Longtime X Games host Sal Masekela signed a multiyear deal with Red Bull Media House that will see him leave ESPN to become a fulltime host of the Red Bull Signature Series. He will host more than a dozen shows on NBC and NBC Sports Network for Red Bull events like the Crashed Ice World Championships, a downhill skating competition. In addition to his role as Signature Series host, Masekela’s production company, UX Entertainment, will produce a show for Red Bull’s YouTube channel. Masekela, who has been with ESPN for 13 years, worked on both the X Games and Signature Series in '12, but he was not able to reach an agreement with ESPN on a similar arrangement for next year. He said he was disappointed he will not be part of ESPN’s new global X Games events, which will begin in '13, but he is excited about the new opportunity. Masekela: “It was the hardest decision for me ever to walk away from the X Games. It was a relationship that I thought I’d have another six or seven years. But at the same time, I feel lucky it’s at the time it is because what Red Bull’s been doing with Media House is innovative enough and different enough for me to be excited.”
