ESPN president of content Burke Magnus wants Pat McAfee to stay “beyond his current contract”; Versant reports declining revenue and net profit; and Alex Faust is reportedly broadcasting an NLDS series for TNT Sports. Plus news on the Atlantic Coast Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Kelly Iko, Stan Verrett.
Magnus wants McAfee to remain at ESPN ‘beyond his current contract’
ESPN president of content Burke Magnus said on the “Sports Media with Richard Deitsch” podcast that ESPN wants to retain the services of Pat McAfee beyond the expiration of his contract. McAfee is in the third year of a five-year contract with ESPN is licensing 235 episodes of “The Pat McAfee Show” per year, a separate contract from working as an analyst on “College GameDay.”
“For sure, on an ongoing basis beyond the current relationship we have with him,” Magnus said when asked by Deitsch in an episode to be published Wednesday. “No doubt about that. One hundred percent.”
McAfee has arguably become the focal point of “College GameDay” as it begins its post-Lee Corso era. “We’re not trying to replace the headgear pick on a one versus one basis, but Pat’s opening monologue and then his personal pick at the end of the show has become fun and compelling,” Magnus said. “Long story short, both his show and his work on GameDay, I’ll take that in as far into the future as you want to go.”
Separately, Magnus noted that ESPN will have several people in the “First Take” hosting role over the next 30 to 45 days as it seeks a replacement for Molly Qerim. While the roster remains unknown, some of the hosts who have filled in for Qerim in the past include Christine Williamson, Evan Cohen, Shae Cornette and Courtney Cronin. ESPN “SportsCenter” anchor Amina Smith hosted the Monday edition of the show from the New York studios.
Versant reports declining revenue, net income ahead of Comcast spinoff
As Versant prepares to become a publicly traded entity in its spinoff from Comcast Corporations, the company reported last week that its revenue has been declining over the last several years. Data from FY 2024 shows that its assets generated overall revenue of $7.1 billion and a net income of $1.4 billion, both of which are down from the previous year.
For the six months ended on June 30, 2025, revenue for Versant is at $3.42 billion, which is down by about 6% from the figure at this time last year. On top of that, net income is down by 16% from the six-month point last year, finishing at $670 million. Net income attributable to Versant experienced an 11% drop to $1.4 billion in FY 2024 as well.
USA Sports, the forthcoming combined sports brand containing USA Network (66 million U.S. HH, Nielsen) and Golf Channel (54 million U.S. HH, Nielsen), will contain The Open Championship, WWE Smackdown, NASCAR, the WNBA, PGA Tour, Premier League, NWSL, Ryder Cup and League One Volleyball. When the separation occurs, Versant and NBCUniversal expect “to have separate agreements directly with the sports leagues to obtain certain key sports programming.” On top of that, sports content “that remains covered by an agreement between NBCUniversal and the relevant sports league” will air under “time purchase agreements” with Versant.
Once the company becomes public, it will trade shares of Class A common stock on the NASDAQ under the “VSNT” ticker. While the businesses are set to be separated legally by January 1, 2026, the spinoff of Versant from Comcast is expected to take place by the end of this year. The company will include other NBCUniversal cable networks such as MSNBC, CNBC, E!, SYFY and Oxygen True Crime.
Faust reportedly calling NLDS series for TNT Sports
Alex Faust will be working on MLB postseason games for TNT Sports this season, succeeding Bob Costas in the role after he retired from calling MLB games. The news of Faust’s promotion, first reported by Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, adds to his role with TNT Sports that also includes broadcasting NHL games and French Open tennis. Faust has announced Friday Night Baseball games for Apple TV+ throughout the regular season, and he has worked on Fox Sports and NESN baseball coverage over the years as well.
Faust is reportedly expected to be working with Ron Darling, who recently signed a multiyear contract renewal with the company under which he will continue working on MLB game broadcasts.
Brian Anderson, the television voice of the Milwaukee Brewers, is said to be continuing as the No. 1 MLB play-by-play announcer for TNT Sports and working with Jeff Francoeur in the NLDS. Anderson is then reportedly going to be working with Francoeur and Darling in the NLCS. Fox Sports will televise the ALCS across Fox and FS1 before airing the World Series later in the month.
Faust assumes this new responsibility as he is set to become the primary radio voice of the New York Rangers after appearing on select broadcasts for the last two seasons. The opening night matchup between the Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins does not interfere with the NLDS; however, if the NLDS was to reach a fourth game, it would take place on the same day as the Rangers’ road tilt against the Buffalo Sabres. The deciding fifth game of the series would also occur on the same day as the Rangers’ second meeting with the Penguins, although the times of the NLDS games are not yet known.
Plus: Atlantic Coast Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Kelly Iko, Stan Verrett
- Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner Jim Phillips announced Monday that the athletic directors of institutions that compete in football “overwhelmingly supported” a nine-game regular-season schedule and minimum of 10 games per year against Power Four opponents. This move requires formal adoption from the faculty athletics representatives, and a start date has not yet been revealed.
- ESPN and the Ohio Valley Conference have reached a six-year media rights extension that ensures a minimum of 725 events streaming on ESPN+. ESPN-owned linear networks will showcase (number) regular-season and OVC playoff games, and the conference is permitted to retain rights to broadcast up to 50 events per year locally on linear television within its footprint.
- Kelly Iko has joined Yahoo Sports to serve as a national NBA reporter, contributing to written coverage and appearing on a variety of shows. Iko arrives at the digital outlet after seven years with The Athletic where he covered the Houston Rockets and league at large.
- Former ESPN “SportsCenter” anchor Stan Verrett is joining FanDuel Sports Network as the pregame and postgame studio host for LA Clippers broadcasts, according to a report from Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports. According to the report, Verrett will also have a weekday show on the RSNs that joins a lineup containing Mike Golic and Mike Golic Jr.
