Ever since Colin Cowherd to FOX became a reality, I have been dreading what comes next for ESPN Radio.
I am a huge fan of Dan Le Batard’s radio show. It is a collection of self deprecating idiots talking sports and pop culture with passion and depth. Le Batard and his cast of knuckleheads often take non squitor turns into busting on each other for the most inane slip-ups. Jon “Stugotz” Weiner is often the butt of the jokes, often due to his less-than-healthy eating habits.
One recent segment delved into the value of mayonnaise as a condiment. It was actually an enlightening discussion.
But like my radio faves often do, I digress.
It is with peace, love and respect that I launch this plea to the Le Batard crew. Reports are you’re headed to the 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET slot vacated by Cowherd. This was what I was dreading.
Please, Dan, hear me out. You can’t make this move.
Your show has the perfect tone for the afternoon drive. It’s a spot where you can do a segment with an animal trainer and folks winding down from their day will go along for the ride. The 10-to-1 crowd is a lot more stuffy; there’s a lot more spotlight there. A lot more ad dollars in play, and likely a lot more tinkering and helpful notes from the suits in Bristol.
It is so improbable that we’re even having this conversation. Le Batard has been a stellar writer and reporter for decades and, as he was advised by Tony Kornheiser years ago, his personality works even better for radio.
https://youtu.be/HpGuYCVcRDM
His Dan Le Batard is Highly Questionable show was a quirky, under-the-radar show that has endured time slot chaos on ESPN2 and become a stable, consistent performer for the network. The show has performed well in a promotion to the Mothership since late March as a lead-in for Around the Horn.
Why is Le Batard becoming the next coming of Kornheiser as King of All Sports Media? He understands that interaction with his audience is vital and he truly seems to treasure the community of followers he has cultivated. Plus, the father-son vibe on Questionable has been endearing, as dad Gonzalo has become the unlikeliest of scene stealers.
Le Batard has flourished under the tutelage of Eric Rydholm, the producer also behind Pardon the Interruption and Around the Horn. And ESPN has taken a shine to Le Batard along the way.
Again, strange bedfellows, with Le Batard’s knack for raging against the machine, most notably in his Hall of Fame votegate and his buying of billboards in Cleveland saying “You’re Welcome. Love, Miami” when Lebron James went back to the Cavs.
I get it. The 4 to 7 slot on ESPN Radio is not a kingmaker slot. We all have aspirations, we all want to see the grass on the other side. This window of opportunity could make Le Batard an even bigger deal nationally.
But again, is that really the goal? Why does it have to be? Le Batard is a Miami guy, he and his crew bleed it on the air. He’s given a voice and a personality to a city that many around the country never saw as a diehard sports town.
Le Batard is a big fish in a pretty big pond in South Florida. He’s already making damn good coin, though a move as the big deal-in-waiting behind Mike & Mike would pad the bank account for sure.
Had been asked not to report until now, but Dan Le Batard working toward deal to move to 10 am to 1 p.m. to replace Colin Cowherd…..
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) August 20, 2015
ESPN is pushing for the move, per the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson. Fellow Herald scribe and frequent Le Batard guest host Greg Cote says it’s a done deal. They just need to get a new contract done for Weiner.
It makes sense from ESPN’s side. Move a proven commodity into the all-important 10-to-1 slot and experiment with a Bomani Jones type in the 4-to-7 slot where many local affiliates still opt to do their own programming.
It’s pretty early in the day, Dan. Going off of how you incessantly complained about it being so early in your Mike & Mike fill-in last week, are you really ready to be you by 10 a.m.?
Le Batard’s star is on the rise. The DLB brand could potentially skyrocket with this move. But again, should it? I fear he’ll lose the edge and silliness that makes the show so entertaining as it is. Plus, he’ll be up against Dan Patrick with the move. Selfishly, I don’t want to have to choose.
Kornheiser made the 10-to-1 slot work and ESPN proved they’d let Tony be Tony. But that was then. We’re in a much more buttoned-up climate a decade later.
And I’ll throw Erik Kuselias at you to counter the Kornheiser argument. Kuselias star rose fast in the 4-to-7 slot. He had a true following and he got greedy, tried to branch out to things he had no business doing. Granted, Le Batard isn’t about to do NASCAR Now and he’s not the kind of douchebag that Kuselias has proven to be in repeated acts of self-sabotage.
Dan, I just don’t feel good about this. If ESPN is pushing you to do it, push back. I know the Fusion Network is a wasteland spot for a TV simulcast, although it’s a cultural fit for sure — and the kind of underdog you’ve always championed. At least make them show you on ESPNews and the WatchESPN app.
You’ve carved out your home in drive time. Many listeners logistically won’t be able to follow you to the morning. Maybe building a whole new expanded audience is your dream.
I’d never bet against you. The DLB brand deserves to grow. Please, just promise me you won’t be homogenized and neutered by the promise of a bigger payday. The day that you become part of The Establishment is the day I give up on America.
I will listen wherever you end up. I just don’t want the chasing of the dream to turn into a nightmare.
Tim Wood is a fan of all TV. He is a diehard “Big Brother” and “Naked and Afraid” junkie and is trying desperately to avoid jumping on the “True Detective” pigpile. He was an award-winning newspaper and magazine reporter very long ago and the former managing editor of Bleacher Report. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TravelPulse.com.
