Joe Buck says he wants to stay with ESPN for the rest of his career; Scott Van Pelt is not moving to 5 PM ET on ESPN; and Disney is reportedly preparing for more layoffs. Plus news on Fox Sports, Rich Eisen, ESPN Digital and Bill Cowher.
Buck interested in staying at ESPN for rest of career
ESPN play-by-play broadcaster Joe Buck is interested in staying with the network for the remainder of his career, he said in an upcoming interview on the “Sports Media with Richard Deitsch” podcast. His current deal with ESPN ends after the upcoming NFL season, culminating in the Super Bowl, and there have not yet been formal discussions on an extension.
“If you reached through my computer screen right now and handed me a contract to continue my time at ESPN, I would sign it without even looking at it,” Buck told Deitsch, a contributor to Sports Business Journal. “I’ve loved every second of it and I am hopeful that I’m at ESPN for the rest of my career. That’s as plain as I can say it and as honest as I can say it and maybe it’s stupid of me to say. If something gets thrown at me and I have to shift, I’ll shift. But I would be hopeful to stay right where I am until I’m finished.”
Buck initially joined ESPN in 2022 and has primarily called “Monday Night Football” games for the last four seasons. He called an MLB game for ESPN last season his first national baseball broadcast since leaving Fox Sports, and is scheduled to do so again next Wednesday.
Buck is expected to work with analyst Troy Aikman and sideline reporters Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge on the Super Bowl broadcast. While it is the first time ESPN has rights to air the game, The Walt Disney Company has broadcast the championship matchup before, most recently in 2006.
Van Pelt confirms he is not moving to 5 PM ET timeslot on ESPN
ESPN “SportsCenter” anchor Scott Van Pelt said on his podcast this week that he will not be moving to the network’s 5 PM ET timeslot and will instead continue hosting the late night edition of “SportsCenter.”
Van Pelt confirmed that he had conversations with ESPN president of content Burke Magnus and fellow executives Mike McQuade, David Roberts and Mike Foss and concluded that it did not make sense to “mess with” the late night show.
He added that he was never entirely sure what a 5 PM ET show would have entailed. ESPN has aired a half-hour edition of “SportsCenter” in the 5 PM slot since “Around the Horn” ended nearly a year ago.
Van Pelt started hosting the midnight version of “SportsCenter” in 2015, anchoring the program solo with unique segments and special guest interviews. The program usually airs from NFL stadiums on Monday nights during the season since Van Pelt is on site as the host of “Monday Night Countdown.”
Disney reportedly planning upcoming layoffs
The Walt Disney Company plans “to eliminate as many as 1,000 positions in the coming weeks,” marking the company’s first set of layoffs under new CEO Josh D’Amaro, according to a report by Joe Flint and Ben Fritz of The Wall Street Journal. News of the cuts, which were set in motion prior to D’Amaro taking over as CEO, comes after John Ourand of Puck reported earlier this week that ESPN would be laying off some employees “primarily in off-camera departments.”
Disney has engaged in layoffs on several occasions in the last decade, including cutting 7,000 jobs to slash $5.5 billion in costs upon the return of Bob Iger as CEO in 2023. The company later increased its cost-cutting target by $2 billion later that year and reached profitability in its streaming business for the first time in Q3 2024. Disney earned $450 million from its SVOD services last quarter, marking a 72% year-over-year increase, but it suffered losses on other parts of its balance sheet.
In particular, a 15-day dispute that took Disney programming off YouTube TV impacted operating income in its sports segment by “approximately $110 million.” Ourand reported that this was “a somewhat unexpected revenue dip last fall” partially attributable for the timing of the layoffs; however, the segment still registered a $191 million in OI. These RIFs at ESPN would occur less than a year ahead of Disney’s first Super Bowl broadcast since February 2006. It would also take place as the NFL, which recently took a 10% equity stake in ESPN, is reportedly renegotiating its television contracts ahead of an opt-out clause it can enact in most deals (with the exception of ESPN) after the 2029 season.
For the upcoming Disney layoffs, many cuts are reportedly expected to be within the marketing department, recently consolidated under chief marketing/brand officer Asad Ayaz. Disney is also in the process of fully integrating Hulu into the Disney+ application and is said to be combining the staffs for both services.
Plus: Fox Sports, Rich Eisen, ESPN Digital, Bill Cowher
- Fox Sports has added Mexico’s all-time leading goal scorer Javier “Chicharito” Hernández to its FIFA World Cup 26 broadcast roster as an analyst, the company announced on Thursday. Hernández played in three FIFA World Cup tournaments and will be working alongside host Rebecca Lowe with former French National Team striker Thierry Henry and Sweden’s all-time leading goal scorer Zlatan Ibrahimović.
- Rich Eisen will host the midnight ET edition of “SportsCenter” on Sunday from the ESPN studios in Bristol, Conn. following a sports weekend that includes the Masters Tournament and the final stretch of the NBA and NHL seasons. Eisen, who hosted the show for the first time in two decades last August, is also going to broadcast Monday and Tuesday editions of his eponymous weekday talk program from the network’s New York studios.
- ESPN is premiering “Women’s Sports Now” on its digital platforms next Thursday, April 16 featuring Suzy Shuster, Renee Montgomery, Colleen Wolfe and Sarah Tiana. The show is executive produced by Firefly Studios, Rich Eisen Productions and Hello Sunshine and moves over to ESPN after previously airing on Roku.
- CBS Sports NFL analyst Bill Cowher is hosting a new six-part television series on WQED, the PBS-affiliated station in Pittsburgh, titled “Conversations with Coach Cowher.” The show, which officially premieres on Thursday, April 30, will feature discussions with special guests from the Pittsburgh area, including Swin Cash, Mark Cuban and Ming-Na Wen.
