On the 550th Sporticast episode, hosts Eben Novy-Williams and Jacob Feldman are joined by colleague Lev Akabas to discuss a number of current sports business topics, including the backlash to Duke’s new basketball streaming deal with Amazon.

The Blue Devils announced last week a new multiyear partnership, under which Amazon will live stream three Duke nonconference basketball games next season: high-profile matchups against Michigan, UConn and Gonzaga. The move drew quick criticism from the Big Ten, which claimed Duke didn’t have the right to sell those games. The host discuss how this came together given the ACC’s long-term Grant of Rights and its long-standing deal with ESPN.

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This is a major move into college sports rights for Amazon, which has had much more success landing top-tier rights with leagues like the NBA, NHL and NFL. The hosts talk about the increasingly fractured world of sports viewing for fans. College sports has historically been slightly more insulated than others, but deals like this may change that in the coming years.

Next the hosts talk about the NBA playoffs, where underdogs continue to outperform their historical peers. Is the NAB entering a new “Chaos Era?” And why might that be? The hosts talk about the impact of tanking, sports science and refereeing.

They close by talking about golf star Bryson DeChambeau, who is under contract with LIV Golf through the end of the year. While his options include both LIV and the PGA Tour, DeChambeau has spoken multiple times about the possibility of primarily playing YouTube golf and a smattering of major gold events. The hosts talk about how viable that might be, and also what made YouTube golf so big an economy.

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