More than two decades after leaving ESPN, Rich Eisen is returning to the network as part of its forthcoming direct-to-consumer offering, sources briefed on the move said Monday.
Eisen will take “The Rich Eisen Show” from Roku to ESPN in the fall. There is a strong possibility that the program, which runs from noon to 3 p.m. ET, could also land on ESPN Radio, where it would be viewed as an anchor for the network, but those details are not yet ironed out. Similarly to “The Pat McAfee Show,” Eisen’s program will be licensed by ESPN, meaning he is expected to maintain ownership and editorial control. The terms of the deal are not yet known.
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Eisen, 55, left ESPN for NFL Network in 2003 to become the face of the league-owned entity. He will remain the featured host on NFL Network’s “GameDay” and its draft coverage. He also calls select regular-season games for the network.
ESPN declined to comment.
ESPN is set to launch a direct-to-consumer offering in the fall, which will allow customers to forgo cable to subscribe. The addition of Eisen’s show is its latest effort to ramp up content on the platform, but Eisen is not the only personality ESPN has tried to recruit for it. The Athletic previously reported ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro met with Colin Cowherd about a deal, but Cowherd decided to stay at Fox Sports and run his podcast business, The Volume.
With ESPN in advanced talks for NFL Media, the partnership between Eisen and the network could grow. ESPN and the league have been in talks for years about NFL Media’s assets. As ESPN’s direct-to-consumer service nears launch, sources have indicated a deal, which has been in the red zone before, has its best chance of being completed.
The addition of Eisen is considered additive to “The Pat McAfee Show,” which is also scheduled from noon to 3 p.m. ET daily, with placement on ESPN’s top channel for its first two hours. When ESPN licensed McAfee’s program on a five-year deal for more than $85 million, a big part of its thinking was its reimagined app and the direct-to-consumer product. Like McAfee, Eisen figures to have prominent placement on the app. Eisen’s program will also be featured on ESPN+, the network’s current, niche streaming-only option, and Disney+. Eisen will not be on any of ESPN’s linear networks, which include ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNews.
On ESPN Radio, the network has “Joe and Q,” featuring Joe Fortenbaugh and Qiant “Q” Myers, from noon to 3 p.m. ET.
Eisen has built a business around having a network base and licensing his talk show program, which began in 2014, to suitors. The show aired on NBC Sports Network and Peacock before moving to Roku in 2022. It is currently distributed by Westwood One across the country on radio and also airs on SiriusXM.
(Photo: Erika Goldring / Getty Images)
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