Adrian Wojnarowski Leaves ESPN for St. Bonaventure GM Job
During his career as the NBA’s premier newsbreaker, Adrian Wojnarowski became famous for dropping “Woj bombs” that moved the market. On Wednesday, ESPN’s senior NBA insider dropped the biggest “Woj...
View ArticleWoj Retirement Took Even ESPN Bosses by Surprise
Adrian Wojnarowski’s decision to retire Wednesday shocked the sports world–including his employers at ESPN, who pay him an estimated $7 million a year. There was no heads-up from ESPN’s senior NBA...
View ArticleWoj Departure Fallout Includes Stephen A. Smith Leverage
Now that the Woj bomb to end all Woj bombs has flattened the sports media industry, here are seven things I think about Adrian Wojnarowski’s dramatic retirement from ESPN: Stephen A. Smith Just Got...
View ArticleNBA Insider Shams Charania Drawing Interest From NBC, Amazon
We’re more than a year away from the NBA’s $77 billion media-rights deals kicking in. But chess pieces are already in motion following the surprising departure of ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski....
View ArticleReturn of ‘The Sports Reporters’: Jeremy Schaap on Reimagining a Classic
One of the first sports books I read was Instant Replay by late sportswriter Dick Schaap and Packers guard Jerry Kramer. It was a pleasure to speak with Jeremy Schaap about the return of ESPN’s...
View ArticleWhy Did ESPN Lay Off Zach Lowe, and What’s Next for Him?
NBA writer and podcaster Zach Lowe was the latest layoff at Disney’s ESPN—for budget reasons, according to The Athletic. He follows previous pink slips for Sam Ponder and Robert Griffin III. The...
View ArticleChiefs Have Replaced Cowboys As NFL’s No. 1 TV Team
A well-known aphorism in the TV sports world is that network executives would sell their souls for Cowboys games. But the Chiefs’ sustained run of Super Bowl excellence—combined with the Taylor Swift...
View ArticleCowboys-Giants on Amazon Shatters Record For Most-Streamed Regular Season NFL...
Heading into Thursday night’s NFC matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, both teams were 1-2 and both fanbases were already frustrated with their start to the season. That didn’t...
View ArticleAdam Schefter Could Be Candidate to Succeed Woj as ESPN NBA Insider
It would be the biggest “Woj bomb” since Adrian Wojnarowski announced his retirement from journalism. But Adam Schefter could be a candidate to replace Wojnarowski as ESPN’s senior NBA insider, Front...
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As NBA Season Approaches, Media Faces Changing of the Guard
After a wild offseason in which the NBA scored the second-richest media pact in U.S. sports history and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news of his own retirement, the league’s media partners are...
View ArticleMLB Wild-Card Round Sets TV Ratings Record
The Mets’ roller-coaster ride through the first round of the MLB Playoffs helped drive ESPN to record wild-card TV audiences. This year’s nine-game 2024 Wild Card Series averaged 2.82 million viewers...
View ArticleShams Charania Joins ESPN as Senior NBA Insider
Shams Charania has joined ESPN as its new senior NBA insider. Front Office Sports was the first outlet to report the news. The 30-year-old Charania emerged as the clear favorite to succeed...
View ArticleSeth Davis Launching Paywalled College Basketball Site
Seth Davis has covered college hoops for media outfits ranging from CBS Sports to Sports Illustrated and The Athletic. Now the veteran reporter is going into business for himself, launching a start-up...
View ArticleCam Newton Joins ‘First Take,’ Where His Opinions Should Fit Right In
Cam Newton’s transformation from washed-up NFL quarterback to hot-take-spewing embrace-debate artist is complete. As first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, ESPN has hired the 2015 NFL MVP as a...
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McCarthy: Skip Bayless Is Delusional About Shannon Sharpe Divorce
Skip Bayless will not go gentle into that good night. After being pushed out of Fox Sports this summer, Bayless sounded delusional at times during an interview with Ben Strauss of The Washington...
View ArticleSources: NFL Eyes Multibillion-Dollar International Rights Package
There’s no league better at conjuring new, lucrative media rights out of thin air than the NFL. The league is once again playing the long game, eyeing the eventual sale of a separate international...
View ArticleMcCarthy: Jerry Jones Made Himself Look Small in Radio Tirade
The most dangerous place to be is between Jerry Jones and a microphone. Especially since he’s now targeting local radio jocks. The billionaire Cowboys owner made himself look small by seemingly...
View ArticleUnrivaled Preparing ‘Full-Court Press’ to Recruit Caitlin Clark
The new Unrivaled women’s basketball league is thinking big. Caitlin Clark big. Fresh off agreeing to an inaugural TV deal with TNT Sports, the new league will try to recruit Clark in the coming...
View ArticleJerry Jones’s Threats Aren’t Empty. A Legend Who Defied Him Knows
Jerry Jones doubled down on his threats to fire local radio hosts by noting he’d previously forced Dallas–Fort Worth legends Dale Hansen and Brad Sham off the air when angered by their coverage. To...
View ArticlePat McAfee Says He Can’t Book ESPN NBA Talent. Sources Disagree
The mercurial Pat McAfee has managed to befuddle his ESPN colleagues once again. The prevailing mood inside ESPN was confusion after McAfee publicly complained it’s become virtually “impossible” to...
View ArticleNick Wright Signing Fox Extension, Cementing Future Face of FS1
Nick Wright will sign a new, long-term contract to remain with Fox Sports’ FS1 network, Front Office Sports has learned. The 40-year-old Wright, who cohosts First Things First, has become one of the...
View ArticleNick Wright Contract Extension Adds Clarity to FS1’s Path Forward
In August, several well-sourced TV executives told me they saw Nick Wright, not Skip Bayless, as the future of FS1. It appears the future is now for the Fox Sports cable network. The 40-year-old...
View ArticleBlake Griffin in Talks With Amazon, NBC for Charles Barkley–Esque Role
Blake Griffin has become a sought-after TV free agent among the NBA’s next group of TV partners, Front Office Sports has learned. The six-time NBA All-Star, who retired this year, is in talks with...
View ArticleKids Rarely Watch Sports. Media Executives Are Concerned
It’s a golden age for sports media, with live sports ruling the TV ratings charts, and the NBA and NFL commanding top dollars for their media rights. But behind the scenes, executives fret about the...
View ArticleCould Amazon Make Black Friday a True Sports Holiday?
They say there are no new ideas left in sports media. But the more I think about it, the more I believe Amazon Prime Video’s strategy to transform Black Friday into an annual sports holiday for the...
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