ESPN, ‘Sports Heaven’ & the birth of the greatest media success story ever told

Marchand Sports Media · Apr 1, 2026 · 3m

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.andrewmarchand.com

In the 39-minute sports media podcast, legendary ESPN PR man, Mike Soltys, goes deep about the first days of ESPN, “the believers vs. the crazy idea” folks, a young Chris Berman, top executives shaping the network and how the greatest sports media PR quote in history came to be.

Soltys is one of the producers on “Sports Heaven: The Birth of ESPN,” that debuts on Monday, April 6th. It’s also an audiobook.

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