Kirk Herbstreit is calling out his own network over a lack of college football coverage on daily studio programs. The longtime ESPN analyst says college football gets buried on the network’s daily studio shows in an interview with Bussin’ with the Boys.
What We Know: Herbstreit raised the issue on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast this week. He argued that ESPN’s morning studio shows favor the NFL, the NBA and MLB over college football. Meanwhile, his comments echo ESPN content president Burke Magnus, who has said previously the network undercovers the sport. In fact, ESPN is also launching Bussin’ & Pate on Campus, a new Friday show with Josh Pate, Will Compton and Taylor Lewan, debuting September 4 in Baton Rouge.
What They Said: (All comments via Bussin’ with the Boys):
Kirk Herbstreit says ESPN is guilty of not providing enough college football conversation on studio shows: “I’ll be honest with you, man. Our own place [ESPN] has been very guilty, those morning shows. It’s NFL or LeBron James or the Yankees or the Dodgers. They’re playing the hits. They’re not breaking down what’s going on in Nebraska unless there’s turmoil. Unless there’s some kind of controversy, then they’re going to want to get into it. They’re not talking college football. Wait a second, why are you always talking NBA and MLB and WNBA? Where’s college football on your rundown? It’s the second biggest sport.”
Kirk Herbstreit says ESPN needs more college football programming on a daily basis: “The more college football and the more personalities like you guys [Bussin’ With The Boys] and Josh [Pate] who love it and care about it. Man, I wish you guys would do it [Bussin’ & Pate on Campus] Monday through Friday. Maybe this Friday show will lead to a Monday through Friday. I think we need more college football on ESPN.”
What Remains Unclear: However, it remains unclear whether ESPN will expand beyond the new Friday show with Lewan, Compton and Pate.
What It Means: Herbstreit’s comments echo network management about the realization of underserving college football coverage throughout the week. After all, Burke Magnus has said the sport deserves more airtime given its audience size. The new Friday show is a start, but Herbstreit wants daily coverage. Moreover, with time, the network will likely continue to build upon what it has built already. In addition, ESPN does oversee the SEC Network, ACC Network, and several other networks surrounding college athletics.
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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.