I’m happy to finally have John Ourand from SportsBusiness Journal on the show. It had been in the works for a while now, but when Richard Deitsch suggested I have bigger names on the show so Ourand would write about it so everyone in the industry would know to check out the show, I figured why not just cut out the middle man and have Ourand, himself.

We talk about SBJ and SBD, what the target audience is for both publications and who he, specifically, sees as competition. Also, with SBJ/SBD being behind a paywall, how has technology changed the way they do business? Obviously if they want publicity for certain stories – be it on Twitter or traditional links on the internet – it’s hard to do that when most of the people who click through are unable to read the story. We discuss how they handle that challenge, which involves opening up some big, breaking stories to the masses in a “there’s more where this came from” kind of way.

We talk about Jerry’s World winning venue of the year, then spend a good deal of time talking about the 2104 Super Bowl that will take place in New York. Was there really as much descent as the NY media wanted us to think? Wasn’t it just OTHER media people complaining because they want to go to Florida for a week in February instead of New York? And to that point, shouldn’t the New York media want the game in Florida too? They spend the whole rest of the year cooped up in the city that never sleeps. I’m sure some of them could use that nap on the beach.

We talk about Jay Glazer (it could be any media member really) and his relationship with the players he covers. Is that an issue, or is it the way things were for years where players and those who cover the game were friends outside of the locker room? I do bring up the idea that Glazer could be protecting his friends — even by reporting information about their competitors (say in free agency or if a quarterback is trying to get a job, etc) — to which Ourand points out that EVERY media member protects their friends, Glazer just has higher-profile friends.

As we asked the other day, who would you want to commentate your bar mitzvah? I thought every Jewish boy would want Marv Albert, but Shanoff wrote the other day that he’d want Gus Johnson. For a bar mitzvah? I ask Ourand who he’d want for an event of that nature (religious or not). As an Orioles fan, he went with Jon Miller, but only if he promised not to bring Joe Morgan.

We discuss the ratings for the Stanley Cup finals and specifically how happy NBC must be that Montreal didn’t make it. Ourand explains just how important two big-city (and good hockey towns) in America is for the NBC rating. If a Canadian team made the finals, there could have been a lot of bonusing going on to advertisers. NBC is very happy.

We also talk about the World Cup, what kind of rating ESPN should expect and how, exactly, an event like that is sold when there aren’t commercials. Is the little logo stuck next to the time and score for 15 or so minutes more valuable than a 30-second spot between innings or after a punt? I’d think so, but Ourand explains that there is more to that.

Eventually that conversation devolves into me wondering what I’d put on that space if I were comped some time on a World Cup match. Or, as has always been a thought of mine, if I came into money and wanted to name a stadium, what would I call it? Dan Levy stadium seems obnoxious even for me. DL Arena? Who wants to play there? So, what would we pick…and what would you pick? Let me know and we can have some fun with it.

Tags: John Ourand, Media