Sports Illustrated‘s media guru Richard Deitsch sat down with Fox Sports president Eric Shanks to discuss the future of ex-ESPN personality Bill Simmons.
Deitsch admits that Simmons and Fox aren’t the perfect fit, mainly because the network is light on NBA coverage, which is the specialty of the controversial former ESPNer. However, Shanks’ comments regarding a potential marriage between Simmons and Fox makes it seem possible.
To the extent that we believe that Fox’s brand is kind of bold and edgy and youthful, to that extent, yeah. I think that there is any of number of things that either Bill or Fox would have to decide on regarding what are the goals here. Whether it’s Bill or someone else, you are going to pay them a certain amount and then you are going to figure out do I have the assets to get the value out of that amount, and that’s after you have figured out whether your brands mesh.
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Deitsch also points out that Simmons is close with former Today show producer Jamie Horowitz, who is now president of Fox Sports National Networks. It’s also a fact that Simmons and Fox Sports 1 are both based in Los Angeles. Shanks made it clear that he hasn’t had formal talks with Simmons about the situation. However, Shanks didn’t rule out Simmons joining Fox even as a part-timer, saying “potentially, sure.”