John Skipper recalls trying to lure Shaquille O’Neal from TNT
"Tried to convince him that it could be his show on ESPN."
Archives
Bill Simmons teases ‘Dan Le Batard Show’ over departure of John Skipper
"Didn’t realize you guys were still around."
John Skipper predicts college football games will become PPV events
"It's going to be good business."
Dan Le Batard addresses Meadowlark Media’s future after John Skipper departure
"I’m so grateful that our Skipper has navigated today’s turbulent media seas to get us into much safer waters."
Former ESPN president John Skipper reportedly leaving Meadowlark Media
According to Front Office Sports, "It was not immediately clear what the new leadership structure will be for Meadowlark’s business."
Ex-ESPN prez John Skipper dismantles Shedeur Sanders-collusion theory
"If you believe he can make your team and start next year, and your team will be better, they would take him. They're interested in getting better."
Former ESPN president tried to expand NCAA Tournament to 96 teams
"We proposed immediately taking the tournament to 96 teams."
Former ESPN prez John Skipper foresees future without March Madness as we know it
"Colleges, athletic departments, college presidents have demonstrated that to get more money, they will do pretty much anything."
Former panelist Jay Mariotti says ‘Around the Horn’ is ending because it went ‘woke’
"Nobody’s turning on ESPN to watch this."
John Skipper dismisses NBA ratings concern: ‘The league is in excellent shape’
"Ask anyone associated with the NBA, would you rather have the ratings go up 20% or the media rights go up 300%?"
MySports won’t replace what Venu Sports promised or what ESPN Flagship will offer
John Skipper thinks Stephen A. Smith will join ‘Inside the NBA’ cast ‘at some point’
"I think you'll see him on Inside the NBA at some point."
ESPN should bring back ‘Sport Science,’ and not just because everyone loved it
The inaugural Awful Announcing sports podcast power list
John Skipper ‘still proud’ giving Caitlyn Jenner the Arthur Ashe Courage Award
"I'm still proud of the gesture while not particularly admiring the recipient."
Mike Lupica won’t commit to return to ‘Sports Reporters’ reboot: ‘They’ve gotta respect it’
Lupica also called former ESPN president John Skipper a "chucklehead" for canceling the show in 2017.
‘Pablo Torre Finds Out’ given award for reporting on transgender teenage athlete
"Rigorous reporting with a sense of humor is the most underrated commodity in sports media. I believe it is also the antidote to America’s lazily predictable culture war."
David Samson references ‘OnlyFans for press releases’ around NBA’s WBD response
"I like how this is the part of the show where we become aroused by press releases."
Producer: Pandemic delayed Dan Le Batard’s ESPN departure
"The writing was on the wall with Skipper and ESPN parting ways."
John Skipper reiterates belief that WNBA will triple its broadcast rights revenue
"The NWSL – which is clearly not as valuable as the WNBA – got $60 million a year in the open and free market."
John Skipper predicts WNBA will more than triple broadcast rights value in new package
"I think it's a bargain to get the WNBA for those prices if you're one of the networks that gets them."
Former ESPN, Turner execs backing Unrivaled 3-on-3 women’s basketball league
“I would think that every major company that has a sports media component will want to look at this."
John Skipper doesn’t think WBD has NBA matching rights
“I am puzzled and don’t understand how they could have a right to match."
John Skipper: Netflix has to keep buying live sports rights to maintain lead in streaming wars
"Now that they're making money, now that they're emerging as the big winner, which they are, they understand that they will need to keep moving into sports."
John Skipper predicts NCAA women’s basketball tourney popularity will hold, praises ESPN rights deal
"I think this is going to become a phenomenon year after year."