Given the controversy surrounding Pat McAfee, one question I keep getting asked is whether ESPN executives are happy with Star of the Week and College GameDay. The answer is yes.
Let’s start with the benefits. Last year, McAfee licensed his show of the same name to ESPN for $17 million a year. But McAfee’s show is making money, Washington Post reporter Ben Strauss said on the Varsity Puck News podcast hosted by John Ourand. Second, McAfee is connecting with young sports fans who are losing interest in linear television, according to ESPN content president Burke Magnus and president Jimmy Pitaro. As Magnus noted at the Front Office Sports Tuned In summit in New York, McAfee created his own show and became a star all by himself before signing with ESPN.
Third, pull down the best guest list of any ESPN show. Who else can make a phone call and get Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Bill Belichick and Nick Saban?
Fourth, he was a phenomenal addition to College GameDay, giving the venerable show a much-needed boost. Their weekly pitch contest is ridiculous. ESPN’s legal team wasn’t sure what the footage contained, but McAfee’s instincts were right. And this week’s comical mishap in South Carolina was the funniest. (Averaging 2 million viewers, GameDay had its best three-episode debut since 2010 and its second-best ever). It’s a very productive relationship he has with me, with Jimmy and Mike Foss, who basically runs the show,” Magnus told McAfee on Tuned In. “Pat is extremely open. He never said, despite building the relationship: “I don’t want to talk to you, leave me alone.” “… This was never the case. He always asked himself, “How can I improve?” » He appreciates the megaphone that ESPN offers him, his aspirations and his business.