I am not surprised at all, that he is going to ESPN. They needed a big name to be affiliated with the SEC Network and who`s bigger than Finebaum in SEC country?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...sj_share_tweet
Paul Finebaum's radio silence has an end date: Aug. 1.
Finebaum, the polarizing personality of college football's signature call-in show, is leaving the Birmingham, Ala., market where his contract expired in January, for Charlotte, N.C., and a national forum: ESPN. His multi-tiered platform will include a radio program on ESPN networks, 100 televised appearances annually on ESPN and a TV simulcast of his radio show on the ESPN-owned SEC Network launching in August 2014.
"It would be the understatement of my life to say I wasn't thrilled," Finebaum said. "It is incredibly exciting to be part of a new adventure, particularly one that involves the premiere brand in sports along with the pre-eminent conference in sports." Finebaum has a five-year contract. Neither he nor ESPN would give financial details.
To non-sports fans, Finebaum's name might be as foreign as the wishbone offense. But in the burgeoning world of sports media, particularly in the South, he is a superstar. His four-hour daily show was syndicated on nearly 30 stations across the South and revolved around legions of listeners who called in daily to hail a team, blast a foe or even confess a crime: An Alabama fan once revealed on the show how he poisoned beloved trees on Auburn's campus. As the Southeastern Conference's dominance grew—the SEC has won the past seven major-college football national championships—Finebaum's show became the laundry-strewn palace balcony from which to crow.
"What is striking is he is such a great moderator-slash-provocateur of the emotion that lives within the fan base," said Justin Connolly, the senior vice president for programming who will oversee the SEC Network for ESPN. "To be able to bring him aboard onto the team here is significant."
As broadcast-rights fees rise to more than $250 million annually per conference, college football is transitioning from a largely regional sport to a national one, with the first-ever postseason playoff starting after the 2014 season. The question is whether Finebaum can retain the distinctly southern feel of the show in a slick, nationally packaged product.
"The show has become successful for a lot of reasons, but it's always been a caller show and the audience has been able to become the star," Finebaum said. "I don't really see that changing in the immediate future."
Finebaum's radio show at first will air primarily in the Southeast, ESPN's Connolly said. Finebaum also will appear on a range of ESPN TV programs that relate to college football before the debut of the SEC Network.
After Finebaum's contract expired in January, he said nothing publicly about his future but said he was asked about it constantly. One man approached him at a gas station, tearfully said he missed him and hugged him, Finebaum said. Based on fans' Twitter posts, it seems that the only thing worse than Finebaum is his absence. One tweet read, "Please @finebaum save us from this misery. Sorry for any and every bad thing I've ever said about u or your show." Another tweet summed up many listeners' feelings: "All I am saying is that listening to Finebaum is like coming upon a bad wreck on the highway! You don't want to look, but YOU JUST HAVE TO!"
During his four-month layoff from radio hosting, Finebaum also reached a $650,000 deal with HarperCollins to write a book, due out in August 2014.
Finebaum, the polarizing personality of college football's signature call-in show, is leaving the Birmingham, Ala., market where his contract expired in January, for Charlotte, N.C., and a national forum: ESPN. His multi-tiered platform will include a radio program on ESPN networks, 100 televised appearances annually on ESPN and a TV simulcast of his radio show on the ESPN-owned SEC Network launching in August 2014.
"It would be the understatement of my life to say I wasn't thrilled," Finebaum said. "It is incredibly exciting to be part of a new adventure, particularly one that involves the premiere brand in sports along with the pre-eminent conference in sports." Finebaum has a five-year contract. Neither he nor ESPN would give financial details.
To non-sports fans, Finebaum's name might be as foreign as the wishbone offense. But in the burgeoning world of sports media, particularly in the South, he is a superstar. His four-hour daily show was syndicated on nearly 30 stations across the South and revolved around legions of listeners who called in daily to hail a team, blast a foe or even confess a crime: An Alabama fan once revealed on the show how he poisoned beloved trees on Auburn's campus. As the Southeastern Conference's dominance grew—the SEC has won the past seven major-college football national championships—Finebaum's show became the laundry-strewn palace balcony from which to crow.
"What is striking is he is such a great moderator-slash-provocateur of the emotion that lives within the fan base," said Justin Connolly, the senior vice president for programming who will oversee the SEC Network for ESPN. "To be able to bring him aboard onto the team here is significant."
As broadcast-rights fees rise to more than $250 million annually per conference, college football is transitioning from a largely regional sport to a national one, with the first-ever postseason playoff starting after the 2014 season. The question is whether Finebaum can retain the distinctly southern feel of the show in a slick, nationally packaged product.
"The show has become successful for a lot of reasons, but it's always been a caller show and the audience has been able to become the star," Finebaum said. "I don't really see that changing in the immediate future."
Finebaum's radio show at first will air primarily in the Southeast, ESPN's Connolly said. Finebaum also will appear on a range of ESPN TV programs that relate to college football before the debut of the SEC Network.
After Finebaum's contract expired in January, he said nothing publicly about his future but said he was asked about it constantly. One man approached him at a gas station, tearfully said he missed him and hugged him, Finebaum said. Based on fans' Twitter posts, it seems that the only thing worse than Finebaum is his absence. One tweet read, "Please @finebaum save us from this misery. Sorry for any and every bad thing I've ever said about u or your show." Another tweet summed up many listeners' feelings: "All I am saying is that listening to Finebaum is like coming upon a bad wreck on the highway! You don't want to look, but YOU JUST HAVE TO!"
During his four-month layoff from radio hosting, Finebaum also reached a $650,000 deal with HarperCollins to write a book, due out in August 2014.
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