ESPN Radio is undergoing some changes, much like the rest of the industry. Those changes were felt again this week, as a report emerged from the New York Post that Keyshawn Johnson, Jay Williams, and Max Kellerman’s radio show was set to be scrapped. Sports media reporter Andrew Marchand wrote that it’s part of a “restructure” that ESPN is going through and that Kellerman might be in jeopardy. This news caught the attention of former longtime ESPN Radio voice Mike Golic. Golic didn’t express much jubilation—quite the opposite.
“Damn shame and very sad what has become of ESPN Radio,” Golic said.
Damn shame and very sad what has become of ESPN radio.
— Mike Golic (@golic) June 21, 2023
It is a shame how we got here. As Awful Announcing’s Alex Reimer wrote, “There was a time when sports fans in mid-sized cities were starved for sports talk. As a result, they were content to turn on any show. They were listening for the brand, not the personality.” But it’s just not the way it works anymore, unfortunately.
The state of affairs at ESPN at large isn’t surprising, either. It’s a growing worry and concern across the entire industry, as layoffs have affected ESPN, Sky Sports, and dozens of publishing companies like BuzzFeed and Vox Media.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t make it any less sad and disappointing. Even if it is an unsurprising reality of the state of media in 2023.
