With a long list of changes about to take place on ESPN Radio, the one constant is Dan Le Batard, but it’s going to be with a smaller platform. Going from three hours on national radio and television down to two looks like a demotion from the outside, and despite ESPN assuring him it’s not, Le Batard acknowledged the reduced time feels like a demotion.
Being on vacation this week, Le Batard took time to pre-record a podcast addressing the reports and rumors about his show’s standing with ESPN. The 20-minute podcast was released Wednesday, after ESPN Radio’s new lineup became official.
“I myself viewed it, and said to people above us ‘hey, this feels like a demotion,’ and the answer I’m getting is ‘no it’s not,’” Le Batard said near the start of the podcast.
“If you guys are afraid of hurting my toddler feelings and you want to say it’s part of a digital push, I will agree with you once those resources come about that digital push that we’ve been promised,” he added. If ESPN is going to tout a reimagined emphasis on Le Batard’s show as a digital product, he wants to see them put effort into growing the platform.
Cutting a third of Le Batard’s terrestrial show comes shortly after The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand reported ESPN Radio was considering removing the show from its lineup altogether. Le Batard quickly responded to that report in April, calling it weird, false and ridiculous. It seemed unlikely, considering he has more than two years left on his contract with ESPN, but after seeing his terrestrial content get cut by a third, Marchand’s story appears more plausible.
While ESPN says making Le Batard’s third hour digital-only is not a demotion, it’s also not a promotion. But the shift comes as Le Batard, Stugotz and the Shipping Container already have a large digital following. He’s never shown a desire to just ‘stick to sports’ which usually doesn’t align with the thinking of ESPN, but The Worldwide Leader has exemplified a shift on that front recently. Moving an hour of his show off the terrestrial airwaves might inspire Le Batard to focus even less on adhering to the requests of Mickey Mouse.
If ESPN is starting to transition Le Batard to their digital platform, he will have to decide if it’s the best location for his show going forward. Le Batard is the type of personality and show that could succeed on an all-digital platform. Joe Rogan recently landed a $100 million deal with Spotify, and The Ringer was sold to the same company for nearly $200 million earlier this year. If and when Le Batard puts his show on the open market, he’ll have other suitors.