Welcome to the 40th media mailbag for The Athletic. Thanks for sending in your questions via the website and app. There were close to 200 questions, so this is the second of two parts.

(Questions have been edited for clarity and length.)

How would Aaron Rodgers do on TV? If he did make the move to broadcasting, how would Greg Olsen react to being demoted to the third crew? — Lp D.

When the New York Jets announced they were splitting with Rodgers, the first thing I thought about was a column I wrote in September 2023. I was curious what NFL-airing networks thought of Rodgers as a broadcaster. What I learned was that broadcasters and producers ranked him as one of the most cerebral subjects they had ever come across in production meetings.

“He takes the time to think about answers,” said CBS Sports producer Jim Rikhoff, who leads the production team for the Jim Nantz-Tony Romo-Tracy Wolfson group. “Jim, Tony or Tracy will ask a question, and he doesn’t hit a button and give you the cliched answer. He thinks about the question and gives you a different take than a lot of guys.”

Rodgers has certainly made himself polarizing with his thoughts away from football, but this is mostly irrelevant for sports television executives when it comes to hiring talent, as history shows.

I think Rodgers will get calls from networks if he retires (Rodgers appeared on NBC’s Super Bowl XLVI pregame show as a guest analyst).

As far as Olsen being demoted to a third team, I don’t see that happening in any scenario.

First, Rodgers would never join Fox as the No. 2 game announcer. The more likely destination — and, to be clear, Rodgers has expressed no public interest recently in wanting to be a broadcaster — would be a studio analyst job somewhere.

Now, would Fox NFL Sunday roll the dice if Rodgers expressed interest? Hell, yes.

Where do you see Kevin Harlan and Brian Anderson landing next season when it comes to NBA work? Both are great but seem destined to be squeezed out — Ed H.

Brian Anderson re-signed with Warner Bros. Discovery Sports last year, so he’s staying put. He also added the French Open to his résumé. Kevin Harlan was on my podcast earlier this month and talked about his future. He essentially has an agreement in principle to call NBA games at Amazon and will continue at CBS. He also did not rule out the possibility of joining NBC’s roster for the NBA in some form.

There seems to be no concern among current local broadcasters of getting “too close” to the team and thus hurting objectivity during the broadcast. Do you think this is for better or worse? — Jason H.

In some cases, the homerism is pushed. It comes down to what ownership wants for its broadcasts. Do you want a neutral, national-style production or rah-rah? I prefer a neutral style because I think it’s a much better production. Many people disagree.

There seems to be a press blackout on how Unrivaled is doing in the TV ratings. Any update? — Ralph G.

No news blackout. As of mid-February, games were averaging 190,000 viewers. The semifinals and final of the Unrivaled 1×1 Tournament averaged 377,000 viewers across TNT and truTV, the largest audience for the league.

Per Sports Media Watch, that telecast peaked with 398,000 during the final and was up 21 percent from the previous high of 312,000 for the debut telecast in January.

We talked about Unrivaled on my podcast this week, and the group agreed that the numbers were neither a disaster nor a hit.

The property would draw higher on ESPN or any over-the-air network and would get a boost with Caitlin Clark joining. But it’s provided a successful proof of concept for Year 1, and that’s job one for all of these new leagues — because it means you get a Year 2.

If Kevin Harlan and Ian Eagle join Amazon for NBA, would you make one of them a favorite to succeed Al Michaels on Amazon’s NFL package? — Shaun D.

I think Eagle would be a very serious contender in a post-Al world. Amazon Sports execs have a great relationship with him (obviously, given the NBA hire), and he’s already doing very high-level NFL games for CBS, so him leading a package is no issue. Harlan loves doing games for Westwood One audio, as well as his CBS NFL work, so I’m not sure the schedule works. Eagle would be my big favorite here.

What are the long-term plans for college and pro football to expand their overseas reach? Are there going to be more games outside the country? — Pat T.

You will continue to see more games played internationally for college and pro football. The NFL just announced it as part of the 2025 International Games. The Los Angeles Chargers will play as the designated team in Brazil at São Paulo’s Corinthians Arena on Friday night of Week 1 of the 2025 regular season. The NFL unquestionably would love a European division, and I think that will happen in the next 25 years.

What viewership number is considered a success, average and disappointment for a college football audience in each of the Power 4 conferences? I’d love to see your ranges by conference. — Bj P.

To me, it’s not about a viewership scale for the conferences because the conferences with the best TV windows are always going to draw the most viewership, and that’s the SEC and Big Ten because of their media deals.

The Athletic always runs a piece on the most-watched college football teams during the regular season. I think success should be looked at based on year-over-year averages. In a declining ecosystem of viewers, you want to stay flat or have a slight increase.

The NCAA announced that tipoff for the men’s basketball national championship is being moved up to 8:50 p.m. I realize networks are taking into consideration West Coast viewers, but what would it take to move the tipoff time (maybe even the date) to a format that’s more friendly for Eastern viewers? — Josh A.

As long as this game appears on network or cable television, I don’t see the game moving away from a primetime slot. It’s a matter of advertising. Companies want their products in front of the most viewers, and that’s a prime-time audience on the East Coast.

NASCAR just started a big 2025 season that includes a streaming presence on Amazon Prime Video. (Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images)

Outside of F1, which could change with Netflix’s interest in their media rights, the motorsports landscape has changed drastically from a year ago. In 2025, NASCAR’s top three series are split across six networks (Fox, FS1, Prime, TNT/Max, NBC, CW), and IndyCar switched from NBC/Peacock to Fox. How do you think it goes for both NASCAR and IndyCar with their new TV partners, and do you see Netflix being a serious contender to ESPN for the F1 rights? — Matt. L.

For your question, I reached out to Jordan Bianchi, The Athletic’s senior motorsports writer. Here’s his response: “The expectation is both NASCAR and IndyCar will thrive with their respective new TV arrangements to grow audience, though if forced to choose who came out ahead, NASCAR seems to have better positioned itself.

“NASCAR has long needed to be aligned with a streaming service, a noticeable hole the league lacked in its previous deals. This is especially true when you look at NASCAR’s core audience, which skews older. By signing with Amazon, NASCAR makes an important inroad toward courting a younger demographic that it badly needs.

“Any concern that NASCAR’s older audience may struggle to adapt to watching on a streaming platform is virtually nonexistent based on recent reporting by The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck.

Many teams have told The Athletic that their sponsors are largely receptive to backing Amazon-broadcasted races, and in some instances, new partnerships have emerged solely due to Amazon coming aboard due to potential business-to-business opportunities.

Added Bianchi: “IndyCar’s new deal with Fox is already bearing fruit. Look at the number of commercials the network has run touting its new property, including during marquee events such as the Super Bowl. Fox’s challenge is getting people excited to watch IndyCar racing outside of the Indianapolis 500, something IndyCar’s previous TV partners struggled to do.”

As Luke Smith of The Athletic reported, Netflix is considering a bid for U.S. F1 rights.

I’ve been a longtime reader of your column and always appreciate your insights. What are your thoughts on the current state of the Canadian sports media landscape, particularly sports radio? When I tune in to Toronto stations occasionally, it feels like the industry has seen better days — there’s less original content, and young talent isn’t being showcased the way it once was. Do you see a long-term future for the medium? — Harvey C.

The long-term future of sports radio in Canada is the same as the United States — audio on demand. Maybe live sports radio was always DOA in a post-COVID-19 universe, but a sports-crazy market such as Boston proves it can still thrive and make money.

Sportsnet, my former employer, decided to cut high-salaried and proven talent such as Bob McCown and Stephen Brunt (my old radio partners), and I think that philosophy was a shortsighted play, especially given the lack of promotion for younger replacement talents.

They killed equity among listeners who invested in the product for decades, and since then, it’s been a merry-go-round of different shows and programming. It’s a shame because radio is the most intimate sports medium. TSN has handled the slide better.

Any predictions on the upcoming Pac-12 and Mountain West deals? Any belief a streamer will take a swing and become the primary home, or will it be the 2030s before one of them dives deep into the college game? — Mike S.

The only firm bet here for the Pac-12 is that we will see multiple media partners, as Commissioner Teresa Gould has said. Octagon is serving as the conference’s media rights adviser, so I’d expect at least one name legacy brand, such as WBD or the CW, to be part of it.

Fox announced it would be launching its direct-to-consumer (DTC) service by the end of 2025. ESPN will launch its flagship around the same time. CBS (Paramount), NBC (Peacock), TNT (Max), Prime, Netflix and others have created an oversaturated market of streamers. Is consolidation inevitable and will it just end up looking like cable? — Matthew B.

You have answered your question, Matthew B. Well done.

What does the breaking point look like for the gambling sponsorships of sports leagues/teams? Is it ever going to stop from every 15 seconds being an ad-type broadcast? — Card H.

I don’t see this alleviating anytime soon. So much of the sports content is being funded by gambling right now.

Are there league or network policies in place that prohibit announcers from betting on games? — No Name

NFL announcers can’t bet on games, at least at the places where I asked. ESPN has written guidelines for employees. Among the rules at ESPN: “Do not place bets on games or events you are assigned to work or cover. For example, production personnel or journalists working on-site or off-site at or on a sporting event must abstain from betting on that particular game or event. Talent designated as Reporters and Insiders are prohibited from placing, soliciting, or facilitating any bet on the properties (e.g., NFL, college football, NBA) they regularly cover. Employees who learn Confidential Information from Reporters or Insiders should never use such information for betting-related purposes. Employees who manage the Company’s business relationships with sports leagues or properties on a day-to-day basis are prohibited from betting on those sports leagues or properties.”

Were Netflix’s live sports events this past year considered more of a success, flop or somewhere in between?
— Annie P.

I’d call it a success because Netflix has established itself as a player in live sports. The glitches for Tyson-Paul were brutal, but they had a successful landing on Christmas Day with their NFL broadcasts. As for the quality of all of their pregame content, it was what you’d expect from groups working together for the first time — big misses, misses and minor hits. But people now think of Netflix as a place where live sports (or sports entertainment in the case of WWE) happens and that’s a win.

(Top photo: Luke Hales / Getty Images)