Former ESPN host Michelle Beadle is creating a podcast network with The Athletic as part of a multiyear podcast deal with the sports media company.
The first show in the Beadle Podcast Network, What Did I Miss?, will cover sports through the lens of pop culture. The show, available on all major podcasting platforms, launches on Nov. 15 and will include conversations with guests and Beadle’s friends. Other shows in the network will be announced at a later date, and The Athletic will produce, develop and provide sales support for all of the network’s podcasts.
“I learned so much in the last two years. Knitting, ice cream making and that the world needed just one more podcast. I’m more than happy to oblige,” Beadle said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
Beadle was formerly a reporter and broadcaster at ESPN, where she hosted NBA Countdown and Get Up!. She left the network in 2019 after a contract buyout and had not returned to TV until last month, when she joined the San Antonio Spurs’ broadcast team as a special correspondent for the NBA 2021-2022 season.
The Beadle Podcast Network joins The Athletic‘s growing podcast business, which began in 2019 as subscription-only offering behind the company’s paywall. The Athletic quickly changed course later that year to place some shows and episodes in front of the paywall and on platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
The subscription media company has been a possible acquisition target, though potential deals with the New York Times Company and Axios both fell through. In September, The Athletic hired the investment bank LionTree to help find a buyer for a possible sale at a valuation of more than $750 million, according to The Information.
Beadle is repped by ICM Partners.
