Latest news with #FoxSports1
Washington Post
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Barstool, Fox, and a marriage made for modern sports media
Barstool Sports is back on TV. Eight years after ESPN cancelled a Barstool late-night show, the digital sports media company that has spawned devoted fans and fervent critics is coming to Fox and Fox Sports1 for the upcoming football season. 'Barstool Sports, myself, we are joining 'Big Noon Kickoff',' Portnoy said in a video posted to social media Thursday, referencing Fox's Saturday morning college football show. Portnoy has long been a divisive figure in sports media and beyond, building a massive digital following with commentary on an array of subjects, including sports, politics, gambling, finance and pizza. He also has a history of misogynistic and racist comments and has been the subject of sexual misconduct accusations. Now, he will appear alongside Matt Leinart, Urban Meyer and others during college football season. Barstool, meanwhile, will produce a daily morning show for Fox's cable sports network. As one high-level media executive told The Post: "It's insane! How can you put [Portnoy] on TV next to Urban Meyer? Of course, I'm going to watch.' Here's what to know about this seismic move for sports media. Industry insiders spoke on the condition of anonymity for this story, to offer candid thoughts without jeopardizing working relationships. When ESPN launched a show with the hosts of the popular Barstool podcast, 'Pardon My Take,' in 2017, ESPN staffers revolted over Barstool's treatment of women. Portnoy has made degrading comments about women, including once suggesting some 'kind of deserve to be raped.' The ESPN show was canceled after a single episode. (Portnoy has said many of his comments were jokes.) Much has changed since then. As other digital sports outlets have struggled or disappeared, Barstool still claims a rabid fan base of mostly young men who consume content, buy merchandise and show up at events. It leaned into gambling ahead of others and helped to launch the careers of several media superstars, including Pat McAfee, now at ESPN, and Alex Cooper, among the most popular podcasters in the country. Go to any college football tailgate and you will find Barstool flags flying in the parking lots. 'Pardon My Take,' featuring Dan Katz and Eric Sollenberger (better known as Big Cat and PFT Commenter) is going on a decade as one of the country's most popular sports podcasts. Portnoy has become the most important pizza influencer in the country. Barstool's ESPN show also came during President Trump's first term, right before the #MeToo movement gained prominence. Trump since has been re-elected, and Portnoy is now a regular guest on Fox News and Fox Business. After the Barstool partnership was announced, one Fox Sports staffer told the Post, 'I think from a business proposition this is probably smart, and I don't love that that is true.' ESPN has re-made its business around the industry's biggest personalities, most notably McAfee and Stephen A. Smith. Portnoy is arguably better at generating attention than either. "Dave has built a one-of-a-kind brand that connects with a new generation of sports fans – authentic, bold, and original,' Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks said in the company's announcement. A buzzword among so many executives today is relevance. Portnoy has mastered the attention economy with more than 9 million followers between X and TikTok. (Katz and Sollenberger each have more than 1 million X followers, too.) On Fox, Portnoy likely will deliver his share of viral moments, perhaps along the lines of McAfee doing a backflip into the Tennessee River when ESPN's college football pregame show visited Knoxville. ESPN licenses McAfee's show for two hours every afternoon. It will soon license TNT's pre- and post-game show for its NBA coverage. Now Fox, after canceling three of its daytime talk shows earlier this month, is turning to Barstool to develop a morning show. (According to people familiar with the deal, Barstool is building a TV studio in its Chicago headquarters.) Sports networks are showing a reluctance to develop new programming outside of live sports, outsourcing what used to be a core function of a network. That leaves Barstool a chance to make a morning show that looks nothing like traditional TV. It's reasonable to assume that whatever Barstool produces won't look anything like ESPN's 'Get Up' or Fox's now-canceled 'Breakfast Ball," shows consisting mostly of ex-athletes and talking heads debating the day's biggest sports stories from behind desks. Whether Barstool's fans — and other sports fans — will watch on linear TV is another question. McAfee, for example, has a big digital footprint, but his TV ratings have lagged. (ESPN has said that doesn't matter because McAfee is part of the company's direct-to-consumer strategy.) Barstool will now confront similar questions to the networks: Can they take a digital concept and translate it to TV? But also: Can anyone make a successful linear TV show in 2025? Many have compared Portnoy's role at Fox to something similar to McAfee's — a big-energy presence with a strong connection to young male sports fans. But one media executive said Portnoy also reminded them of ESPN's hiring of conservative pundit Rush Limbaugh on its Sunday morning NFL coverage in the early 2000s. If you watch McAfee's show, he often isn't delivering the most provocative takes the way Portnoy does or Limbaugh once did. (It's often McAfee's guests making news.) Limbaugh lasted just a few episodes after he suggested quarterback Donovan McNabb was overrated because he was Black. But it felt then like Limbaugh was interested in the ESPN platform for his own visibility. This has been the cause of some tension at ESPN with McAfee, too. Is what is good for McAfee always good for ESPN? And in the same vein, will what is good for Portnoy, the executive wondered, always be what's good for Fox Sports?
USA Today
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Gilbert Arenas interested in hiring Joy Taylor for 'Gil's Arena' after FOX ouster
Joy Taylor has one suitor on the record vying for her hosting services. In the wake of Fox Sports 1 and Taylor parting this week – along with the show she co-hosted, "Speak," and two others in the network's daily lineup being canceled – former NBA-All-Star-turned-podcaster-and-streamer Gilbert Arenas has voiced his desire to hire Taylor. 'Joy's a great host,' Arenas said on a recent "No Chill Gil" Summer League stream, according to Awful Announcing. 'I know we're looking at her for the football side. We've been behind the scenes talking to her for the last year.' Arenas' show, "Gil's Arena," exists under the Underdog Fantasy umbrella and has 1.1 million subscribers on YouTube. Taylor has not commented since the news broke of her show's cancellation.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Joy Taylor Grabs Attention After Fox Sports Firing
Joy Taylor Grabs Attention After Fox Sports Firing originally appeared on The Spun. Joy Taylor is out at Fox Sports. The prominent sports media personality, who is the younger sister of former NFL star Jason Taylor, was let go by Fox Sports on Monday, according to a report from The Athletic. Advertisement Taylor and her show, "Speak," were reportedly canceled by Fox Sports 1. The network reportedly canceled three shows in total. Fox Sports 1 is making major changes heading into the 2025 football season. It's been an eventful past year for Taylor, who was named in a lawsuit filed against Fox Sports by Noushin Faraji, a make-up artist. She accused the network's former top programming executive, Charlie Dixon, of sexual battery. The lawsuit claimed that Taylor told Faraji to "get over it." Taylor denied the allegation, though she was also accused of having an inappropriate relationship with the Fox Sports 1 executive. Joy Taylor The Athletic's Andrew Marchand first reported the news of Taylor's ousting: Taylor co-hosted 'Speak' with Keyshawn Johnson and Paul Pierce. Taylor's contract was up and not renewed by Fox Sports after she had been with the network for nearly a decade. FS1 is also ending the morning shows 'Breakfast Ball' and 'The Facility.' Fox Sports declined to comment. Colin Cowherd's 'The Herd,' which begins at noon (ET), and 'First Things First' with Nick Wright, Chris Broussard and Kevin Wildes at 3 p.m. (ET), will continue in their time slots. FS1 will likely produce new shows in place of the cancellations. Taylor seems to be handling the news of her firing in OK fashion. Advertisement The popular sports media personality turned heads with a workout video on the day of her ousting. She was working out while on vacation. "Couple sets before the beach 💪🏽," she wrote from vacation. If Taylor is bothered by her ousting from Fox Sports 1, she certainly doesn't seem to be showing it. Joy Taylor Grabs Attention After Fox Sports Firing first appeared on The Spun on Jul 15, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
15-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Emmanuel Acho on why LeBron James and Luka Doncic can't win the NBA championship together
There seems to be some guarded optimism about the Los Angeles Lakers' prospects this coming season. They likely aren't championship contenders, but they could be an improved team thanks to the addition of a productive starting center in Deandre Ayton, as well as better chemistry due to Luka Doncic being in his first full season with them. However, there are still doubts about how great the Lakers can be, mainly because of their shortcomings on the defensive end. They lack two-way players, and Doncic and LeBron James aren't great defenders for various reasons. Neither is Austin Reaves, who is their third-best player. On Fox Sports 1's "The Facility," former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho said that James needs to leave the Lakers after this coming season if they are to win the NBA championship because he and Doncic are weak defenders. "This has to be LeBron's last year if the Lakers want to win anything of significance," Acho said. "You can't win a championship right now — or, at least, it would be very hard to win with Luka and LeBron on the court at the same time because neither of them at this point are defensive juggernauts. "... I don't see the coexistence of LeBron and Luka and championships," Acho said. The Lakers were a strong defensive team for a period of time this past season, especially in February as Doncic got himself integrated with them. But after the All-Star break, they ranked just 17th in defensive rating, and in the playoffs, they were 12th in that category among the 16th teams that made it there. Los Angeles will likely be a very strong offensive team, if not an offensive juggernaut, this coming season. But it will have to overcome plenty defensively to get the job done in the postseason.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Days After Calling Out LeBron James For Kevin Durant Take, Paul Pierce's NBA Show Cancelled In Major Changes At FS1
Days After Calling Out LeBron James For Kevin Durant Take, Paul Pierce's NBA Show Cancelled In Major Changes At FS1 originally appeared on Fadeaway World. Paul Pierce's NBA show 'Speak' on Fox Sports 1 has been cancelled with two other shows, in a major shake-up at the sports broadcasting giant, FS1, amid falling TV ratings. This news comes just days after Pierce called out LeBron James for not naming him with Kevin Durant as the best-equipped scorer in NBA history. Advertisement As a result of the major changes, Fox Sports 1 has also let Joy Taylor, the renowned TV host, go altogether. According to Andrew Merchand of The Athletic, Joy Taylor's contract was up with FS1, and they decided not to renew her contract amid her ongoing lawsuit controversy, despite nearly a decade with the company. Simultaneously, FS1 also cancelled two other shows, 'The Facility' with Emmanuel Acho, Chase Daniel, James Jones, and LeSean McCoy, and 'The Breakfast Ball' hosted by Craig Carton, Mark Schlereth, and Danny Parkins. What Paul Pierce Said About LeBron James And Kevin Durant Just days before Fox Sports 1 decided to cancel 'Speak', which was co-hosted by Paul Pierce, Keyshawn Johnson, and Joy Taylor, Pierce made some eye-opening comments on the show that went viral on social media. Advertisement Kevin Durant's podcast episode with LeBron James had just been released, where James hailed Durant for being arguably the most equipped scorer in NBA history. Pierce seemingly was offended by that and felt he also belonged in the same discussion. He went on 'Speak' and expressed his opinions on what James said, following which he faced backlash from fans for seeming overconfident about his abilities. "I was probably the best pure scorer in the history of the game, because I was pretty equipped. I'm just saying, I need to be in this conversation... I must've been one of the most equipped." "I think when he talks about him, he talks about efficiency. Cause I shot more bad shots than Kevin... but Kevin, because he's seven feet, he can get his shot off on anybody. He doesn't really see defense, you know what I'm saying? That's why he's so efficient; there's nobody at his height on the perimeter. He changed the way you look at perimeter; he pretty much changed the game on the perimeter. Like being a seven-foot two-guard?" Advertisement "Like, come on, the biggest two-guard when I came in was 6'5 or 6'6... he's a center playing at the point guard, two-guard. All his match-ups and the way he shoots the ball and gets to the hole, he is efficient with it. So I can see why LeBron would say that, but you got to put me in that talk when you talk about the most-equipped scorers, man." While the clips from the show itself went viral and thousands of people saw it, the TV ratings remained stagnant and seemingly on the decline. The cancellation comes as part of broader programming changes at the network, though the timing raises questions about the role of recent controversies. On one hand, Taylor had worked with the network for nearly a decade, but on the other, this is not the first time a TV network has cut ties with Pierce. In 2021, as well, following an Instagram Live video controversy, ESPN cut ties with Paul Pierce before he joined FS1 in 2024. Things seem to be on pause for Pierce's career as a TV Host, but the bigger question here is whether the recent controversies pushed FS1 to make the call on this. I guess we'll never know, or only time will tell if reliable sources surface on this. For now, they claim it is only the falling TV ratings that prompted this decision. Advertisement Related: Paul Pierce Doubles Down On Wild Take; Claims He's A Better Pure Scorer Than Jordan, LeBron, And Durant This story was originally reported by Fadeaway World on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
