The Media Club with Matt Deegan
A weekly roundtable discussion analyzing the UK's top media business news, hosted by industry veteran Matt Deegan.
This is an insider's conversation about the business of UK media. Each week, host Matt Deegan assembles a panel of two industry experts to dissect recent headlines, policy changes, and corporate maneuvers. A distinctive feature is the use of fictional or hypothetical news stories—like Fox buying Roku or the Doctor Who Christmas Special being cancelled—as thought experiments to analyze industry trends and potential futures.
“Unlike solo commentary or one-on-one interview shows, The Media Club's roundtable format provides multiple expert perspectives at once. Its use of speculative, fictional news stories as discussion prompts is a unique way to explore the industry's strategic possibilities.”
Who hosts this show
The Media Club is a weekly podcast offering a topical look at the UK media industry, covering TV, radio, the internet, and publishing. Host Matt Deegan, a media consultant with over 20 years of experience, is joined by expert analysts and practitioners to discuss the week's biggest stories. Deegan co-founded the media consultancy Folder Media, the children's audio brand Fun Kids, and the British Podcast Awards.
Credentials & credits
- Co-founder, Folder Media
- Co-founder, Fun Kids radio
- Co-founder, British Podcast Awards
- Director, Podcast Discovery
- Co-founder, MuxCo (digital radio multiplexes)
- Writes a weekly newsletter on the audio industry
Other ventures
- Folder Media
- Fun Kids
- Podcast Discovery
- MuxCo
- Rethink Audio
- British, Irish & Australian Podcast Awards (co-founder, sold in 2022)
What kind of podcast
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Region
- uk
When new episodes drop
- 01Can AI Make Animation More Ethical? | Media Club Plus OnesJun 27, 2026 · 5 min
- 022034 Freeview Switch-Off: Will You Miss It? | The Media ClubJun 26, 2026 · 40 min
- 03Can AI Make Animation More Ethical? | Media Club Plus OnesJun 20, 2026 · 5 min
- 04Spotify Redefines What Counts as a ‘Play’ | The Media ClubJun 19, 2026 · 37 min
- 05
- 06
- 07The Founder Helping New Journalists Break Into Media | Media Club Plus OnesJun 6, 2026 · 6 min
- 08Google Adds an AI Opt-Out for Publishers | The Media ClubJun 5, 2026 · 39 min
Notable episodes
- 012034 Freeview Switch-Off: Will You Miss It?
A deep dive into the UK government's green paper on switching off terrestrial television, a significant policy shift affecting millions of viewers.
- 02Doctor Who Christmas Special Cancelled & Production Put Out to Tender
A prime example of the show's unique format, using a major fictional news story to analyze the real-world business and production pressures at the BBC.
- 03Can AI Make Animation More Ethical?
Tackles the timely and complex issue of AI in creative industries, featuring a discussion on new legal and ethical frameworks for production.
What you'll be asked on this show
The show is a roundtable panel discussion, not a one-on-one interview format. Matt Deegan acts as the moderator, introducing a series of real or sometimes fictional media news stories for his two guests to analyze. He opens topics with broad questions like "Where should we begin?" before directing specific, targeted questions to each guest based on their expertise. He often probes for deeper reasoning ("Is it just about affordability, or is there another reason?") and asks clarifying questions to drill down into the mechanics of a deal or strategy. The conversation flows between the guests, with Deegan steering the discussion from one headline to the next.
The show is a moderated roundtable discussion, not a standard interview. Deegan acts as a facilitator, introducing news topics and guiding the conversation between two expert guests. The podcast often opens with a rapid summary of the topics and features recurring segments like the 'Plus One' and 'The Audio Network Media Quiz'.
Questions the host keeps coming back to
8 cataloguedIf you're going on this show as a guest, expect some version of each of these. Each note explains when the host reaches for it.
process
2- Q.01
“Who would you like to bring along as your plus one into the club this week?”
This is the show's signature opening segment, where each guest introduces a person or company in the news that has caught their attention.
- Q.02
“Is that to [do X] or to [do Y]?”
A common clarifying question used to understand the precise purpose of a business deal or strategy.
industry
2- Q.01
“Where should we begin with [the week's major news story]?”
The host uses this to kick off the main discussion topic for the panel.
- Q.02
“[Guest Name], what do you make of [a specific detail or event]?”
Deegan frequently directs questions to a specific panelist to elicit their expert analysis.
strategy
2- Q.01
“Is this just about [surface-level reason], or is there something else going on?”
He asks this to probe for deeper, underlying motivations behind a major industry decision.
- Q.02
“Shouldn't broadcasters be doing [counter-strategy]?”
He poses challenging or alternative strategies to test a guest's assertion.
controversy
1- Q.01
“Is it tough being a [role, e.g., media owner in the US]?”
This question is used to explore the pressures and challenges of a specific position within the industry.
personal
1- Q.01
“Have you been watching/reading [a specific piece of media]?”
A conversational question to connect the panel on a shared piece of content before analyzing it.
Signature segments
- · The Media Club: Plus One
- · The Audio Network Media Quiz
- · Fictional news story discussions
Topics covered repeatedly
Who gets booked here
Guests are seasoned media industry practitioners and commentators. They include chief executives, broadcast consultants, executive producers, and specialist journalists from organizations like Broadcast magazine and production companies.
- Sam Sharpson 2034 Freeview Switch-Off: Will You Miss It? | The Media Club
- Kate Bulkleyon 2034 Freeview Switch-Off: Will You Miss It? | The Media Club
- Paul Robinsonon Can AI Make Animation More Ethical? | Media Club Plus Ones
- Prince Tayloron Can AI Make Animation More Ethical? | Media Club Plus Ones
- Rebecca Cooneyon Doctor Who Christmas Special Cancelled & Production Put Out to Tender | The Media Club
- Vanessa Harrisson Doctor Who Christmas Special Cancelled & Production Put Out to Tender | The Media Club
- Alex Hudsonon Google Adds an AI Opt-Out for Publishers | The Media Club
- Simon Willgosson Google Adds an AI Opt-Out for Publishers | The Media Club
Where to find this show
Audience & reach
The podcast is consistently sponsored by Audio Network, a music library, which is integrated via a recurring segment called 'The Audio Network Media Quiz'. Other mentioned sponsors include Podshop Studios and the marketing agency Podcast Discovery.
Subscriber and view counts are pulled live from YouTube and re-verified on a 30-day cycle. Listener estimates for the RSS feed aren't published here unless they're host-verified.
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People also ask
- What is the format of The Media Club?
- It's a weekly roundtable discussion where host Matt Deegan and two expert guests analyze the latest news from the UK media industry.
- Who is the host?
- The host is Matt Deegan, a media consultant and entrepreneur who co-founded Fun Kids radio and the British Podcast Awards.
- Is this podcast still running?
- Yes, it releases new episodes weekly.
- What kind of topics are discussed?
- The show covers the business and policy side of TV, radio, digital media, and publishing, including acquisitions, strategy, and new technology like AI.
- Where can I listen to the podcast?
- The Media Club is available on major podcast platforms like Apple Podcasts and Acast, and episodes can also be watched on YouTube.
- What was the podcast called before?
- The show was previously known as The Media Podcast and was a continuation of The Guardian's original Media Talk podcast. It relaunched as The Media Club in September 2024.
Built from the show's public RSS feed, YouTube, the host's own websites, and the cited sources below. Computed and AI-extracted fields are labelled. Facts only — no private info, no fabrication, no transcripts republished.
Sources & how this page was built
This page is AI-assisted, grounded in the public sources cited below, and host-verifiable. We publish facts only; we do not republish transcripts. If anything here is wrong, the host can claim and correct the page above.Model: gemini-2.5-pro · high confidence
- [01]About - The Media Club with Matt Deeganthemediaclub.com
- [02]Speaking Bio - Matt Deegan Writesmattdeegan.com
- [03]About - Matt Deegan Writesmattdeegan.com
- [04]Matt Deegan - Podcast Discoverypodcastdiscovery.com
- [05]The Media Club with Matt Deegan - Apple Podcastspodcasts.apple.com
- [06]Listen to the Podcast - The Media Clubthemediaclub.com
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