ESPNDan Le Batard, Stugotz and Co. have one of the most-passionate followings in sports media. ESPN is losing that following soon.
The Worldwide Leader announced this week that Le Batard is officially leaving the company at the beginning of 2021.
“Gracias to ESPN for unleashing [co-stars] Papi and Stugotz upon an unsuspecting America, and for lending its substantive credibility to our careening clown car … [T]hank you, Disney and ESPN, for a quarter century of absurd blessings,” Le Batard said in a statement.
ESPN executive Norby Williamson said it was a mutual decision.
“It was mutually agreed that it was best for both sides to move on to new opportunities and we worked together closely to make that possible,” Williamson said.
Le Batard, who hosted The Dan Le Batard Show and Highly Questionable for ESPN, is now a very coveted free agent.
It remains to be seen where Le Batard and his crew will end up, but there appear to be two logical destinations:
- Sirius XM
- Spotify
The Washington Post and others have noted that both companies make sense for Le Batard:
Le Batard, a former columnist at the Miami Herald, will now find out what life is like without the benefit of ESPN’s enormous platform. He could find a home at Spotify or Sirius, companies that have made recent investments in audio programming.
It will be interesting to see where Le Batard and his loyal following end up at.
