ESPN Radio's Dan Le Batard to Bring His Signature Voice to Fusion

Fusion and ESPN Radio announced today an agreement in principle for Fusion to present a live simulcast of ESPN Radio's The Dan Le Batard Show beginning this spring. The three-hour broadcast will bolster Fusion's live programming on weekday afternoons from 4 - 7 p.m. ET.

Broadcasting live from Miami Beach's Clevelander Hotel, Dan Le Batard and his co-host Stugotz (Jon Weiner) bring their unique blend of self-deprecating humor, insightful guests, and thoughtful conversation to a national audience every weekday. Rotating guest co-hosts, including Bomani Jones and Miami Herald writer Greg Cote, often join to provide listeners with a slightly different experience every day.

"Dan and Stugotz are an extremely engaging pair, and we are thrilled that they are bringing their unique flare to Fusion's daily line-up," said Wade Beckett, Fusion's Chief Programming Officer. "Dan's smart-yet-irreverent take on sports and the stories making headlines perfectly aligns with Fusion's desire to present this young, diverse generation with an array of dynamic voices that have an authentic point of view and, at the end of the day, are just are fun to watch."

"We are pumped about unleashing the primitive Stugotz on a new and unsuspecting audience," said Le Batard. "And maybe we will talk some sports, too. Our goal is to not totally break Fusion. But the show will be better on the days we do."

"I am very excited that our radio show will be simulcast on Fusion," said Stugotz. "Fusion has a young audience and prides itself on delivering smart content, which really makes you wonder why they would want us."

The Dan Le Batard Show joins Mike & Mike (ESPN2), The Herd (ESPNU), SVP & Russillo(ESPNEWS) and The Paul Finebaum Show (SEC Network) as the latest ESPN Radio show to be nationally televised.

Le Batard is a leading sports columnist, radio personality, and television host, known for his authenticity and critical - but often hilarious - perspective on the world of professional sports. In addition to hosting The Dan Le Batard Show for ESPN Radio, Le Batard hosts HIGHLY QUESTIONABLE weekday afternoons on ESPN2 along with his father Gonzalo Le Batard ("Papi") and Bomani Jones.

Le Batard joined the ESPN family in 1998 as a contributor to ESPN The Magazine. He also served as a reporter for ESPN's College GameDay, Sunday Night Conversation and OUTSIDE THE LINES series. In 2013, Le Batard brought his local radio show, heard on The Ticket in Miami since 2004, to ESPN Radio's national audience. The Dan Le Batard Show has continued with one local hour before a three-hour weekday broadcast at 4 p.m. on ESPN Radio,espnradio.com, the ESPN Radio app and SiriusXM Channel 83.

Le Batard continues as a columnist at the Miami Herald, where he has been since 1990. An accomplished writer, he has won several Associated Press Sports Editor (APSE) awards. Le Batard also has written for numerous national publications, including Maxim and Cosmopolitan. A 1990 graduate of the University of Miami, Le Batard received a bachelor of arts degree in journalism and politics. He resides in Miami.

Stugotz has served as co-host on The Dan LeBatard Show since 2004. A sports broadcasting veteran of more than 15 years, Stugotz counters host LeBatard's thoughtful insights with self-deprecating humor and passionate takes on the latest sports headlines. Stugotz received his bachelor's degree in English and communications from Clark University in 1995.

About Fusion

Fusion is a multi-platform media company that serves ???a? young, diverse, and inclusive ??millennial generation across its television and digital platforms? (fusion.net). Fusion delivers a unique mix of news, pop culture, and comedy content that is both smart and irreverent?.? ?Fusion was launched as a joint venture between Univision Communications Inc. and the Disney/ABC Television Network on October 28, 2013. Fusion has agreements with several major distributors to carry the cable network including DirecTV, Dish, Cablevision, Charter, Cox, AT&T U-Verse, Verizon FiOS and Google Fiber. @ThisIsFusion

ESPN Audio is comprised of ESPN Radio, the county's largest sports radio network, ESPN DEPORTES Radio, ESPNRadio.com and ESPN Podcasts.

ESPN Radio, which launched January 1,1992, provides more than 9,000 hours of talk and event content annually, reaching 24 million listeners a week on 450 nationwide stations, including more than 360 full-time affiliates and clearance in the top 25 markets with owned and/or operated FM stations in New York and Dallas, AM signals in Chicago and Los Angeles. ESPN Radio programming is also available on Sirius XM and via digital distributors Slacker Radio and Tune In.

ESPN DEPORTES Radio is the only all-sports Spanish radio network, and has 46 affiliates covering 72% of the Hispanic DMA with stations in the top 10 Hispanic markets, including owned and/or operated stations in New York and Dallas.

ESPNRadio.com is the most listened to live stream of any terrestrial broadcaster in the world - reaching more than 714,000 unique listeners per month who logged more than 95.3 million total listening hours in 2012, with 11.2 million session starts per month (source: Ando Media). ESPN Podcasts logged 188.8 million completed downloads in 2012 via the ESPN PodCenter and iTunes.

To post a comment, you must register and login.