Pablo Torre Finds Out — "The Sporting Class": Woke NFL Media Mob, How Netflix Wins & MLB's Life-Changing Mistake

Date: January 16, 2026
Host: Pablo Torre
Guests: John Skipper (Former ESPN President), David Sampson (Former Marlins President)
Episode Focus:
A wide-ranging, witty discussion threading together viral moments in sports media, proxy battles over mega-camera deals in entertainment, and business blunders that shaped MLB’s digital future.

Episode Overview

In this episode of "The Sporting Class," Pablo Torre is joined by John Skipper and David Sampson for a characteristically sharp and entertaining dive into the intersection of sports journalism, capitalism, and the fate of major media companies. The trio breaks down:

• A viral controversy over sports media conduct and the blurry lines of "journalist" identity
• Paramount and Skydance’s proxy lawsuit tangling with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Netflix over a blockbuster $83 billion deal
• The inside story of MLB’s foray into streaming tech, and how selling MLBAM (BAMTech) to Disney may have fumbled baseball’s digital edge

With plenty of punchy banter, the episode lays bare how “proxy fights” in the boardroom, press box, and league office all reflect bigger questions about bias, value, and the unpredictability of power.

Key Discussion Points

1. The Lynn Jones Question: Sports Journalism, Ethics, and Media “Wokeness”

[05:20 – 18:03]

• Background: After a Jacksonville Jaguars playoff loss, local reporter Lynn Jones (Jacksonville Free Press) congratulated and encouraged the coach, sparking heated online debate about professionalism in sports reporting.
• The Industry Riff:
  • David Sampson details MLB teams’ control over press access, highlighting how management can “control the room” and even dictate which reporters may attend or ask questions ([07:25]).
    • “Not one... did I not have a list of who was in the room.” — David Sampson ([07:33])
  • John Skipper argues the controversy is overblown, decrying a “woke sports establishment” that polices minor breaches of neutrality:
    • “She just, she was human... Hold your head up. What’s wrong with that?” — John Skipper ([09:33])
    • Cites how Bill Simmons “blew all this up” by normalizing open fandom in media roles ([10:56]).
  • Pablo Torre contextualizes journalist vs. reporter vs. podcaster, advocating transparent disclosure of bias and acknowledging the “existentialism” of losing the meaning of “journalist” ([13:00–15:23]).
    • “All that journalists really have is the vocabulary of being called a journalist... It did become a proxy fight for the larger concept of what does it mean to be a free press.” — Pablo Torre ([14:40])
• Memorable Exchange:
  • “She doesn’t get one chance to say a little something?” — John Skipper ([12:45])
  • “It was a waste of time for everyone there... It’s just the wrong venue.” — David Sampson ([11:46])
  • Consensus: There’s room for multiple approaches—no blanket purity test should apply, but clarity of role, intent, and transparency matter.

2. Entertainment Proxy Battles: The Paramount/Skydance v. WBD/Netflix Saga

[20:21 – 43:06]

• The Lawsuit: Paramount/Skydance sues WBD, alleging nondisclosure of financial details in its $83B asset deal with Netflix. Concern: Shareholders can’t assess the “best” deal without full info.
  • “They are trying to get what they believe to be a lack of proper disclosure about what the deals are on the table... It’s a multibillion-dollar issue.” — David Sampson ([20:54])
• What Really Is a Proxy Fight?
  • John Skipper queries if these lawsuits are tactical bluffs to drive up price; David Sampson underscores need for procedural fairness ([22:00]).
• Fiduciary Duty v. Ethics:
  • John Skipper provocatively suggests ethical/cultural factors (e.g. Trump-compliance concerns) should factor in, not just dollars ([23:04]).
    • “Fiduciary duty suggests that no matter what, you have to do only the thing that makes the most money, even if it is unethical?” — John Skipper ([23:42])
  • David Sampson counters that in practical capitalism, “highest bid wins”—as long as it’s legal ([24:17]).
• Value Is in the Eye of the (Media) Board
  • Where’s the real line between price and principle?
  • Pablo Torre links this to his own choices as a creator (“at what point do you have to say yes because the money is so clearly superior?” – [27:28])
  • Skipper, ever the iconoclast, notes he'd “take less money to be where he wants” ([28:44]).
  • Sampson, ever the capitalist, says that's not a real-world boardroom answer.

Notable Quotes

• “If everything is equal, you have to take the dollar more legally.” — David Sampson ([25:16])
• “I would still have that behavior. I am hoping that Netflix wins this.” — John Skipper ([23:20])
• “You’re framing it... to make me out to be this sort of robotic capitalist.” — David Sampson ([25:37])

The Mechanics of Valuing a Deal

• How do boards decide? (Projections, assets, multiples, scenario analysis, etc.)
• “Wall Street... people paid a lot of money to figure out what the value of a company is and then what the choke point would be.” — David Sampson ([38:49])

3. MLBAM & The MLB’s Digital Sliding Doors

[43:06 – 55:51]

• MLBAM Origins:
  • MLBAM (now BAMTech) began as a centralized league streaming service. Early owner skepticism, low tech literacy among owners, and the initial creation pitch ([47:32–48:13]).
• Baseball’s Unintended Masterstroke:
  • MLB inadvertently built the streaming backbone for all of sports (and later Disney/ESPN+/Hulu), then sold too soon, losing long-term power and leverage.
    • “That was our best chance to catch the NFL in terms of franchise valuation...” — David Sampson ([48:43])
  • “Once you sell an asset, it’s gone. You have to be very careful about that.” — David Sampson ([49:05])
• John Skipper’s Strategy:
  • Describes outflanking MLB’s desire to “buy players” with big checks, and how the asset became far more valuable inside Disney—even while Disney “overpaid” on paper ([46:59–47:32], [41:57–43:06]).
  • “We paid more money than you because it was strategic for us... more than you could ever calculate on a piece of paper.” — John Skipper ([42:47])
  • “What you’re afraid of is I was smarter than your management.” — John Skipper ([43:34])

Blockbuster’s Missed Shot

• Pablo Torre points out that while MLB made a strategic error, Blockbuster’s failure to buy Netflix for $50 million may be history’s biggest digital whiff ([55:51]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Meaning of "Journalist"
  “All that journalists really have is the vocabulary of being called a journalist... It did become a proxy fight for the larger concept of what does it mean to be a free press.”
  — Pablo Torre ([14:40])
• On Ethical Capitalism
  “Fiduciary duty suggests that no matter what, you have to do only the thing that makes the most money, even if it is unethical?”
  — John Skipper ([23:42])
• On Inside Baseball
  “That was our best chance to catch the NFL in terms of franchise valuation...”
  — David Sampson ([48:43]) “Once you sell an asset, it’s gone. You have to be very careful about that.”
  — David Sampson ([49:05])
• On Outmaneuvering
  “What you’re afraid of is I was smarter than your management.”
  — John Skipper ([43:34])

Best Banter & Meta-Commentary

• “David Sampson advising John Skipper on tech support. It’s like a two-year-old teaching an infant how to drive a car.” — Pablo Torre ([03:54])
• “This is a proxy fight for the Samson and Skipper... I’m Sun Tzu, he’s Clausewitz.” — John Skipper ([46:09])
• Pablo regularly notes the meta-nature of their arguments, e.g., “I like that David is negotiating about negotiating...” ([37:46])

Important Timestamps

• [05:20] — Sports Reporter Outrage, Press Box Ethics
• [20:21] — Explanation of the WBD/Netflix/Paramount Proxy Lawsuit
• [27:28] — Personal Example: Pablo Discusses What Money Would Make Him Sell
• [43:06] — The MLBAM Sale and MLB’s Digital Missed Opportunity
• [55:51] — Blockbuster Passing on Netflix

Episode Takeaways

• “Proxy fight” means more than legal wrangling: it’s a lens on who gets to define the rules—in press, business, or sports.
• True value, in the media and sports world, is as much about vision, control, and execution as raw numbers.
• MLB’s tale is a warning: short-term gain can cost leagues lasting leverage in tech-powered sports business.
• As for journalism? It’s a spectrum—reporting, fandom, and authority are being continually renegotiated in public.

For future episodes and more, follow Pablo Torre’s adventures exploring the hidden mechanics of power in sports and media worlds.