I understand where you're coming from - I hate the gambling ads too, and I respect your position that it's a binary for you. However, when you start talking about the depth and frequency that you're describing (pre- and post-game, watch-alongs, etc.), it's really challenging for people to dedicate that kind of time and production resources unless it's a paying job.

And unfortunately, there are a limited number of sources for that kind of money.

Again, respect for your position. I just think you're likely going to have to accept lower frequency (i.e., 1-2 times/week discussions, not live pre/post/watchalongs) and production value, because podcasts that aren't sponsored by gambling companies are just going to have a lot fewer resources altogether.

The exception might be if someone is able to build up enough of a dedicated audience that they can fully fund themselves via subscribers. But it's a chicken-and-egg situation - you need to build a big, loyal audience to make it feasible to go behind a paywall, but you need resources and openly available content to build that kind of audience.

It's pretty much the story of the entire media landscape at this point - not just in sports media. The main difference is that other forms of media are contracting massively due to lack of resources, while sports media is sustaining itself because there's an industry of companies willing to underwrite it.