NEW YORK — New York does not have a shortage of sports opinions. We have radio arguments before breakfast, podcasts on the train, group chats that turn into courtrooms after one bad fourth quarter and somebody in every family who is absolutely certain they could run a franchise better than the people getting paid to do it.
So another New York sports media company needs a better pitch than we talk about sports too. Underscore Media officially launched September 8 around Sal Licata, Jimmy Traina and John Jastremski with daily live programming, newsletters and plans for exclusive live events. The interesting part is not another show. It is the attempt to turn media into a place fans can actually belong.
Sal Licata discusses Underscore Media beginning at 02:06 on the August 27, 2026 episode of the Awful Announcing Podcast.
The feed is crowded. The room is not.
Underscore describes itself as a creator-led, feed-first New York sports company. Its announced lineup includes The Sal Licata Show, Traina Thoughts and New York, New York with Jastremski, plus Substack newsletters covering both the games and the business behind New York sports.
Then comes the most consequential layer: live shows, watch parties and tailgates. A podcast can attract an audience. A watch party lets that audience meet itself. Once that happens, media starts behaving like experiential marketing.
New York fandom was social media before social media existed
Barbershops, bodegas, school cafeterias, neighborhood bars and stoops have always functioned like New York sports comment sections. One person starts the argument. Everybody else adds context, jokes, receipts and unnecessary volume.
That is why local sports remains valuable even in a national content economy. The scoreboard is universal. The feeling of walking into work after a Knicks loss is not.
The modern sports company is part media brand, part event producer
Imagine the commercial architecture around one Giants watch party: a beverage sponsor, a sneaker activation, a live podcast, creator clips, merchandise, hospitality, email capture and a postgame show. That is no longer simply an ad placement. It is content, sponsorship, community and fan experience wrapped around the game.
The bigger lesson is simple. Sports media is moving beyond who can publish the fastest take. The stronger question may be who can build the audience, keep the relationship and create a reason for people to show up in person.
The next battle in sports media may not be for the feed. It may be for the room.
Sources: Underscore Media launch announcement via PR Newswire · Awful Announcing
