Sports Management Podcast

Release Date: 11-17-2025 00:30

Welcome to episode 217 of Sports Management Podcast.

Today's guest is Joe Michaels – the former Director of NBC's Today Show and a veteran television production leader.

In this episode we get to look behind the scenes of sports media productions together with an 8x Emmy winner.  We spoke about:

  • Why sports media is a young man's business
  • Giving back through teaching and mentorship
  • The future of the media industry
  • If AI will take jobs from the media industry
  • But also how it was like broadcasting the 9/11 tragedy in New York

This and much more, in this episode with Joe Michaels.

Time stamps:

00:01 Intro
00:44  How Joe started at NBC 
03:38  What a sports director actually does behind the scenes
05:16  Turning nerves into energy during live broadcasts
08:23  Inside a live sports truck 
11:07  Lessons from the man who invented baseball on TV
16:10  From gaff-taped cameras to 200-camera Super Bowls
20:22  Directing "Brain Surgery Live" for National Geographic
26:34  Why sports broadcasters must understand history
38:46  The future of sports media and technology
41:29  Can AI replace directors? 
46:30  What Emmy Awards really mean
52:30  Career advice
53:00 Outro

 

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