This week, we’re celebrating the highs, the lows, the best, and the worst of the year with The Awfulies.
As we’ve done for the past four years, the Awful Announcing staff has cast its votes for who we think should take home the coveted golden microphone in a wide variety of categories across the sports media industry.
Keep an eye on the category and winner reveals throughout the week. And be sure to let us know who your pick would have been for the winners, as we examine the best media personalities of 2025.
On Monday, we awarded the best play-by-play announcers and game analysts. Today, let’s take things inside the studio where the tone is set for every sports broadcast. Here, we learn what we need to know. Afterward, we determine what the game’s outcome has taught us. And amidst it all, we spend time with the hosts, analysts, and talking heads because we enjoy their company, they make us laugh, or we become better fans because of them.
Let’s meet the best of the best in studio shows, hosts, and analysts for 2025.
Best Studio Show: Inside the NBA
It’s a testament to the power and prestige of Inside the NBA, the perennial winner in this category, that ESPN chose to license its entire show to lead its NBA coverage at the dawn of the network’s new rights deal.
For years, ESPN had tried and failed to recreate the magic in Turner’s Atlanta studios. But just when we thought we would lose the best studio show of all time as the NBA on TNT said goodbye, ESPN stepped in to save Inside the NBA and maybe even save themselves as well.
It’s also a testament to the show that ESPN kept its promise to leave it exactly as it was during the transition between networks, because they know just how special it truly is. – Matt Yoder
Best Studio Host: Ernie Johnson
When it comes to the most universally liked and appreciated people in the industry, it’s hard to argue against Ernie Johnson being at the top of that list. Just take a look at his recent appearance on College GameDay as more evidence of that.
He is funny, effortless, and graceful in the way he pilots Inside the NBA, and the show would not and could not exist in its current form without him leading the way. He handled the end of the show’s TNT era with style and heart, and he’s about to usher in the ESPN era in much the same way. – Matt Yoder
The Charles Barkley Best Studio Analyst: Ryan Fitzpatrick
Note: Due to his overwhelming dominance in this category, Awful Announcing has retired Charles Barkley from the voting pool and named the award for him, clearing the way for others to get the nod.
We may have retired Charles Barkley from consideration for this, but the recipient still resides on Thursday nights.
In an era when it’s increasingly hard for studio shows to stand out, Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football desk has become a fan favorite. And Ryan Fitzpatrick might be the most obvious example of why.
He’s a quarterback who was oftentimes a backup, and plenty capable of poking fun at his status as perhaps the NFL’s most famous journeyman. He’s also willing to mix serious analysis with the silly stuff; something like Matt Ryan meets Pat McAfee.To be certain, the rest of the Prime Video crew deserves plenty of credit, as it’s the on-set chemistry that stands out the most. But if you had to identify an emerging star from the bunch, it’s likely Fitzpatrick, who has proven to be just as much of a fan favorite as an analyst as he was a player. – Ben Axelrod
Best Talent Acquisition: Peter Schrager
After having spent the last decade at the NFL Network, Peter Schrager made the jump to ESPN earlier this year. It was easy to recognize the fit almost immediately.
As an on-air talent, you won’t find many personalities more versatile than the former Good Morning Football co-host. He can host or be a guest. He can trade hot takes and exchange insights. Oh, and he just so happens to cover the NFL of all sports.
At this point in his ESPN career, Schrager is largely a utility man, with regular roles on Monday NFL Countdown, Get Up, First Take, The Pat McAfee Show, and NFL Live. But there’s also a reason why rumors about ESPN building a show around him have persisted, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if 2026 were the year that came to fruition. – Ben Axelrod
Best Sports Debate Show: Pardon the Interruption
It has quietly been a big year for PTI as it approaches nearly a quarter-century holding down the 5:30 p.m. happy hour slot on ESPN. The show was officially extended through 2028 as Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon each signed three-year extensions with the network, a testament to the high regard ESPN decision-makers hold for PTI even as longtime lead-in program Around the Horn was sent packing. And for the first time since the COVID pandemic, Kornheiser and Wilbon (somewhat) regularly appeared in the studio together.
PTI, of course, defined the sports debate format for years, and remains the most dignified and digestible iteration of the genre on television. However, that doesn’t mean Tony and Mike don’t get their shots off when warranted. Just this year, Wilbon made headlines for hot-button topics ranging from the NCAA’s incompetence to Bruce Pearl’s sudden exit from Auburn. And while neither host is batting 1.000 (which is a feature, not a bug, of sports debate shows), when Kornheiser and Wilbon talk, people listen. That’s rare for two sports pundits in 2025. – Drew Lerner
Best Debate Personality: Nick Wright
It is perhaps small comfort to him, as this was the year his beloved Kansas City Chiefs saw their dynasty implode, but it was also the year where First Things First’s Nick Wright put it all together as the preeminent sports debate personality on television.
Stephen A. Smith still dominates the game, but he’s turned First Take into a personal grievance factory and sucked a lot of the fun out of the endeavor. Chris Russo makes for great television, but he’s got a specific schtick. The PTI guys bring the experience and veteran insight with them, but they’re not exactly entertainers.
Wright, meanwhile, knows how to mix all of the ingredients that make a sports debate show what it is, and when the recipe calls for specific ones or all of them. He’s willing to go out on a limb or call out his peers for what he considers bad takes or stances. He’s willing to eat his losses when he gets it wrong. He happily gloats when he’s proven right. He comments on the sports media industry, its quirks, and its dumb discourses. He calls it how he sees it.
Perhaps most importantly, Wright makes things fun. He seems intent on ensuring his coworkers and audience enjoy themselves and feel included in the conversation. That’s a rare thing in this game, and something that makes him endearing, even if you’re enraged by his Chiefs takes. – Sean Keeley
