Michael McCarthy of The Sporting News caught up with IMG’s vice president of original content, Mike Antinoro to talk about Kristine Leahy’s upcoming new show for FS1. Antinoro says that the show will “aim to discover the lost art of conversation” and is heavily influenced by Roy Firestone and the old ESPN show Up Close.
The show is expected to debut this fall. It will be a 30 minute show airing in the 5pm time slot on weekdays alongside the new sports gambling themed show that the network is developing for Brent Musburger, Charissa Thompson, and Clay Travis. McCarthy notes that both of those shows will likely hit the air in either September or October.
Antinoro says Leahy’s new show will not be produced in Fox Sports’ Los Angeles studio. Instead, it will feature in-depth conversations on athletes’ home turf. He also prefers the show be called a “conversation show” instead of an “interview show.”
“We felt like the long-form interview is kind of a lost art these days when it comes to sports,” said Antinoro. “That could be because of the proliferation of so much media — and so much accessibility to athletes. They almost can put their own interviews up on any media they want to. We want to have a real conversation.”
