Over the course of the last 12 months, ESPN laid off hundreds of employees including reporters and anchors, but yesterday reporter Marty Smith confirmed he will be staying with the network. Smith signed a new multi-year contract with ESPN according to The Roanoke Times.
Smith will continue providing content for ESPN in a variety of roles such as his monthly program Marty Smith’s America, reporting for SportsCenter and College GameDay, as well as his weekend radio show Marty and McGee.
“My greatest passion is storytelling. There’s nowhere, as far as I’m concerned, in media, but certainly in sports, that compares to ESPN,” Smith told Mark Berman of The Roanoke Times during a phone interview. “I’m very blessed that the executive staff believed in me and offered me a new deal. It took about eight seconds to sign it.”
Smith has worked for ESPN since 2006, his latest contract was signed in the fall of 2014 and expired at the end of 2017. Terms of the new contract were not announced, only that it’s a multi-year deal.
Smith was originally hired for Nascar coverage, but his unique approach to reporting has earned him added visibility with the network. Smith has covered a variety of sports including college football, as well as profiled a number of sports personalities such as Michael Jordan, Nick Saban and Rory McIlroy.
Smith’s creativity to his reporting fits well with ESPN’s modern approach to sports coverage which promotes unique personalities while offering less game recaps and highlights.
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.
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.
