We finally know where the wildly popular, sometimes controversial and always entertaining Paul Finebaum will be taking his talents after the radio host went silent earlier this year. And the good news for Finebaum fans — and frankly, college football fans in general — is that he'll soon have a much larger audience. 

He'll start at ESPN on Aug. 1, according to the Wall Street Journal:

His multi-tiered platform will include a radio program on ESPN networks, 100 televised appearances annually on ESPN and a TV simulcast of his radio show on the ESPN-owned SEC Network launching in August 2014.

"It would be the understatement of my life to say I wasn't thrilled," Finebaum said. "It is incredibly exciting to be part of a new adventure, particularly one that involves the premier brand in sports along with the pre-eminent conference in sports." Finebaum has a five-year contract. Neither he nor ESPN would give financial details.

While based in Birmingham, Ala., Finebaum's four-hour daily radio program was syndicated by nearly 30 stations, so by no means was he strictly a local radio star. But he wasn't national either. He was regional. More specifically, Southeastern regional. The question now will be whether he can take this thing across the country and appeal to fans outside of the SEC.

While the report states that there'll be some buffer time, with Finebaum's new program first airing primarily in the Southeast, this is an indication that the Worldwide Leader clearly believes that can happen. 

About Brad Gagnon

Brad Gagnon has been passionate about both sports and mass media since he was in diapers -- a passion that won't die until he's in them again. Based in Toronto, he's worked as a national NFL blog editor at theScore.com, a producer and writer at theScore Television Network and a host, reporter and play-by-play voice at Rogers TV. His work has also appeared at CBSSports.com, Deadspin, FoxSports.com, The Guardian, The Hockey News and elsewhere at Comeback Media, but his day gig has him covering the NFL nationally for Bleacher Report.

Comments are closed.