Behind the Mic: Dan Le Batard and Jon ‘Stugotz’ Weiner Sign Another ESPN Deal; David Ortiz Returns to Fox Sports

Behind the Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments compiled from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week’s edition, ESPN re-ups Dan Le Batard and Jon “Stugotz” Weiner with a multi-year agreement, Fox Sports inks David Ortiz to return to the network’s baseball coverage, CBS Sports hires Gene Steratore as a rules analyst, the NFL Network releases their broadcast teams for the American Flag Football League’s U.S. Open of Football Tournament, Ashley ShahAhmadi is named Digital/Social Media Content Producer and Talent of all Fox Sports regional networks in the Southeast, Covino & Rich is added to the ESPN Radio list of shows, and NBC Sports names Terry McAulay as an on-air rules analyst as well.

Dan Le Batard (left) and Jon “Stugotz” Weiner (right) will be at ESPN for the foreseeable future.

Dan Le Batard and Jon “Stugotz” Weiner, hosts of the popular daytime ESPN Radio program The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz have signed multiyear agreements to remain with ESPN. The duo will continue to host their Miami-based program, from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET, on ESPN Radio (and simulcast on ESPNEWS). Le Batard will also continue to co-host Highly Questionable alongside his father Gonzalo “Papi” Le Batard and another of a rotating crop of guest hosts. Le Batard will also conduct six longform interviews each year that will live across multiple ESPN platforms including TV and digital. Weiner will make appearances on SportsCenter and continue hosting and guesting on other ESPN Radio shows.

“ESPN has given us ridiculous freedom to have fun, and made us more popular than we deserve,” says Le Batard. “A whole lot of people have supported our nonsense in a way that isn’t always easy to support but easy to grow. As an added bonus — and we’re especially thankful for this — they also pay us.”

“I was hoping for the lifetime contract, to be honest,” Weiner adds. “I’m a little disappointed. Maybe next time.”

Known for its offbeat take on sports and culture — and often welcoming guests as diverse as saxophonist Kenny G, the late actor Alan Thicke, writer Malcolm Gladwell, and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers — The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz is one of ESPN Radio’s top-rated programs. The show is heard by 2.2 million people a week in 258 stations in 151 markets, and its podcast — a daily digital offering of the original radio program — is the network’s No. 1-downloaded show-to-podcast product, with more than 53 million downloads in 2017.

ESPN Senior Vice President, Audio and Talent, Traug Keller says: “Dan and Stugotz have a chemistry and a viewpoint that is among the most unique in the business. They take what they do seriously, but not themselves, which bonds them with a growing group of loyal listeners. Dan’s sensibilities and intelligence combined with Stugotz’s incredible lack of either quality is a winning combination. I look forward to the stress of having to listen to the show in the years to come!”…

…Three-time World Series Champion, World Series MVP presented by Chevrolet and ten-time MLB All-Star, David Ortiz appears on Fox Sports as studio analyst for the network’s pregame and postgame coverage, signing a multi-year deal. The announcement was made today by John Entz, Fox Sports President of Production & Executive Producer. Ortiz contributed as studio analyst throughout Fox Sports’ coverage of the 2017 postseason and will again be alongside first ballot Hall-of-Famer Frank Thomas, World Series Champion Alex Rodriguez and Emmy-nominated host Kevin Burkhardt. Ortiz will contribute to Fox Sports’ spring training, regular season, All-Star Game, postseason, and World Series coverage. He makes his 2018 debut during the network’s coverage of the 89th All-Star Game presented by Mastercard from Nationals Park in Washington, DC…

…CBS Sports has added former NFL and NCAA basketball referee Gene Steratore to the broadcast team as a rules analyst for coverage of The NFL on CBS and college basketball, including the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. The announcement was made today by Sean McManus, Chairman, CBS Sports. He will provide rules analysis from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City on Sundays throughout the season. Additionally, he will be in the booth for CBS’s Thanksgiving Day game and playoff coverage, including Super Bowl LIII which will be broadcast on CBS on February 3, 2019. Steratore also will serve as a rules analyst for the network’s regular-season college basketball coverage, as well as CBS Sports and Turner Sports’ combined coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship…

…NFL Network announced its broadcast assignments for live coverage of the American Flag Football League’s (AFFL) U.S. Open of Football Tournament. Giants radio voice Bob Papa will be joined in the booth by former NFL QB Dan Orlovsky and Good Morning Football’s Kay Adams on the sideline for live AFFL game action June 30-July 1 from Pittsburgh, July 7-8 from Atlanta, and for the Ultimate Final July 19 in Houston. NFL Total Access host Cole Wright will pick up play-by-play duties and join Orlovsky and Adams July 14 in Indianapolis…

…The Fox Sports regional networks serving the Southeast — Fox Sports South, Fox Sports Southeast, Fox Sports Carolinas, and Fox Sports Tennessee — have named Ashley ShahAhmadi as digital and social media content producer and talent. ShahAhmadi will produce content and serve as talent for the networks’ digital and social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter…

…ESPN Radio will debut Covino & Rich on Saturday, June 30, at Noon ET. The program, which first premiered on SiriusXM in 2005, is co-hosted by Steve Covino and Rich Davis. Covino & Rich will air Saturdays and Sundays from Noon – 4 p.m. this summer and cover the hottest topics and stories in sports, seasoned with opinions and humor. They will appear on multiple platforms in addition to ESPN Radio…

…NBC Sports named Terry McAulay as an on-air rules analyst for NBC Sunday Night Football, Football Night in America, and Notre Dame Football. McAulay joins NBC Sports following his recent retirement after 20 years as an on-field NFL game official, and a college football officiating administrator for the past 10 seasons. McAulay will be on-site at SNF and Notre Dame Football games — moving between the broadcast booth during the game and the studio set for pregame and halftime shows. In addition, on the mornings after games where rulings are a hot topic, McAulay will join Pro Football Talk with Mike Florio on NBC Sports Radio and NBCSN.