The Least Surprising News of the Century: Regis Philbin Confirms He's Leaving Fox Sports 1
Regis Philbin confirms at Media Day what he told me months ago–he will leave Crowd Goes Wild shortly after Super Bowl
— Richard Sandomir (@RichSandomir) January 28, 2014
Big Lead - Regis Philbin is leaving Crowd Goes Wild, the show he headlined on Fox Sports 1, after the Super Bowl. The show, based out of New York, has been a ratings flop during its first season. Fox Sports 1 has struggled to gain traction against ESPN’s afternoon fare, and a recent peek at the ratings shows that earlier this month CGW averaged just 62,000 viewers. Established ESPN shows Around the Horn and PTI, which also air in the 5 o’clock hour, both averaged over a million viewers during the same time period. An industry rumor is that the entire cast was signed through the Super Bowl, and it’s unclear just who will return. One source said that Katie Nolan – perceived by many as a risivor Pryce are likely to return as well.NBC Sports Network went through the same issues with Michelle Beadle’s show. It shed a host, and then was shelved altogether.
What a shocker! The 80 year old dude didn’t translate to the coveted 18-35 year old demo. Who could have seen this one coming besides every single person with a brain? TV execs never cease to amaze me. Like how could anybody think this was gonna work? The most ironic thing about this is I actually tried to hire Katie Nolan before she went to Fox Sports 1. Who would have guessed we’d be the bigger platform than Fox? 62K viewers per show? I don’t want to say that impossibly low, but that’s impossibly low.
PS – You haven’t hit rock bottom till Rick Riley is piling on for no reason. Free Ball Don’t Lie shirt to anybody who can explain how he still has a job. I actually like Regis. Seems like a nice enough guy. Just totally the wrong fit for Fox Sports 1. Rick Riley is universally detested by everybody. And not in a way that you hate him so much you have to watch him like Stern. He’s hated in a way you have to turn the channel immediately so you don’t puke.