It’s amazing how a turn of events can occur and bring you back full circle. Sometimes, you can go home again.
Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch reports that Michelle Beadle will be returning to ESPN when she is let out of NBC contract in mid-March. It was back in September when Beadle appeared on the Sports Media Weekly podcast and expressed frustration over the lack of promotion for her show “The Crossover” and frequency of pre-emptions for the America’s Cup races.
The Big Lead reported shortly afterwards that the NBC Sports brass did not take kindly to Beadle’s comments and that she was working towards an exit.
That set off a chain of events that led to “The Crossover” being canceled, Beadle disappearing from NBC Sports events, her being left off the Sochi Olympics talent roster to the latest development that she’ll return to ESPN where she had co-hosted SportsNation with Colin Cowherd for three years.
NBC lured Beadle away in 2012 and began assigning her to its major events including the Kentucky Derby, the London Olympics and the 2013 NFL season opening concerts in Baltimore which as it turned out was the last event she appeared under the NBC Sports banner.
While she was off NBC Sports, Beadle continued to appear on Access Hollywood.
Deitsch reports that Beadle will likely host or co-host a new show for ESPN based from New York. While that show is in development, she could appear on her old show, SportsNation, which is now in Los Angeles and co-hosted by Max Kellerman and Marcellus Wiley.
With her return to ESPN, expect to see Beadle on the network’s big events. We’ll have more as developments warrant.
