
Behind the Mic: ESPN Sends Contract Extensions to Bomani Jones, Pablo Torre; Emmanuel Acho Jumps to Fox Sports' Speak For Yourself By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Thursday, July 2, 2020 - 8:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
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 two notable names, a former NFL linebacker makes the leap from ESPN to Fox Sports, and more.
ESPN has reached a multi-year contract extension with host and commentator Bomani Jones. Jones will continue to lead his popular ESPN Podcast, The Right Time with Bomani Jones, twice per week (Tuesday and Thursday). In May, The Right Time was downloaded more than 650,000 times, a 60% increase over last year.
His ESPN Audio presence will also include regular guest appearances across ESPN Radio sports talk programming.
Jones will play a significant role on Highly Questionable alongside Dan Le Batard, appearing three or four days each week. He will also continue to be a key contributor across ESPN's television studio lineup, including SportsCenter, Get Up, Outside the Lines, and as a panelist on Around the Horn.
I'm thrilled to continue my tenure at ESPN, Jones said. The Right Time is growing, and the ability to share my voice on many shows and platforms is exciting in this moment.
Bomani's voice is impactful and resonates across platforms, says Norby Williamson, ESPN executive vice president and executive editor, production. He is an important member of our team and we are very happy he will continue to help us serve sports fans.
Known for insightful sports commentary and thought-provoking conversations on social topics, Jones joined ESPN full time in 2013 as a co-host of Highly Questionable and launched his podcast, The Right Time with Bomani Jones, in April 2018. He hosted ESPN Radio's The Right Time with Bomani Jones from 2015-17. From 2018-20, he co-hosted High Noon on ESPN. Jones has contributed to ESPN across a variety of platforms since 2004
ESPN commentator Pablo Torre will become the new, full-time host of the ESPN Daily podcast in August - beginning the transition by working select shows in July - as part of a new, multi-year contract extension with the network. With new editions every weekday morning, ESPN Daily brings sports fans an inside look at some of the most intriguing stories with ESPN's industry-leading journalistic resources and deep roster of reporters, producers and commentators.
Torre will continue to evolve the successful podcast, which launched in October 2019. Mina Kimes, the original host, will be joining the network's NFL Live team as an analyst and will host The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny football podcast. Kimes will continue to be a key contributor to ESPN Daily.
Torre will also continue to have a presence on ESPN's weekday afternoon studio shows Highly Questionable and Around the Horn and make appearances on the network's other studio shows.
Torre joined ESPN from Sports Illustrated in 2012 as a senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. His writing has been honored by the Society of Professional Journalists, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, the Boxing Writers Association of America, the Association of Health Care Journalists, GLAAD, Mental Health America, and The Best American Sports Writing.
In addition, Torre has been a contributor to the network's ESPN Films projects, including appearing in the 30 for 30 Broke - based on his own reporting of athletes' financial health - in 2012, and writing and producing his first 30 for 30 short film Friedman's Shoes in 2016. From 2018-20, he co-hosted High Noon on ESPN with Bomani Jones
Former NFL linebacker and celebrated broadcaster Emmanuel Acho joined Fox Sports as co-host of Speak For Yourself on FS1. Acho is partnering with Marcellus Wiley for a revamped version of the show airing weekdays at 3:00 PM ET on FS1 that began on the week of Monday, June 22.
Acho was taken in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns after a four-year college career with the Texas Longhorns. After spending four seasons in the NFL, largely with the Philadelphia Eagles, he transitioned into broadcasting as an analyst for the Longhorn Network in 2016. Acho quickly emerged as one of the sport's preeminent voices and made the leap to ESPN in 2018, appearing on college football Saturday programming as well as the network's studio shows. In 2019, he was recognized for his exemplary on-air work as a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree.
Outside of broadcasting, Acho is well known for his advocacy work, most recently producing a video series titled Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, which opened a virtual conversation with white America to educate and inform on racism and social injustice. The series has been a resounding success, debuting with over 22 million views across social media platforms and garnering widespread media coverage. Acho also takes an active role in his family's non-profit organization, Living Hope Christian Ministries, which provides medical care to rural communities in Nigeria.
A Dallas native, Acho holds a bachelor's degree in sports management and a master's degree in sports psychology from The University of Texas at Austin
One of the best in the business has come on board as Sportsnet welcomed award-winning broadcaster - and one of Canada's most recognizable hockey voices - Chris Cuthbert to the Sportsnet family.
Bringing more than 30 years of broadcast excellence, an undeniable passion for the game, and an unwavering dedication to Canadian viewers to the
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
22/07/2026
Among other tweaks to coverage, the broadcaster added announce positions in the ...
22/07/2026
The Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) has reported a sharp acceleration in Australia's sportstech sector, with revenue growth rising from 10% in...
22/07/2026
From a retrofitted broadcast bus to packed Match Day Live! events, Bennett detai...
22/07/2026
TMRW Sports has named Brendan Donohue as President, Flag Football, where he will lead the company's professional flag football business in partnership with ...
22/07/2026
Stephen Arnold Music (SAM) designed and produced soundtracks for nine projection...
22/07/2026
Harmonic has announced a $25,000 donation to Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) fo...
22/07/2026
Telemundo has announced it has acquired from UC3 exclusive U.S. Spanish-language...
22/07/2026
The Rest Is Football, hosted by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards, ...
22/07/2026
Sports Studio has announced a partnership with TheSoul Group to distribute Free ...
22/07/2026
Daktronics has concluded its 2026 High School Video Summit, a two-day hybrid event combining virtual sessions with hands-on host school visits across the countr...
22/07/2026
FOR-A America will exhibit at the MMCA Show in Pensacola, Florida (July 21-24), marking the company's first appearance at the house of worship AV event. FOR...
22/07/2026
The New York Yankees have selected Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) to connect Ya...
22/07/2026
Calrec will exhibit at IBC 2026 (Stand 8.C47) with demonstrations of its IP-native audio ecosystem built around the Argo console range, and will announce two ne...
22/07/2026
Solid State Logic has announced the appointment of Algam EKO as its distributor for SSL large format consoles in Italy, covering the Live, Broadcast, and Studio...
22/07/2026
FloSports has announced the launch of the FloSports Channel, a free ad-supported streaming channel premiering on Prime Video in the U.S. on July 21. The channel...
22/07/2026
Banana Ball TV (BTV), the broadcast operation of the Savannah Bananas, has insta...
22/07/2026
SiriusXM and Audacy have announced an agreement bringing 42 Audacy sports, news, and talk stations from 29 U.S. markets to SiriusXM. Twenty-three Audacy sports ...
22/07/2026
The collaboration produced more than 500 short-form videos across four cities th...
22/07/2026
At 2,600 sq. ft., the new home of digital content houses a main studio, podcast space, and an auxiliary control room
NFL franchises are accelerating their prod...
22/07/2026
Library now available in Engine Player
Another of Eduardo Tarilonte's popular sample libraries has just been moved over to Engine Audio's Engine Pla...
22/07/2026
All-in-one mic & DSP interface overhauled
Cloudvocal have just refreshed the design of their all-in-one mic, audio interface and DSP processor, introducing ...
22/07/2026
The final boss of the lost dual-op-amp circuit
Electro-Harmonix have just introduced the Deluxe Big Muff Pi 2, which they say offers their latest take on t...
22/07/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Proven managed IP solution helps broadcasters confidently navigate the future of broadcast distribution
LTN announces it has completed successful satellite-to-...
22/07/2026
Today, Chaos announced V-Ray 7, update 4, eliminating the need for asset conversions and tool switching, which slow down media and entertainment pipelines. Arti...
22/07/2026
An AI playground for the Project Indigo camera app
Marc Levoy July 22, 2026
0 Comments
At left is the user interface of our Playground, running on an ...
22/07/2026
Custom Consoles announces the completion of a large technical furniture project for Radio T l vision Suisse (RTS) at the networks recently inaugurated productio...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Culver City, CA, July 21, 2026 3D streaming infrastructure provider Miris today announced glTF intake, including the binary .glb form, to its spatial streamin...
22/07/2026
Documentary Lo Invisible Captured with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K
Brie Clayton July 21, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's versatile design allowed filmmakers to c...
22/07/2026
AAF Bridge converts AAF and XML Timelines to Ableton Live - and back
Jerome Gardier July 21, 2026
0 Comments
A two-way converter for macOS and Windows...
22/07/2026
From Class to Concert: Explore a Student-Led Production of David Bowies Work Thr...
22/07/2026
A poisoned spy, a secret war, and a small English city contaminated by a deadly chemical weapon. Available on Sky Documentaries from 4 AugustWednesday 22 July 2...
22/07/2026
Audio at Parity: Comscore Launches Transcript-Level Targeting and Measurement wi...
22/07/2026
Arvato Systems and Lobster Enter into a Partnership and Combine the Integration Platform and Managed Services
Flexible integration solutions for cloud, hybrid...
22/07/2026
RT REPORTS NET SURPLUS OF 22.5 MILLION IN 2025...
22/07/2026
In the Opinion of the Censor airs Monday 27 July at 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player
In the Opinion of the Censor looks at how films for theatrical release wer...
22/07/2026
Before a healthcare robot can be useful in the real world, it has to learn how the physical world pushes back. Anatomy varies. Instruments bend, press, slip and...
21/07/2026
New research involving a cross-section of Mongolias independent media landscape finds enthusiasm for AI as a tool to improve efficiency, sustainability and resi...
21/07/2026
With winners Spain having already paraded the World Cup trophy through Madrid in front of millions of fans and the dust now settling on an epic tournament of th...