Barstool Sports is "close to a deal with ESPN that would see the popular podcast, 'Pardon My Take,' launch a weekly late night show that would air on ESPN2," according to Ben Koo of AWFUL ANNOUNCING. The weekly program would "air from now until the Super Bowl." It is believed the show would "not affect the podcast, which would continue on as normal." It is "unclear what night and how long the episodes would be." But a source said that it would "definitely air on ESPN2 and at a late night/early morning hour." Koo noted it was only 18 months ago that "Pardon My Take" was on the "receiving end of a cease and desist from ESPN, who contended the show’s logo and name infringed on the trademarks of 'Pardon The Interruption' and 'First Take.'" The show has increasingly become a favorite of "a lot of prominent on air personalities at ESPN" and mostly has "avoided major controversies." That is something Barstool President Dave Portnoy and the rest of the company has "struggled at times to do" (AWFULANNOUNCING.com, 10/4). THE RINGER's Bryan Curtis reported the show is being "developed by Embassy Row, the production company behind 'Men in Blazers' and 'Garbage Time With Katie Nolan.'" ESPN "declined to comment." Details about what the show's hosts, Big Cat and PFT Commenter, would "actually do are sketchy." In the last year, "'Pardon My Take' got huge." Barstool "claims the podcast attracts between 750,000 and 2 million listeners per episode." In developing a late-night show, ESPN is "following the well-worn path of cable channels and even the networks, which have hired people with huge online followings (see also: Katie Nolan) and sought not just eyeballs in front of TVs but digital 'impressions'" (THERINGER.com, 10/4).
