Dan Le Batard wants ESPN to stop pretending to care about real sports journalism
As ESPN lays off more accomplished reporters each year and works to cut investment deals with America’s biggest...
As ESPN lays off more accomplished reporters each year and works to cut investment deals with America’s biggest...
"I’d be lying if didn’t tell you this Charter deal wasn’t critical."
"When something happens in the sports industry, people look to ESPN."
"The [traditional TV] model has been very good to Disney."
"We feel like his show is a natural extension of what we’re already doing."
An ESPN direct to consumer service isn't here yet, but we're still talking about "when" rather than "if."
"I could have the greatest version of ‘High Noon’ that was possible, [but] there’s not a place in their line-up for that right now. That’s just not what they do, and that has zero to do with me."
A big part of this shift sees ESPN content executives Stephanie Druley, David Roberts and Norby Williamson now reporting to Magnus instead of Jimmy Pitaro.
"So you want to talk about timing."
"We enter these discussions understanding that we can’t get everything and that we’re going to proceed with both discipline and thoughtfulness. So I can’t tell you how this is going to play out. We are very much in it right now."
"I’m looking at the big picture...Let’s not blow it because we want to express ourselves."
He may have left money on the table, but Adam Schefter seems content with the decision for different reasons.
"ESPN+ is the centerpiece. It is the jewel. ...That exclusivity really helps drive audience. As we move forward we are going to keep acquiring more rights for ESPN+."
That stock bump today might be a tough data point to ignore now, though.
Like many other media companies, we've oftentimes struggled but I do believe that we've put the right people on these assignments."
"We respect and acknowledge there are a variety of feelings about what happened and the actions we took. The details of what took place last year are confidential, nuanced and complicated personnel matters."