The NFL deciding to allow flexing for Thursday Night Football games from weeks 13-17 has been the subject of plenty of discussions, and that continued Wednesday on 670 The Score in Chicago with Mike Florio.

Florio was asked by Dan Bernstein about the motive behind the league choosing to add Thursday games into the flex mix, and Florio said it’s about making sure Amazon gets as many eyeballs as possible.

“This is about getting maximum numbers to Amazon,” Florio said. “And they don’t want to have the full season average get cratered by a late-season game between two bad teams without a great quarterback that nobody wants to watch during the holiday season.”

Now even with YouTube now being the home to NFL Sunday Ticket, the league is shifting more focus on streaming as viewers continue to cut the cord.

“This is all about the looming and ongoing pivot that our entire society is experiencing from TV to streaming,” Florio said. “It explains the two exclusive Peacock games this year, and I work for Peacock.”

Florio added that even though the NFL is at the beginning of this newest media rights deal, the added attention on streaming is viewed as a tune-up for the next deal. Florio believes the league will be negotiating a new contract by the end of the decade.

“They want to have streaming companies that will do what networks traditionally have done which is pay way too much – more than they should – for this content,” he said.

Florio mentioned the idea that the league floated about going direct to consumer with Sunday Ticket. But the league recognizes that because the TV networks make the league and themselves so much money, the asking price was too good to pass up.

“They’re hoping that streaming platforms will do the same thing, and one way you get them to do that is to deliver massive audiences,” Florio said. “I think that’s what it’s all about. It’s not just Amazon. It’s about Peacock, it’s about Netflix, it’s about anybody else that may come to the table and bid on the packages the next time around.”

The 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 is on Sunday, and SiriusXM has announced its programming plans for the weekend.

It all starts Friday with the final stretch of practice time on track for the 33 IndyCar drivers competing in the race, also known as Carb Day. SiriusXM IndyCar Nation will air live coverage of the practice starting at 11 a.m.

On Friday afternoon, two IndyCar shows will broadcast live near the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway Pagoda. NTT IndyCar Series drivers James Hinchcliffe and Alexander Rossi will host their podcast Off Track with Hinch and Rossi starting at 1 p.m. Comedian and Indianapolis native Joey Mulinaro will be the show’s special guest.

From 2-4 p.m. driver Tony Kanaan and broadcaster Jack Arute will host Brick by Brick, an exclusive IndyCar show. Kanaan won the 2013 Indy 500 and will compete in the race for the 22nd and final time on Sunday.

Listeners of both programs can expect to hear insider perspectives from the drivers on competing in the sport’s biggest event, as well as interviews.

Race day coverage of the Indy 500 begins at 11 a.m. on Sunday and can be heard on both IndyCar Nation and NBC Sports Audio channel 85.

This is also SiriusXM’s Listen Free event, so you can try out the service at no charge and listen to all the action.

When the Denver Nuggets advanced to the NBA Finals, much of the ESPN coverage centered around the Los Angeles Lakers being swept. Viewers perceived there being minimal mentions of Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray and the rest of the Nuggets organization and what the team had just accomplished.

Brian Windhorst appeared on ESPN and stated the Lakers were terrific at going down in the series and calling the sweep an impressive performance by the team.

“I have to admit – my entire life as a sports fan, covering sports – countless locker rooms [and] press conferences – I don’t think I’ve heard anything dumber than that,” said Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan host Mike Evans.

ESPN has received its fair share of criticism, magnified when NBA on TNT studio analyst Charles Barkley expressed his disdain for the lack of Denver Nuggets coverage on television. LeBron James divulging that he is weighing retirement ostensibly played a role in the plans for talking points since he is widely regarded as one of the top players to ever take the court. Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals takes place on Thursday, June 1, meaning ESPN has over a week until the action commences; however, the show believes that placing the Lakers at the forefront imparts an agenda focused on garnering television ratings.

“‘What’s LeBron’s legacy?’,” co-host Mark Schlereth suggested as a topic on ESPN. “How does this win affect his legacy? Will he or will he not come back?’ Dude, the Nuggets just went to the Finals for the first time in their 47-year existence.”

“‘Kyrie Irving courtside!,’” Evans mocked an ESPN host saying. “‘Are they going to team up again?’”

The show proceeded to refer to Windhorst as a fanboy, especially since he covered James for the majority of his NBA career. They had ESPN on in a studio television throughout the show and saw no coverage pertaining to the Denver Nuggets, instead saying that the shows were centered around James, head coach Darvin Ham and the Lakers’ future. Nonetheless, Evans assumes things will change as the NBA Finals draw near.

“Starting next week, it’ll all be about the Nuggets and [Miami] Heat because ultimately no matter what you want to say about ESPN or how mad you are about ESPN, they do have the NBA Finals,” Evans articulated. “If they want to get anything out of their investment, they’ve got to do their best to pump this thing up.”