Throughout his 12-year career at ESPN, Matt Barrie has had the opportunity to contribute to a variety of coverage. As a “SportsCenter” anchor, he has been with the program through its evolution to meet modern consumers. He has balanced college football play-by-play responsibilities on Thursday nights and on Saturday for the studio program. Most recently, he started delivering play-by-play for TGL, a new golf league that features superstars and uses modern technology.
Earlier in the year, Barrie signed a new multiyear contract with ESPN. Derek Futterman of Sports Media Watch recently caught up with him as he embarks on a busy fall schedule. The interview is edited for length and clarity.
Sports Media Watch: Over the last 12 years at ESPN, how has your job as a “SportsCenter” anchor evolved?
Matt Barrie: There’s been several iterations of how “SportsCenter” has been presented over the years, but I think the one thing that’s remained the constant is that it is the flagship show of the network, and so it’s always going to have the bones of what “SportsCenter” has been throughout its entirety of the network since 1979.
And so while my timeslots have been altered a little bit, I think that the one thing that we still do is cover the breaking news, and in my world, in the daytime portion of “SportsCenter”, it’s more of a talk show. It’s more of, ‘Set the table for the night, react to what’s been going on,’ and so while we’ve done certain things within shows to modernize it a little bit, I still believe that at the end of the day, from start to finish, it’s still “SportsCenter.”
Sports Media Watch: How would you describe your hosting style?
Matt Barrie: I try to be relatable. I want to be someone that someone’s watching and says, ‘Hey, you know what? I’d go have a beer with him,’ or, ‘He made me laugh. I was having a bad day, and I watched “SportsCenter” and they were talking about college football, and he and Finebaum made me laugh,’ and I think relatability nowadays is such an important trait. I’m not an actor, I’m not a TV actor. I’m not someone that’s one way off air and then presents myself differently on air, so I try to be the same person on and off air and be authentic and relatable to the viewer, because at the end of the day, I’m an extension of them, right?
I’m a huge college football fan, I’m a huge golf fan, I’m a huge sports fan. I’m just fortunate enough to be able to talk about it on TV, and so for me, one of the best compliments I can get is, ‘You’re the same person off air that you are on air,’ and to me, that’s all about relatability.
Sports Media Watch: You have been working with Christine Williamson on the 2 PM ET edition of “SportsCenter” throughout the last year. What has it been like working with her?
Matt Barrie: Look, we love sports. We take sports seriously, but sports aren’t life or death. It’s a final score, and it’s an avenue for people to be entertained, and so you want to work with someone that shares that philosophy of wanting to entertain people while you’re talking about sports. And look, we get it. Fans are passionate. They’re serious about their teams, and so are we, but it makes it fun to show up at work every day and know that you’re going to laugh while you’re doing your job, and she and I have had a great time. We’re looking forward to another season.”
After the conclusion of Around the Horn this past summer, Barrie has been hosting two editions of SportsCenter on weekdays. The 5 p.m. version of the program will be continuing throughout the fall, Barrie confirmed, and he views the extra assignment as indicative of playing the games that are placed on his schedule.
Sports Media Watch: What are the challenges to hosting two editions of “SportsCenter” on weekdays?
Matt Barrie: Luckily for us, a lot of what we touch at 2 PM is still pretty relevant by 5 PM…. By the 5 PM [version], you’re dialed in to the entire day of sports, and that’s maybe the only thing that changes is since you’re closer to tipoff or kickoff or first pitch of some of the night games, you might pave into that avenue a little bit,” Barrie said. “At first, we were trying to figure out how that would work, and I think by week three, we found our rhythm and kind of got into a groove.”
Sports Media Watch: Do you feel that hosting two editions of “SportsCenter” is viable long term? Why or why not should ESPN explore this model for its anchors?
Matt Barrie: Look, I’ve always been of the philosophy, ‘Play the games that are on your schedule,’ and so if the schedule keeps coming out with two “SportsCenter”s on it, I’ll show up and keep doing the two “SportsCenter”s.
Sports Media Watch: You took part in the “SportsCenter: 50 States in 50 Days” cross-country tour, marking the first time the program embarked on such a journey in two decades. What made this project special for you to take part in?
Matt Barrie: What made it special is a lot of these states that aren’t going to get the attention day in and day out from ESPN platforms and “SportsCenter” platforms, they had their opportunity for that day to be in the limelight, which I think everyone deserves at some point. And so I always loved — and it takes me back to my local news roots where you’re there in a community sharing something that means so much to them on a national level — and to see these places get that during “SportsCenter 50 in 50”, it was rewarding to be a part of.
With analyst Dan Mullen becoming the new head coach for the UNLV Rebels, Barrie has a new partner in the broadcast booth and studio this season. For the Thursday night games, he will be pairing with Tom Luginbill, someone with whom he has worked previously during guest appearances on SportsCenter.
Sports Media Watch: How does your preparation for a college football broadcast differ from that for “SportsCenter” episodes?
Matt Barrie: You’re kind of diving into the roots of each of these schools because the people watching that game, it’s incumbent upon you to know the school, the town [and] the team like the fans know the school, the town [and] the team, and so I’ve just learned to do it differently, and it’s been fun. I love challenges, I love puzzles and I love trying to fit the pieces into the puzzle of what I’m doing, and prepping for Thursday nights has certainly been that over the last six years.
Sports Media Watch: You came up with the idea of anchoring Thursday editions of “SportsCenter” from the college campus on which you are calling a game. What is the value in continuing to work on the show hours before a game broadcast?
Matt Barrie: Why not just call the game that night? That, in and of itself, is a responsibility, but if I can still do “SportsCenter” and give that school in that conference the spotlight for the entirety of Thursday, starting with “SportsCenter” until the end of the game, why not do it? Why not? Thursdays, by the way, that’s the official start to the college football weekend, and so why not be this small, little appetizer of a de facto pregame show and college football party on campus before the game to really kick off the entire weekend. It adds work, it gets tiring, but it’s fun, and I think it’s a great way to kick off the college football week, and Greenberg and I laugh about it all the time now how we just wanted to start it so I could do my half of the 2 PM “SportsCenter” from my game site, now it’s turned into a thing.
Aside from anchoring SportsCenter, Barrie is also a play-by-play announcer for ESPN coverage of TGL as the golf league enters its second year. The entity will make its debut on broadcast television in December with an opening rematch of the championship between Atlanta Drive GC and New York Golf Club airing on ABC.
Sports Media Watch: What is the significance of TGL opening its season on ABC?
Matt Barrie: The significance of the spot is that it’s an original three broadcast network, and so just by default, there are people that know the big three networks from the beginning of time with TV — ABC, CBS, NBC — and to be able to broadcast a new product on that networks is going to get you a set of eyeballs that may otherwise not have [tuned] into ESPN.
Sports Media Watch: What are the challenges you have faced in becoming acclimated with the broadcasts for TGL golf?
Matt Barrie: We didn’t know how it was going to come out on TV, we didn’t know how the players were going to react. I’m up there in the booth by myself with six players miked and a producer and a director, so if you do the math, I’ve got eight voices in my ear during a two-hour broadcast with me trying to explain this new concept to viewers while trying to get the most out of the players and actually calling the action, and so it was a high-wire act for the first three to four weeks until we got comfortable with who and what we are, and that’s been the fun challenge of it.
You’re all in this bunker together trying to make this the best product possible, and then when you see the moment hit and click where the players really enjoy themselves, and we really started finding our stride. To be a part of it and to get the reaction that we’ve been getting, not only from the players, but from the public, it’s been probably the most rewarding thing that I’ve ever done in my career because it was from the ground up, and we’re still continuing to see it grow.
Sports Media Watch: ESPN recently introduced its direct-to-consumer platform and enhancements to its app, including personalized editions of SportsCenter powered through artificial intelligence. Why do you think this enterprise is a valuable investment?
Matt Barrie: You can bring in people you may not otherwise have had, and so if that fan knows that now they can get the attention from ESPN and find a way to cater to every sports fan, I mean, how cool is that? And so if I were someone who went to a smaller school or wanted to learn more about this sport or that sport and I just didn’t get it the way that I wanted to and now that I could, I think it’s a no brainer.
Sports Media Watch: What made staying with ESPN under a new multiyear contract the right decision at this stage in your career?
Matt Barrie: It has everything that I love. It’s a great place to work, but I’m a college football junkie and a golf nerd, and to be able to be a part of college football and the College Football Playoff the way that it is and having that and watching the sport grow. To be able to do that in addition to being part of our Masters coverage and being a part of the PGA Championship coverage and being a part of a startup like TGL, I can’t ask for anything more than what I want out of my career, which is to be attached to those two sports.
So while other networks have great properties and have interest in things that we do and things that I do, at the end of the day, it’s ESPN, college football and the golf world. It’s a perfect marriage for me, and so I was ecstatic to be able to stay for four more years and continue to grow in both of those spaces.
