A well-known ESPN TV personality could be poised for a reunion with the network.
Michael Smith has held “exploratory talks” with ESPN, sources tell Front Office Sports.
The former cohost of The Six, which was ESPN’s 6 p.m. SportsCenter with Jemele Hill, has talked with executives about possibly returning to ESPN on the news/SportsCenter side, say my sources.
The 45-year-old Smith recently wrapped up a four-year run cohosting Brother from Another with Michael Holley on Peacock. In 2023, the former Boston Globe reporter also scored a high-profile job as a news analyst for Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football coverage while launching the Inflection Network with iHeart.
During his 15-year ESPN tenure, Smith was an all-purpose talent, working as a reporter, host and anchor.
He and Hill developed great chemistry, successfully cohosting the His & Hers midday show. But the duo’s promotion to The Six turned out to be a bust. Despite great fanfare, their personality-focused show ran afoul of by-the-book ESPN executive Norby Williamson. The duo grew increasingly frustrated with management meddling on their show. It didn’t help that Hill made national headlines by calling President Donald Trump a “white supremacist” on X/Twitter.
By the time Hill left The Six in 2018, the writing was on the wall. A few weeks later, Smith departed from his role as sole anchor. In 2019, Smith took a buyout and left ESPN. The network eventually replaced Smith and Hill with Kevin Negandhi and Elle Duncan in the 6 p.m. time slot.
During a 2023 interview with FOS, Smith said he and Hill felt “muted” by ESPN. “Somebody told me a long time ago everything ends badly; otherwise, it wouldn’t end. Was it fair? No. I’m just gonna be binary about it. But life ain’t fair. I don’t look at it that way anymore, I appreciate the 15 years I had there.”
Throughout the Hill vs. Trump drama, Smith loyally stood by his partner. That may have affected his standing at the company as a result. With Williamson gone, however, ESPN leaders Jimmy Pitaro and Burke Magnus are allowing personalities like Stephen A. Smith, Scott Van Pelt, and Pat McAfee put their own stamps on their shows. The time may be right for an encore performance by Smith at ESPN.
Smith appeared on shows ranging from SportsCenter, His & Hers and NFL Live to Mike & Mike, Outside the Lines, and Around the Horn during his long run at ESPN.
My FOS colleague Ryan Glasspiegel broke the news that ESPN will cancel Around the Horn in 2025 after a 23-year run on TV. Could Smith be part of a new weekday show in that show’s old time slot? We’ll see. Smith might not be the only famous ESPN alumn who could return. The sports media giant is also open to a reunion with Bill Simmons, according to Glasspiegel.
Smith could not be reached for comment. ESPN declined to comment.
