One of the longest-running sports radio voices in the Portland market will be moving to a new home.
Colin Cowherd, whose sports talk radio career started at Portland’s KFXX (1080 The Fan), is leaving ESPN, the network’s president, John Skipper, announced Thursday.
Despite ESPN’s attempts to keep him, Cowherd will apparently move to Fox, the Big Lead reports. His role in the company, which could include a daily presence on Fox Sports 1, is unclear.
Cowherd’s radio show, “The Herd with Colin Cowherd,” has been broadcast nationally on ESPN Radio, including weekdays from 7 to 10 a.m. on KFXX. In a way it gave KFXX a continuous voice in the time slot for almost 15 years.
After coming to Portland as a TV sportscaster for KGW, Cowherd really made his name in sports talk radio with a local version of “The Herd” that started as an afternoon show on KFXX in late 1998, then moved to a 6-9 a.m. slot in 2002.
Cowherd has been in that slot since. When he signed with ESPN in 2004 to do a radio show in place of the departing Tony Kornheiser, KFXX simply picked up the national feed for “The Herd.”
If Cowherd does a radio show for Fox, it’s unlikely KFXX would be able to carry it immediately because of its association with ESPN Radio. Another Portland all-sports station, KPOJ (620 AM, also known as Rip City Radio), carries Fox Sports Radio content.
KPOJ is the lone Portland-market sports radio station that airs a locally-produced morning show, “Rip City Mornings,” hosted by Taylor Danforth and Andy Bunker. KFXX, however, considered “The Herd” to almost be essentially local because of its origins and listeners’ familiarity with Cowherd.
“I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision for Colin, or ESPN,” KFXX program director Jeff Austin said via e-mail. “All of Colin’s radio moves have made him a Fan host. It’s too soon to know how this one will conclude.”
Credit to OregonLive who originally published this article
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
