mike greenberg

Even the most successful bands sometimes break up, and it appears that Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic are going their separate ways after 16 years hosting Mike & Mike on ESPN Radio.

This move, which had been rumored for a few months now, has a number of implications.

1. It shows that ESPN values Greenberg as a brand and sees him as someone who can drive viewership, beyond his chemistry with Golic. That’s no surprise after Jim Miller reported last month that Greenberg recently agreed to a deal with ESPN that will pay him $6.5 million a year.

2. It reinforces ESPN’s shift toward making SportsCenter a personality-driven show as opposed to a highlight-driven show. Every SportsCenter is getting its own schtick, from Scott van Pelt’s one-man commentary show to David Lloyd and Cari Champion’s Coast to Coast version to Michael Smith and Jemele Hill’s yet-to-be-unveiled 6 p.m. iteration. Whether or not Greenberg’s show gets SportsCenter branding, it sounds like it will be another take on the SportsCenter model.

3. The dissolution of Mike & Mike will force ESPN to reconstruct its radio lineup. Mike & Mike was a powerhouse for the network, serving as both a steady presence amid swirling turnover and as a cash cow with a healthy audience and numerous sponsored segments. Deitsch speculates that Trey Wingo could replace Greenberg and that Mike Golic Jr. will have a role in any new show. Conceivably, ESPN could just plop someone new in Greenberg’s chair and hope the magic doesn’t disappear, though you’d imagine the show will get a new name.

Deitsch says there is no timetable for currently for the end of Mike & Mike or the beginning of Greenberg’s new show.

[Sports Illustrated]

About Alex Putterman

Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.

8 thoughts on “Mike Greenberg reportedly leaving ‘Mike & Mike’ for a new morning TV show on ESPN

  1. In reading between the lines ESPN Brass are changing their program formats it appears they are doing their best to show Mike Golic Sr the nearest exit door to leave the company. They indirectly called him a coat-tail rider to Greenberg with the comment of looking as a brand. They slapped Golic across his axx 6.5 million times, as in Greeny new annual contract. Instead of providing Golic Sr vaseline to ease the you know what,they apparently gave him a block of dry ice. In the meantime,they added insult to injury by saying Mike Golic Jr will have a role regardless of the changes in the future. With that being said if the network releases Golic Sr, would that be disrespectful to his family? Just curious.

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