CBS Sports launches all-female sports-talk TV show

CBS Sports Network launched We Need to Talk, a show completely staffed by women, this week. I didn’t see the weekly program’s debut episode. Did you?

Awful Announcing had a good story about the launch, written by Steve Lepore.

He notes that since CBS Sports Network doesn’t have ratings, that won’t be a way of measuring the show’s success. He quotes coordinating producer Emily Deutsch saying that if the show is interesting, “and if we’re bringing another voice to this discussion, I would think that that’s a success.” Lepore continues:

That’s getting around to the real point of why We Need to Talk exists, and maybe needs to exist despite those who think we’ve moved beyond the idea of an all-women’s show about sports: there seems to be a lack of female voices at the table in what is currently in the zeitgeist, the discussion of domestic violence and crimes of those nature committed by athletes. Aside from Outside the Lines, very few seemingly have given equal time to women on an issue in which they should very much be involved.

I agree that we’re not beyond anything. As I’ve mentioned, I’m hosting a radio show on B/R’s new SiriusXM channel. We have three guests most days, and we talk about sports and the issues around sports. There’s been plenty of talk about Ray Rice, domestic violence, Hope Solo—the issues that the women involved with We Need to Talk mention as making this an ideal time for the show to have debuted.

One of the show’s producers, and to date the main guest booker, is a woman. We’ve talked about wanting to bring diverse voices on the show as I interview sportswriters, broadcasters and others around sports and sports media.

We just finished the show’s first month: 93 percent of the guests have been male, 90 percent have been white, and 84 percent have been white males.

And that’s with us trying to book diverse guests, actually thinking about it. Of course “trying” isn’t enough, and anyway we can try harder, which we’ll do. I hope you’ll hold me to that.