Sports biz at a crossroads, from the WNBA to the NCAA to ESPN, with Sarah Spain of Good Game

Masters of Scale

WaitWhat

Entrepreneurship, Business, Management, Reid Hoffman, Mindset, Diversity & Inclusion, Jeff Berman, Bob Safian, Startups

4.6 • 4.4K Ratings

🗓️ 3 June 2025

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sports business has never had higher stakes—for every league, every team, every streaming service, and every player. Sarah Spain, host of the podcast Good Game with Sarah Spain, longtime ESPN personality and sports journalist, joins Rapid Response to unpack the complexities behind the WNBA’s mainstream moment, the future of ESPN’s streaming, and the looming legal settlement that could transform college athletics forever. She argues that the men’s playbook isn’t the way forward for pro women’s leagues and breaks down how culture is key to any winning strategy—from the locker room to the C-suite.

You can find Sarah’s new book Runs in the Family here.

Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

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0:00.0	When you run a small business, you do it all, until you can't. That's where Upwork can help.
0:07.3	Whether you need a website revamp, marketing support, or someone to tackle admin tasks,
0:12.9	Upwork connects you to skilled freelancers who can jump in fast without the overhead of full-time hires.
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0:23.7	to post your job for free and connect with top talent ready to help your business grow.
0:31.0	Caitlin Clark's entry into the W. It was awesome that more people were watching and more people
0:36.2	were interested. It also meant talking heads who didn't know the game, weren't watching the games,
0:42.2	and certainly didn't understand the intersectionality of women's sports.
0:47.3	The attention is great, the investment is great,
0:49.1	but what comes with that is an expectation that will suddenly turn women's sports into the same as men's.
0:54.0	And there's a real gift in it not being the same.
1:06.3	That's Sarah Spain, long-time journalist, ESPN host, and the voice behind the podcast, Good Game,
1:13.0	with Sarah Spain. On today's show, Sarah and I talk through some of the biggest questions in sports
1:19.0	business right now. Are big sports dynasties a positive or a negative? Can the WNBA sustain its
1:26.2	surge in popularity? Especially with Taitland Clark out
1:29.3	injured? Is marketing holding back to NWSL? Plus, is everyone confused about ESPN's new streaming
1:36.1	service? Will a pending legal settlement reshape everything about college sports? And does sports
1:41.9	analogies really apply to business? The clock is ticking, so let's get
1:46.3	to it. I'm Bob Safian, and this is Rapid Response. I'm Bob Safian. I'm here with Sarah Spain,
1:59.2	award-winning sports journalist, host of the podcast
2:02.6	Good Game, and author of the new book Runs in the family. Sarah, thanks for being here.
2:07.4	Thanks for having me. Your podcast Good Game focuses on women's sports. The WNBA recently
	...

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