Smith and Jemele Hill launched "SC6" as an extension of "His & Hers" and their popular podcastESPN IMAGES
Friday will be Michael Smith's "last day as an ESPN SportsCenter host," 13 months after he and Jemele Hill launched the "SC6" version of the show, according to sources cited by Richard Deitsch of SI.com. Hill left the show last month to join the staff of The Undefeated full time. Smith, like Hill, has "multiple years" left on his contract, so he likely will "craft a new role at ESPN over the next couple of months." The show that Smith and Hill "envisioned, what made their chemistry honest and unique on the ESPN2 show His and Hers and their podcast together, had slowly been chopped away by a desire from management to change that show to that of a traditional SportsCenter" (SI.com, 3/8). ESPN Exec VP & Exec Editor/Studio Production Norby Williamson in a statement said, “Michael Smith will be leaving the 6 p.m. ET 'SportsCenter' after tonight's edition. Michael is a talented commentator and we greatly appreciate and value his contributions and creativity. We are in the process of discussing with him potential next ESPN assignments. Permanent anchors for the 6 p.m. 'SportsCenter' will be determined and announced at a later date. In the interim, the program will be hosted by a variety of anchors from the 'SportsCenter' team" (THE DAILY). In N.Y., Hannah Withiam notes Sage Steele, who "anchors the morning 'SportsCenter,' and John Anderson, who does the night edition, are the favorites to take over as co-anchors" of the 6:00pm ET show, though a "final decision has not yet been made" (N.Y. POST, 3/9).
TWITTER REAX: The Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell: "I’m not sure I can remember anything that got more promotion at ESPN than the 6 p.m. anchor change." Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith: "SC6 could have worked if it had been Michael and Jemele talking about whatever they wanted. It always felt like them talking about what a producer told them to talk about." The Big Lead's Ryan Glasspiegel noted if the Steele-Anderson pairing does come to fruition, "it will be interesting to see how they do in ratings compared to Mike and Jemele. The relevant metric to watch isn't gross viewership, but the % of the strong PTI lead-in that is retained." NBPA Exec Dir Michele Roberts wrote she was "heartbroken" over the news of Smith leaving. Roberts: "So enjoyed seeing this dynamic duo on His & Hers and later on SC6. Shame!"
