College football season is almost here. In less than two weeks, the feeling of fall returns. No more Saturdays just sitting on the couch hoping for something to satisfy the country’s appetite for football on television. Ahead of the arrival of a new season is signing season in sports media. Yesterday, ESPN made its latest signing, announcing a new one-hour college football road show featuring Josh Pate, Taylor Lewan and Will Compton from Bussin’ With The Boys.
The announcement didn’t come as a surprise. ESPN has continued to dip its strategic toes into the magic waters of the creator economy for some time now. Pat McAfee is the network’s biggest signee and has worked out extremely well. The network’s ill-fated attempt with Barstool Sports did not. However, last year’s efforts by Pate and the Bussin’ team have earned them a new opportunity this season.
There are a lot of benefits to the new program. It allows ESPN to gain added exposure on campuses where College GameDay will broadcast from the next morning. It’s taking what Pat McAfee has done with his Friday road show and elevating the expectation and coverage.
Pate, along with Lewan and Compton, are proven voices in the college football digital community. Last year, the three partnered for The Locker Room: CFB, which drew added engagement, reach and shared marketing for all the talent involved.
More Football
The other benefit is it’s more college football coverage throughout the ESPN weekly schedule. ESPN President of Content Burke Magnus hasn’t been shy about his feelings regarding ESPN underserving the college football fan in the past. This new program is an answer to that call and should prove to be another tip of the cap to a network that essentially owns college football and the College Football Playoff.
But this is bigger than just a college football show on a singular day during the season. If you’ve been following the reporting, it looks as though ESPN is betting on NFL Monday through Thursday in the 2 p.m. ET timeslot with Peter Schrager. Following the news yesterday, that means Bussin’ & Pate On Campus on Fridays ahead of the college football weekend. If that’s the plan, that’s an intentional push in betting that ESPN can still develop studio shows with talent inside the walls and out.
That’s a far cry from criticism that studio shows becoming a thing of the past at ESPN.
SportsCenter Growth
However, with any change comes some level of risk.
If you’ve been following the viewership of the 2 p.m. hour, SportsCenter has done extremely well in the time allotted. The program had its best first-quarter viewership this winter since entering the timeslot just three years ago. That momentum hasn’t slowed, with rises in April (394,000 | +64%), May (342,000 | +55%) and June (304,000 | +45%) compared to the same months year over year.
The hope is that momentum will continue. It may very well be the case. Adding familiar talent with a focused content approach on everything NFL Monday through Thursday and college football on Friday could prove to be an elixir capable of capitalizing even further on the daypart.
The gamble is more about the interest in the sport of football than the talents being inserted into the daypart. But if it’s a gamble worth making, why not make it year round? If the move in programming is seasonal, is that really accomplishing what Magnus looked to address for college football fans or football fans in general?
A Year Round Appointment
If the NFL and college football have proven anything, it’s that their storylines can play to a national audience year-round. There’s literally no shortage of topics that a one-hour football program could deliver to an audience year-round. The opportunity for ESPN is bigger than simply filling the 2 p.m. hour during football season. If the network truly believes football deserves a larger, more consistent investment, then it should make that commitment year-round.
NFL and college football doesn’t disappear when the games end. The storylines simply change. Free agency, the draft, OTAs and training camp carry the NFL through the spring and summer, while the transfer portal, NIL, coaching moves, spring practice and conference media days keep college football relevant long before the first Saturday kickoff.
ESPN has the talent, the access and the rights to own that conversation every day. Rather than treating the 2 p.m. hour as a seasonal football play, the network should turn it into a year-round destination for football fans. If ESPN to stop underserving college football, this is the opportunity to prove it and expand on it. Keep the focus on football — college and pro — 52 weeks a year. The audience is there. The stories are there.
Now ESPN simply needs to commit to them.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.
John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.