Paul Finebaum moves to Charlotte/ESecPN

May 28, 2013, 6:48 PM

The Noise Report
(SI.com examines some of the more notable sports media stories of the past week.)
1. Paul Finebaum is on the phone from Charlotte, a city he is unfamiliar with but will soon call home. "At this point in a career, one is usually not making dramatic changes," Finebaum tells SI.com. "But this could easily be classified as a pretty dramatic move."
At 57, Finebaum is going national after three decades in Birmingham hosting the South's most famous sports-talk radio show. ESPN announced last week that it had signed Finebaum to host a daily radio show (which will debut on Aug. 1) and make television appearances (around 100 a year) across various ESPN platforms. There is also the possibility of a writing component. Then, beginning on August 1, 2014, upon the launch of the SEC Network, a television simulcast of Finebaum's radio show based out of ESPN's Charlotte, N.C. studios will anchor the new network's afternoon lineup. Justin Connolly, an ESPN senior vice president for programming who will oversee the SEC Network, told the Wall Street Journal that Finebaum's radio show at first will air primarily in the Southeast. Finebaum told SI.com on Saturday that he's not sure as of now which markets will air his radio show at the start of his ESPN tenure. His ESPN deal will run for five years.
How did Finebaum end up with Worldwide Leader in press releases? Last August the radio host hired a broadcasting agent, Nick Khan, who embarked on general conversations with both ESPN and the SEC Network. (Khan represents a number of ESPN broadcasters.) Finebaum's contract with the Birmingham-based WJOX 94.5 FM expired last Jan. 21 and he waited the required 90 days by WJOX owner Cumulus Media until he could negotiate freely with other entities. When that period ended, ESPN approached Khan, whose goal was to get Finebaum appearance work on ESPN in 2013 with an eye toward a major gig with the SEC Network in 2014. Finebaum said SiriusXM also approached him last summer about an exclusive relationship, a deal he was interested in before he and his agent started moving toward ESPN.
Finebaum said he missed being on the radio -- his last show was Jan. 21 -- but appreciated the break. He filled the time working on a memoir that he is writing with ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski, who was a classmate of Finebaum's at Tennessee and a longtime friend. Finebaum said that the $650,000 (according to the Wall Street Journal) book deal he received from HarperCollins came as a result of a lengthy profile in the New Yorker magazine that was published last December. The day after the piece ran, Finebaum's radio producer got a call from David Vigliano, a high-profile Manhattan literary agent. "I'd have as much a chance to write a book about myself without that as I would being the closer of the Yankees," Finebaum said. "That piece helped change my life. It brought me to a narrow but very influential audience. I am sure it helped me with ESPN too."
Writing recently for Sports on Earth, Tommy Tomlinson said what made Finebaum's show compelling was the Alabama-ness of it. He, like many others, are now wondering whether the Alabama-ness of the show can be duplicated from Charlotte?
"I think it is a fair question and I heard that from friends and executives in Bristol," Finebaum said. "I think our show has become unique because we are not like everyone else and it is my hope we can continue going down that path. The show has to be a little broader but I don't think it is a bad thing to be in Charlotte. The studios are only four miles from South Carolina so not too far from SEC country (laughs).
"I want it to be a better show than it was but still have the flavor and character of what has made it what I think was the most unique caller-driven show in the country. It's not the best show in the country -- we have never had the best guests because we have not had the clout to get the kind of guests that Mike and Mike or Scott Van Pelt or Dan Patrick get. But no one has ever been able to top us for the craziness and for the callers. We don't want to change that."
Finebaum's wife of 23 years, Dr. Linda Hudson, plans to move to Charlotte with him. (The couple was in the city over the weekend looking at homes.) Hudson works in private practice and is also the chairperson of the department of medicine for a Birmingham hospital, but she's going along for the ride. "She said let's go for it and made the commitment to move in due time," Finebaum said. "She is making a tremendous sacrifice. It's going to be an adventure and one I didn't expect at this point in my life."

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/more/news/20130527/espn-ombudsman-robert-lipsyte-paul-finebaum/#ixzz2Ud8OZsb3

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Paul Finebaum moves to Charlotte/ESecPN

This will give much needed balance to the network***

Good one, lol.***

Re: Paul Finebaum moves to Charlotte/ESecPN

Looking forward to hearing "The Apologists" on the SEC.***

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