Some Personal News: I’m Going to Puck!

As you might have seen on CNN and LinkedIn News, I am proud to announce officially that I am joining Puck as its sports correspondent and launching The Varsity, a twice-weekly private email covering the business of sports. If you’re receiving this note, you have already signed up for my waitlist, and I thank you for that. I took a few weeks off to rest and recharge after leaving Sports Business Journal at the end of December and am eager to get back on the beat.

I’m guessing that you’ll find this private email insightful, filled with news, and just a bit dishy, too. The timing of my arrival at Puck couldn’t have been any more fortuitous either, given Netflix’s recent surprise WWE deal, the forthcoming NBA media auction, and everything going on at ESPN—including, most recently, the Pat McAfee micro-saga. Why Puck? Look, I’ll be honest. It was hard to leave SBJ, especially after an 18-year run. But Puck is the one place that convinced me to make this move. I’ve been an avid reader since the company started more than two years ago. Almost immediately after its launch, Puck writers like Matt Belloni, Dylan Byers, and Julia Alexander became the most influential journalists in the media business. They set a weekly agenda for the rest of the industry. The opportunity to start on the ground floor while Puck builds out its sports business was way too enticing to pass up. I was talking with one of my best sources a few weeks ago, and he remarked that this was the perfect time to launch The Varsity. After all, cord-cutting is ravaging traditional media while huge digital companies are dipping their toes in the sports business. The sports rights marketplace is so volatile right now that one of the biggest college conferences, the Pac-12, utterly capsized when it couldn’t work out a TV deal. The truth is that nobody knows where the sports rights business is headed or how it will all shake out. The Varsity will be filled with stories that place that kind of chaos into perspective. You will find breaking news and analysis on all aspects of the sports business, from media rights deals and network strategies to team sales and league moves. The Varsity will detail the biggest stories happening off the field, taking subscribers into the boardrooms and executive suites and revealing the narratives behind the headlines. As I alluded to above, the sheer amount of critical sports business news that broke during the four weeks that I was in between jobs—not just the ESPN drama but also its NCAA deal, and so much more—demonstrates precisely why the business needs The Varsity. I can’t wait to dive into these stories. Those who know me best remember that I spent years covering the cable TV business before developing SBJ’s sports media beat. I covered ESPN when broadcast TV executives dismissed it as an inconsequential cable channel beaming out of the provinces of New England. I reported on the NFL before it became the most popular programming on TV. Most importantly, I introduced Cablefax and SBJ readers to the personalities running these businesses, and that’s what I plan to do with The Varsity. Starting next month, I’ll begin publishing The Varsity twice a week: on Mondays and Thursdays, in the early evening. The beauty of Puck is that a subscription also opens a door to other beats. I devour everything Belloni writes about Hollywood. And I never would have guessed that I’d become addicted to a newsletter about the fashion business, but Lauren Sherman’s Line Sheet is a must-read. Puck also delivers plenty of inside scoops from Silicon Valley, Wall Street, and Washington, D.C. Finally, please email me. Your replies to this note will go directly to my inbox. I want to hear what you think. I am open to all story ideas and receptive to comments on what you think is missing from the coverage of the sports business. And by the way, Puck does offer corporate subscriptions. If that’s of interest and you’re looking for a group rate, please reach out to fritz@puck.news. Thanks, John

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