ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption” is the highest-rated sports program on television, a distinction it has held for much of its near 25-year run.
The show’s simple format remains largely the same, as do its two co-hosts. ESPN has had little reason to tweak the format or cast. That is unlikely to change while Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon remain.
Sources tell OutKick that the co-hosts signed new three-year deals earlier this year, with the expectation that both will fulfill their contracts. Still, both have made more than enough money to walk away at any time of their own accord. Kornheiser is 78 years old. Wilbon turns 68 in November.
Wilbon, who is 10 years younger than Kornheiser, was asked by Awful Announcing this week whether he has pondered hosting the show if Kornheiser retires before him.
“We do, because we do,” Wilbon said when asked if he’s considered continuing the show without his long-time partners. “With substitutes all along the whole 24 years. Could I see doing a show with Frank Isola, who I do the show mostly with now when Tony’s out? Yeah, I could do that. And I think Frank is like Tony and me, and I say that as a point of inclusion, not for anybody to read anything into it. PTI is Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon. That’s what PTI is. But Frank is like the last of the Mohicans.”
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For background, I’ve had the opportunity to interview Wilbon on several occasions. He first told me roughly eight years ago that Frank Isola, a former newspaper writer, was his preferred co-host if the show continued without Kornheiser.
What’s interesting is that Kornheiser and Wilbon have been doing “PTI” long enough to outlast several of the people once viewed as logical successors.
Jason Whitlock and Dan Le Batard were once regular fill-in hosts and had relationships with “PTI” showrunner Erik Rydholm. Kornheiser once named Rachel Nichols, a fellow former Washington Post reporter, and Pablo Torre as potential successors at one point.
When Scott Van Pelt moved back to Washington, D.C., where PTI is filmed, in 2020, there was industry chatter that he could be a fit for the next iteration of the show.
That’s not to say Isola will fall out of favor, but rather to emphasize that Kornheiser and Wilbon have already lasted longer than most outsiders expected.
In a text exchange with Isola, 59, he joked to OutKick that they may outlast him as well.
“Of course it’s beyond flattering, but Mike and Tony aren’t going anywhere. They still have the drive and passion to produce the best sports show on television. I see it firsthand. It’s an honor and a thrill just to be called out of the bullpen,” Isola told OutKick.
“Mick Jagger once had a great line about The Rolling Stones. He said ‘We’re not getting older we’re getting betterer.’ That was 40 years ago. So yeah, I’ll probably beat them to retirement.”
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Kornheiser and Wilbon signing another contract in three years remains a possibility. In fact, some sources inside ESPN think it’s more likely than not.
For one, ESPN has made accommodations for them. The network allows the “PTI” co-hosts to broadcast from their home studios and take much of the summer off. The job does not require the type of schedule or travel that might otherwise push two veteran broadcasters toward a lighter workload.
No matter your age, co-hosting a top-rated 30-minute sports show with one of your best friends for millions of dollars a year is hardly something you’re anxious to relinquish.
Of course, Wilbon and Kornheiser have earned the flexibility they have.
Still, for argument’s sake, suppose Kornheiser retires when his current deal expires. He would be in his 80s by then, an unusual age for anyone to remain a full-time daily television host.
One option is the one Wilbon has proposed: continue “PTI” with Isola.
This would not resemble the messy Stephen A. Smith-Max Kellerman dynamic on “First Take.” Wilbon and Isola have chemistry, and Wilbon respects him. Wilbon also has never shown an interest in becoming the singular personality around whom a show revolves.
The larger issue is that anyone replacing Kornheiser would be compared with him, likely unfavorably. The same would be true if the show had to replace Wilbon before Kornheiser. A drop-off is inevitable once one or both step away.
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The success of “PTI” is tied disproportionately to the relationship between the two hosts, which began in The Washington Post newsroom in 1980.
Another possibility is that Wilbon and Kornheiser leave at the same time.
If Kornheiser retires after their current contracts, Wilbon would be in his early 70s. At that point, he may decide there is little reason to continue a daily show with a different partner after spending nearly 30 years doing it with one.
Wilbon doesn’t need the money, exposure, or career validation that would come with proving he could do the show without his longtime partner.
He would also have other opportunities at ESPN that require less of a daily commitment. The most obvious would be a greater focus on the NBA in a seasonal role.
If Kornheiser and Wilbon both leave, ESPN could retain “PTI” and install two new co-hosts. Based on the current fill-in rotation, Isola and Mina Kimes would be among the most plausible candidates.
That said, we aren’t sure ESPN would choose that route. We lean toward ESPN ending the program entirely once Kornheiser and Wilbon are both gone.
Kornheiser and Wilbon are the most successful duo in the history of sports media. No two replacements could replicate what they have built, and whoever follows them would face unreasonable expectations.
Understand that viewership already declines considerably when both are absent. Replacing them permanently would likely accelerate that decline.
There is also the issue of control.
ESPN cedes considerable influence over “PTI” to Rydholm, whose production company owns the title. The network can justify that arrangement because of the show’s sustained success. Giving Rydholm the same degree of influence would be harder to justify if the audience declined substantially with new hosts.
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For reference, Rydholm’s judgment beyond “PTI” is questionable. His other creations were not nearly as successful. “Around the Horn” struggled during its final five seasons as Rydholm elevated many of the wrong personalities. “Highly Questionable with Dan Le Batard” and “High Noon with Bomani Jones and Pablo Torre” were also among the less successful shows created under the ESPN brand.
Wilbon and Kornheiser made him. Not the other way around.
At some point, ESPN will have to make its first programming decision about the coveted 5:30 ET time slot since 2001. Until then, for however long Wilbon and Kornheiser continue, expect “PTI” to remain the most-watched show in sports.
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