Pat McAfee continues to make headlines on ESPN.
The former punter turned pundit has become one of the biggest names in sports media in recent years, charming his target audience with tank tops, conspiracy theories and beer-fueled antics. However, McAfee’s rise from YouTube to the global leader in sports has not been without its headaches.
It looks like everyone’s favorite (or least favorite, depending on your perspective) Roganite is ruffling feathers. Not just among masses of disillusioned, sports-hungry consumers. But also among the top brass at ESPN, those who write McAfee’s paychecks and face backlash for each and every one of his (and his guests’) unfiltered comments.
So how did it all come to this? The Jugo Mobile tells you about McAfee, ESPN and a family feud that has escalated in recent days.
Why did Pat McAfee criticize ESPN?
ESPN shot in the dark with McAfee, a bold personality free of the corporate desires for respectability that have often come to define network pundits. He offered McAfee a surprising deal (five years and $85 million) as well as a level of creative freedom not available to much of ESPN’s on-screen talent.
However, all that money came with expectations. That is to say, McAfee would attract more fans and a larger audience. According to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, that hasn’t happened yet; McAfee’s ratings numbers trail those of ESPN supernova Stephen A. Smith, according to Marchand.
Since the start of McAfee’s show on ESPN in the fall, Stephen A. Smith and “First Take” are giving McAfee a lead of 583,000 viewers, and McAfee maintains only 302,000, representing a 48 percent drop.
Compared to the same window last year, which included “SportsCenter,” McAfee is down 12 percent. On FS1, Colin Cowherd’s show nearly beat McAfee on some days and saw 19 per cent growth over last year to an average of 156,000 viewers.
McAfee’s dispute with ESPN appears to arise from conflicting ideologies. McAfee sees its brand as encompassing multiple avenues, avenues that won’t be reflected in the more traditional Nielsen ratings.
The powers that be at ESPN apparently disagree. Executive editor and head of event and studio production Norby Williamson, who McAfee says often provides figures for McAfee’s viewership, has indicated that McAfee’s online presence has not translated into an endless stream of clicks. McAfee has suggested that his place within the company has been threatened as a result.
“It’s fascinating, these ratings…” McAfee said during an episode of his show last Friday. “Total delivered audience is an equation created by these networks to get a number wherever they need it. We’ve always made fun of that because on the Internet there is a scoreboard… The Internet, the reason we have “We’ve always enjoyed it and we’ve always scoffed whenever these networks or other internet networks release their numbers, it’s like, what’s real?”
Who is Norby Williamson?
Williamson has been the subject of much of McAfee’s verbal criticism over the past week. He has experience on more traditional networks, as he spent nearly 40 years at ESPN. He is also one of ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro’s staunchest allies.
Williamson has long been a proponent of classic sports discourse, and has often clashed with personalities who deviate from that vision.
To that end, Jemele Hill, Michelle Beadle and Mike Ryan, former executive producer of former ESPN star Dan Le Batard’s eponymous show, offered tacit proclamations of support for McAfee’s comments via social media.
Well, well, well… ?
– Michelle Beadle (@MichelleDBeadle) January 5, 2024
Pat ? ? ?
– Mike Ryan (Ruiz) ?? (@MichaelRyanRuiz) January 5, 2024
What did Pat McAfee say about Norby Williamson?
McAfee took direct shots at Williamson, accusing the ESPN executive of fudging the numbers to make it look like McAfee’s show is getting fewer viewers than it should.
“We are very grateful and understand that more people than ever are watching this show. We are very grateful to the people at ESPN for being so hospitable. Now, there are some people actively trying to sabotage us from within ESPN; more specifically, I think, Norby Williamson is the guy who is trying to sabotage our program,” McAfee said.
“Now I’m not 100 percent sure. He’s apparently the only human being who has information, and then that information leaks out, is incorrect, and sets up a narrative of what our show is.
“And so we’re going to fight that one rat at a time? Someone tried to pre-empt our actual grades release with the wrong numbers 12 hours early. That is an attempt at sabotage. It’s been going on all this season from some people who didn’t necessarily love the old addition of ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ to the ESPN family. “There are a lot of those.”
McAfee also mentioned that he’s never had much love for Williamson. He appeared to claim that Williamson had been cited as an anonymous source in several stories questioning the ability of McAfee’s show to attract audiences.
“We have heard them quoted anonymously in the Washington Post, the New York Post, the New York Times, the LA Times and the Wall Street Journal. They never say, ‘I love the show.’ It’s always little things that bring us down. So even with the enemy within our own camp, I don’t like that guy,” McAfee said.
If that wasn’t enough, McAfee also indicated that Williamson wasn’t as professional with him during previous encounters. He feels that his unwillingness to woo Williamson’s attention in the years since has put McAfee and his program under Williamson’s wrath.
“That guy left me in his office for 45 minutes and didn’t show up in 2018. So this guy hasn’t had any respect for me and in return he gave the same back to me for a long time, so even if that’s happening. .. We are still growing in some ways. We are very grateful. I think we are doing well. We are trying to do the best we can. We have good intentions every time we come here. We don’t always get it right, but motherfuckers have been getting it wrong for a long time in this specific field.
Pat McAfee apologizes for Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers, McAfee’s highest-paid guest, made one of the most uncomfortable moments in recent television history last week, baselessly claiming that late-night host Jimmy Kimmel was linked to convicted sex offender and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Kimmel later threatened legal action if Rodgers doubled down on his claims.
McAfee apologized for Rodgers’ comments a day after they were made and said the following before delving into the day’s pre-planned topics:
“We would like our show to be uplifting, happy and fun, but because we try to make light of everything, some things make people very angry, especially when the accusations are so serious. So we apologize for being a part of this.”
Kimmel is one of Disney’s biggest names, generating income not only as an on-screen talent but also as a producer. Disney owns ESPN, which puts late-night host, McAfee and Rodgers in an even bigger maze of tangled interests.
Will ESPN suspend Pat McAfee?
By sports business journalThere are currently no plans to suspend McAfee for his role in the Rodgers-Kimmel dispute, nor for his comments about Williamson.
The network hopes to handle matters related to McAfee and Williamson’s verbal fights internally. ESPN senior vice president of studio and digital production Mike Foss said McAfee reaffirmed his commitment to moving on from the Kimmel fiasco, and Rodgers is scheduled to appear on the show once again on Tuesday.
