re also looking at it from the Wondery lens as well, of we want a sports slate. Sports is the fastest-growing category in podcasting and we just see a real opportunity to lean into that area.”

Wondery’s existing sports lineup includes “The Old Man and the Three” hosted by JJ Redick, “Men in Blazers” and “The Lead,” which launched with The Athletic in 2019.

Wingo was part of a round of ESPN layoffs in June that also included Suzy Kolber and Jeff Van Gundy. Mark Jackson revealed this week he was fired by ESPN, and the network reportedly will have Doris Burke and former Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers to replace Van Gundy and Jackson.

The duo, if they want to continue their NBA broadcasting careers, could be sought after by another network. Amazon also is a player for the NBA’s next broadcast rights, according to Front Office Sports, and it’s possible more high-profile names in the sports world could join Amazon as it continues to seek expansion.