ESPN Exec VP & Exec Editor/Studio Productions Norby Williamson said that Jemele Hill "initiated leaving" the net's "SC6" before Christmas, according to Richard Deitsch of SI.com. He added that he met with Hill and co-host Michael Smith a "number of times over the past six weeks." Williamson said that "unequivocally it was her decision to leave the show." Williamson: "Anchoring is a different discipline and we continued to have tweaks with the show and evolve the show. Ultimately, we came to this path." Deitsch noted there have been assertions that the reason Hill wanted off "SportsCenter" were the "changes that Williamson had instituted on the show that made it distant from the initial charter of the show." Williamson said, “There is probably an element of truth in that. That can happen anytime you start something from a certain point or certain direction and then you evolve certain products." Williamson said that Hill going forward will "appear on news and commentary shows across ESPN" (SI.com, 1/28).
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS: Hill said that she will "turn up in documentaries, on the 'E:60' newsmagazine, and, if she and Smith can work through logistics, a revived version of their 'His & Hers' podcast that raised her ESPN profile." VARIETY's Brian Steinberg noted there also "may be some other projects in the works." Hill noted that her departure was "not influenced" by former ESPN President John Skipper's sudden resignation in December. Steinberg noted ESPN execs have spent months reworking "SportsCenter" so that each edition is "tailored for the time in which it airs." But Hill said that she "found viewers still wanted their bread and butter" from the 6:00pm "SportsCenter" -- which is "news and info." Hill: “At 6, there are different demands. Those demands aren’t wrong. It’s the nature of the time slot." She noted the program ended up being “more traditional than I think we all imagined it would be." Hill also said her tweets regarding the Cowboys and player protests, which resulted in a two-week suspension, were "not in any way related” to her decision. Hill said, “It’s very easy to link it to that, but if that were really the agenda, that would have been executed months ago” (VARIETY.com, 1/28).
