ESPN Gambles on Streaming

Hang Up and Listen

Slate Podcasts

News, Sports, Sports News

4.6 • 986 Ratings

🗓️ 25 August 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Hosts Alex Kirshner, Ben Lindbergh, and Lindsay Gibbs discuss ESPN’s new $30-a-month streaming service, and the media giant’s attempt to maintain a streaming service without cutting off its cable cash cow. The panel then welcomes the New Yorker staff writer Louisa Thomas to review the U.S. Open’s revamped mixed doubles event. They also weigh in on Anthony Richardson and the Colts’ decision to bench their young quarterback ahead of the regular season. On the bonus episode available exclusively for Slate Plus members, the hosts look at the Minnesota Lynx and Napheesa Colliers' return to WNBA dominance. ESPN Plus (4:19): The broadcaster’s bet on streaming. Mixed Doubles (22:10): The U.S. Open's newest competition was mostly a success. Anthony Richardson (41:47): Are NFL teams giving young quarterbacks enough of a shot? (Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad-free.) Get more Hang Up and Listen with Slate Plus! Join for weekly bonus episodes of Hang Up and Listen and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Hang Up and Listen show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/hangupplus for access wherever you listen. You can email us at [email protected]. Podcast production and editing by Kevin Bendis, with production assistance from Patrick Fort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's Monday, August 25th, 2025, the last week before Labor Day, if not technically, of summer. Football back very shortly. Welcome back to Hang Up and Listen, the sports podcast here at Slate. Back with you again, I'm Alex Kirshner. I'm a contributing writer here at Slate, and I co-host
0:20.9	Split Zone Duo, a national college football podcast. This week, we will discuss the launch of a
0:25.7	watershed product in sports media, albeit one that is pretty confusing and may not do the
0:30.5	thing that lots of media and market analysts once thought it would. That's ESPN's direct-to-consumer
0:36.0	streaming app, which probably will not kill cable.
0:39.3	The writer Louisa Thomas of The New Yorker will join us to talk about a new innovation at this
0:43.2	year's U.S. Open, a revamped mixed doubles format, which had a lot of people excited last week,
0:48.5	but also some people mad. And we'll talk about the Indianapolis Colts, once again sending
0:52.9	2023's number four overall draft picked Anthony Richardson to the bench. It's indicative of a crisis, we think, an NFL quarterback development and the continuation of a trend long in the making around the league. We'll talk about it. As usual, joining me this week is Lindsay Gibbs, the publisher of PowerPlays, a newsletter that covers the biggest stories of the day
1:11.3	in women's sports.
1:12.2	But Lindsay, I know that over the weekend,
1:14.5	you were positively chuffed, as was I,
1:17.4	to see Tommy Fleetwood finally win a PGA tour event,
1:22.4	and not just any, but the Tour Championship.
1:24.4	He did it!
1:25.6	I love, love, love seeing players get those prefervial monkeys
1:30.3	off their back. I mean, one of the biggest narratives of this PGA tour season was Tommy Fleetwood
1:36.2	meltdowns kind of on the final days and bad luck and inability to get across the finish line.
1:42.4	So to see him in the final PGA event of the year,
1:45.7	win the $10 million prize, take home the trophy, that was good stuff. That was a fun story.
1:51.9	Yeah, between Rory winning the Masters and Tommy winning this tournament, it's been a big year
1:56.7	for UK golfers finally getting over the hump. So that was nice. It was this 164th career start on the PGA
	...

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