Will Cain’s bold move from ESPN to Fox News is paying off.
According to multiple reports, the former ESPN host has secured his own show at Fox News, replacing outgoing anchor Neil Cavuto in the 4 p.m. ET hour.
Since leaving ESPN for Fox News, Cain’s career has taken on a decidedly different profile. At ESPN, Cain served in various prominent roles for the network, initially co-hosting The Ryen Russillo Show before hosting his own show after Russillo left the network. Cain also regularly contributed to Outside the Lines and became a frequent sparring partner for Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman on First Take.
Nearly five years ago, Cain departed the network to join Fox News. There, he’d become a co-host of the network’s weekend morning show Fox & Friends Weekend, and would regularly fill-in on weekday evening and primetime opinion programs including the highly-rated program The Five.
While at ESPN, Cain was transparent about his conservative political views — something that he acknowledged contributed to his rise to prominence during an interview with the Washington Post in 2018.
“Has being conservative helped me since I’ve been here?” Cain said. “Of course. ESPN doesn’t have a voice like mine.”
Those views helped him eventually land at Fox News, a channel dedicated to conservative political commentary. However, Cain has been able to maintain a connection to the sports world with The Will Cain Show Podcast, where he mixes news, politics, and sports.
In a statement provided to Variety, Fox News said Cain’s new show, “will offer a comprehensive look at the news of the day in a signature podcast style.” Considering the conversational nature of most podcasts and his background as a sports anchor, it’s reasonable to think Cain could delve into some sports topics on his new show.
At the time, trading a nationally syndicated afternoon drive-time sports talk show at ESPN for a weekend/fill-in gig on a cable news channel seemed questionable in terms of career trajectory. But Cain’s patience seems to have been rewarded by Fox.
Will Cain will begin hosting his new hour on Tuesday, January 21st.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.