Longtime ESPN Host Shoots Down Theory on Show's Cancelation
After more than 20 years on the air, ESPN's Around the Horn will air its final episode on Friday.
The debate-style program, which debuted on Nov. 4, 2002, has produced nearly 5,000 episodes and featured dozens of panelists over the years. Along the way, it became an ESPN mainstay, leaving loyal fans saddened by news of its cancelation.
“Around the Horn has had a remarkable run of more than two decades. That kind of longevity in media is incredibly rare, and we look forward to celebrating the show’s many accomplishments before the final sign-off in May,” said David Roberts, ESPN’s executive vice president, executive editor, sports news and entertainment, in a statement back in March. “Beyond Tony and the ensemble of on-air contributors, we are particularly grateful to the production team led by Erik Rydholm and Aaron Solomon, who have been instrumental in ATH’s consistent success since the very beginning.”
Since ESPN confirmed the end of ATH, several theories have emerged regarding what led to the show being canceled. Some people, including former Around the Horn panelist Jay Mariotti, believe the program got too "woke," but host Tony Reali isn't buying that.
Reali has hosted ATH since February 2004. On "The Dan Patrick Show" this week, he pushed back on "wokeness" or political reasons as the show's cause of death.
"The ‘woke’ has, it’s a fine headline to write,” Reali told Patrick, via Awful Announcing. “I don’t believe what that is. I honestly think we did 50,000 topics over 23 years. You’re going to tell me 10 or 15 drew an eyebrow up? I’ll be like, ‘Yeah, we were doing some complex topics from time to time.’ I don’t mute people in Face Time, so maybe there’s two or three there that didn’t have the back-and-forth that you’d want. Maybe there’s one or two I’d take back if you ask me; those aren’t my regrets. Not at all.
“So the reality of the show being the most eclectic — and it’s not a negative word for me — diverse show in the history of the television medium. We’ve got people 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, all on a level playing field. We have men, we have women, all on a level playing field… That’s never going to be a negative to me, even though times have changed and things are viewed differently now.”
Reali's words are unlikely to persuade anyone who believes going "woke" caused Around the Horn's demise, because it's a convenient catch-all excuse.
In reality, there were probably multiple reasons why the show's time had come. You can catch the final episode this Friday.