ESPN would like to extend its most popular talk show.
After “Around the Horn” is canceled in the summer of 2025, ESPN is dabbling with the idea of expanding “Pardon the Interruption” to an hour-long program to fill the void, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reports.
“PTI,” starring Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, has aired at 5:30 p.m. ET since it was created in 2001.
The Post previously reported that ESPN will conclude the run of “Around the Horn” — the show that has preceded “PTI” since 2002 — before football season next year.
Expanding “PTI” is the idea that has the highest upside and lowest risk for ESPN after “Around the Horn” is no longer on.
“PTI” has long been the most watched talk show on ESPN’s airwaves — the viewership spikes for the half-hour it’s on, and recedes during the hour of “SportsCenter” that comes later.
What remains to be seen is if it’s something the “PTI” hosts would agree to, given that the half-hour show has been such a successful formula for nearly a quarter century.
Kornheiser is 76 years old and Wilbon is 66.
While he still has the acerbic wit that has been a big factor in the show’s success, Kornheiser’s at an age where most people are not clamoring to take on extra work.
“PTI” and “Around the Horn” are both executive-produced by Erik Rydholm.
The Athletic reports that other ideas that ESPN is dabbling with for the half-hour vacancy include new vehicles for Shannon Sharpe and/or Stephen A. Smith.
Smith is nearing a blockbuster extension with ESPN, and Sharpe signed a new deal with the network earlier this year.
The two have had a dynamic partnership on “First Take” since several months after Sharpe left FS1’s “Undisputed” last year.
