ESPN has lost numerous high-profile personalities in recent years, including Bill Simmons, Skip Bayless and Colin Cowherd. But the WorldWide Leader is holding onto Dan Le Batard, according to the Sporting News' Michael McCarthy.
Le Batard, whose contract expires this summer, is reportedly finalizing a long-term deal with ESPN. The longtime Miami Herald columnist hosts "The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz" on ESPN Radio weekdays from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. He also hosts "Highly Questionable" on ESPN weekdays from 4:30 p.m. — 5:00 p.m. with his father, "Papi." The program, which is shot from the Clevelander Hotel in South Beach, is lighter than ESPN's other studio shows.
It was speculated that Le Batard would leave ESPN following ex-president John Skipper's resignation. The two are close friends, and Le Batard cried on the air when Skipper suddenly resigned last December. (Le Batard lashed back at WEEI hosts for making fun of his tears.)
Much like Jemele Hill, Le Batard often wades into social and political issues. He's one of the few ESPN personalities who publicly pushes back against the notion that its supposed liberal bias is driving away viewers.
It's apparent ESPN is positioning Le Batard as one of its feature personalities, along with Bomani Jones and Pablo Torre, former Le Batard disciples who now have their own show, "High Noon." With Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon aging, ESPN likely feels it's imperative to build new stars for its afternoon block of programming.
The biggest challenge for ESPN's original programming department remains the "SportsCenter" brand. The 6:00 p.m. edition of "SportsCenter" has seen its ratings tick upwards ever since the cancelation of "SC6" with Hill and Michael Smith. The highly priced "Get Up," meanwhile, is performing worse than the morning editions of "SportsCenter" last year.
"Get Up's" ratings struggles are adversely affecting the rest of ESPN's lineup. "First Take," which directly follows the three-hour show, has seen its ratings decline in recent months. If ESPN is going to grow its daytime studio shows, the issue in the mornings must be addressed. The network is reportedly considering making big changes to "Get Up" if its performance doesn't improve over the summer.
