As Stephen A. Smith succeeds outside of the ESPN ecosystem while nearing the end of his contract there, he is increasingly bold in public comments about his status at the network.
On top of what he has said publicly, Smith reportedly had an explosive conversation with Pat McAfee recently as his strange relationship with ESPN’s newest star turns tense. With all that in the background, Smith said Sunday he is not a “prisoner” to the Walt Disney Co.
Speaking at a panel at the Sports Track at Austin’s SXSW culture festival, Smith announced a new TV drama from his production company while drawing another line in the sand in his public negotiations with ESPN.
“I’m No. 1 at the network, and that matters. I contribute to the bottom line; I don’t bleed it. That doesn’t make me worth more than them, but it doesn’t mean I need them in order to survive and to prosper,” Smith said according to Sportico. “There are other ways to prosper. I am not a prisoner to the ESPN/Walt Disney family.”
Smith also discussed his aims as his career expands beyond ESPN.
“I want to be recognized as arguably the greatest sports commentator who ever lived,” he said. “I want to be one of the preeminent voices that this nation has ever seen.”
It appears Smith is already thinking bigger than his previously stated desire to be a late-night television host. He has described his new podcast, which just scored a deal with iHeartMedia, as an amalgamation of daytime and late-night talk, a sports studio show, and a traditional podcast. And as a producer, he said he has already struck deals on scripted and unscripted programming.
Talks between Smith and ESPN will certainly be industry-changing when they formally begin.
[Sportico]
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.