NFL and MLB play-by-play man Joe Buck may host a late night talk show on FOX, according to Broadcasting and Cable.
FOX executives are considering having Buck host a weekly, half-hour long program on the network — somewhat similar to Talkshow with Spike Firestein, which airs for a half-hour at midnight every Saturday — which would include “interviews and comedy … set in front of a small studio audience.”
The show is being planned during a hectic time in the late night talk show genre. Part of the reason FOX is interested into getting back into late night programming is because of the impending departure of Tonight Show host Jay Leno in 2009 and the shake-up that would ensue. With Leno said to be reconsidering leaving late night, and with Conan O’Brien set to replace him on the Tonight Show, there may be bigger names than Buck available for FOX.
If Buck were to host a talk show on FOX, he would not be the first sportscaster to crossover into the late night network entertainment. Bob Costas hosted Later with Bob Costas on NBC from 1988-94, and Howard Cosell hosted Saturday Night Live on ABC — a different version than the famed NBC program by the same name — in the 1970s.
