Jamie Horowitz’ first tangible move at FS1 is coming this week, as the network canceled its daily studio show “America’s Pregame,” which will produce its final episode tomorrow. Fox will replace the show in the 5:00-6:00pm ET time slot with “The Best Thing I Herd,” a best-of show from Colin Cowherd that will be hosted by Kristine Leahy. Fox Sports execs stressed that the change was not a cost-cutting move. Rather, they said it was the first step of a plan to remake the afternoon programming slate into a more opinion-focused programming block.
The hour-long “APG” launched nearly 18 months ago with Mike Hill and Molly McGrath as hosts and struggled to find a big audience. The FS1 show has averaged around 40,000 viewers since the start of August. Fox Sports created the show to act as a nightly pregame show, one that provided a look ahead to the games coming that night. FS1 and FS2 Exec VP/Content Charlie Dixon said Fox is looking for a show in that timeslot to be more conversational with hosts that are more opinionated.
It’s unclear at this time if Hill will be reassigned. McGrath is currently a sideline reporter for Fox’s college football coverage, and is expected to continue in that role. She tweeted the following:
Credit to the Sports Business Journal 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.
