One of the bigger names in sports radio is joining ESPN. Paul Finebaum whose radio show was syndicated throughout the South and heard on SiriusXM, will taking his Birmingham, AL-based program to Charlotte, NC where it will be part of the new SEC Network. Finebaum’s show will be heard beginning this August and seen on SEC Network starting in August 2014.
Finebaum has become well known throughout the South for his candor about the SEC. He’ll join ESPN to make appearances not only on radio and the SEC Network, but other platforms including SportsCenter, College Football Live, College GameDay and ESPN the Magazine.
He becomes the first on-air hire for the SEC Network and gives the channel instant credibility.
Here’s the ESPN announcement.
Paul Finebaum Joins the SEC Network and ESPN Audio
Beginning in August 2013, Paul Finebaum, considered a leading sports authority in the South and the “Voice of the SEC,” will join ESPN, Inc. with a daily radio show and a variety of appearances across ESPN platforms from ESPN’s Charlotte, N.C. studios. Then starting in August 2014, when the recently announced SEC Network launches, a television simulcast of Finebaum’s radio show will anchor the afternoon lineup.
ESPN Audio will be syndicating the Paul Finebaum show and distribution agreements will be forthcoming. Additionally, Finebaum will appear on a variety of other shows and outlets, including SportsCenter, College Football Live, College GameDay and in ESPN The Magazine.
As the former 20-year host of The Paul Finebaum Show which was syndicated on stations from South Carolina to St. Louis and heard nationally on Sirius XM, Finebaum is known for his ability to tap into the deep-seeded emotions college sports fans have for their teams. As both moderator and provocateur, Finebaum has curated a forum for passionate discussion and debate across the spectrum of college sports while amassing an audience of millions nationwide. Additionally, his former home station, WJOX, became the second-highest rated sports station in the country, thanks largely to Finebaum. His show attracted nearly a quarter of the adult male listeners in Birmingham, ESPN’s highest-rated college football television market the past several years.
Justin Connolly, senior vice president, programming for the SEC Network said, “Paul has incredible range as a writer, radio personality and reporter. We’re excited to have him join the ESPN team. Paul’s show will create appointment television for viewers and differentiate SEC Network programming in the marketplace.”
Finebaum is the first on-air hire for the SEC Network. Additional announcements will be made in the coming months.
Finebaum said, “I remember something the late Steve Jobs said: `Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.’ In other words, dare to be different. That’s what ESPN and the SEC Network are about. You have the extraordinary coalescence of the premier brand in sports combined with the preeminent conference in intercollegiate athletics.’’
About Paul Finebaum
After graduating from the University of Tennessee, Finebaum found his way to Birmingham in 1980 and became an award-winning columnist and investigative reporter for the Birmingham Post-Herald and later the Mobile Press-Register. In 2001, he launched the Paul Finebaum Radio Network and quickly became the leading voice on college football in the South. The Tennessean named him one of the SEC’s top power brokers in 2002, and in 2009, the Orlando Sentinel named him one of the SEC’s 10 most powerful people.
That will do it.
