Jimmy Pitaro Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

ESPN confirmed Wednesday that it has signed longtime Fox broadcasters Joe Buck and Troy Aikman to multi-year deals, securing their roles as the new voices of the network’s Monday Night Football. The deal takes effect with the upcoming season, which will mark the pair’s 21st season in the booth together — the first 20 years at Fox.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorESPN spent last year building up Peyton and Eli Manning as the curators of a loose, bar-talk like show meant as an alternative to its traditional “Monday Night Football.” Now the Disney-backed sports giant is focusing on the main event.ESPN has signed the two main figures behind Fox Sports’ football presentations, Troy Aikman and Joe Buck, in a bid to strengthen the main “MNF” booth. The deal, which has been anticipated for several days, will put one of sports’ most-watched game-day figures at the helm of ESPN’s signature offering.“When you have the opportunity to bring in the iconic, longest-running NFL broadcasting duo, you take it, especially at a time when we are on the cusp of a new era in our expanding relationship with the NFL,” said Jimmy Pitaro, chairman, ESPN and sports content for Disney, in a statement.  “The NFL continues to ascend, and we now have more games than ever before, providing additional opportunities for Joe, Troy and our deep roster of commentators.” Signing the pair, who have worked together for two decades and called  called six Super Bowls — only the legendary team of Pat Summerall and John Madden has called more — illustrates the new pressures facing some of the most traditional broadcasters of sports.

Addie Morfoot ContributorIn conjunction with International Women’s Day, ESPN has revealed details about its month-long “Fifty/50” initiative celebrating the 50th anniversary of Title IX in June.ESPN is programming a series of short and long-form documentaries directed and produced by women to commemorate the landmark federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any educational institution that receives federal funding and gives women the equal opportunity to play.“This is an important milestone for Title IX and we wanted to find creative ways to celebrate it across ESPN and the Walt Disney Company,” says Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN and Sports Content.Debra OConnell, president of Networks for Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution, called Fifty/50 a significant initiative for the company and its affiliates, adding, “the breadth of content is a reflection of the progress that has occurred over the last 50 years and how much more is still to be done.” In addition to a previously announced four-part docuseries from Dawn Porter (“John Lewis: Good Trouble”) and Nicole Newnham (“Crip Camp”) titled “37 Words,” ESPN revealed that the network will kick off Title IX 50th anniversary programming on June 1 with “Fifty/50 Shorts.” The series will consist of five stand-alone short nonfiction docus that examine stories of women in sports and battle for equality.”All five docs in the series were helmed and executive produced by women. The creators include directors Allison Glock (executive producer “Fifty/50”) and Kate T.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call Wednesday that ESPN has extended its contract with Peyton Manning and his Omaha Productions that means ESPN2’s alt-Monday Night Football show Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli will continue through 2024.

The NFL has set another multiplatform deal for this season’s wild card playoff games.

ESPN said Wednesday that it is parting ways NBA Countdown and NBA Finals host Maria Taylor after failing to come to terms on a contract extension. The news comes a day after what has turned out to be Taylor’s final assignment: covering the deciding Game 6 of the NBA Finals won by the Milwaukee Bucks.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorESPN and Maria Taylor, an up-and-coming on-air personality, have parted ways in the wake of an internal controversy that spilled into the public arena and drew new scrutiny of diversity policies at the Disney-owned sports-media giant.“There is no doubt we will miss Maria, but we remain determined to continue to build a deep and skilled talent roster that thoroughly reflects the athletes we cover and the fans we serve” said Jimmy Pitaro, ESPN’s chairman, in a

Football fans will love this news! Retired star quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Eli Manning, who are brothers, will lead the new Monday Night Football broadcast on ESPN2 this fall.

In a memo sent to ESPN employees on Friday, ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro addressed what he called “nuanced and complicated personnel matters” related to “recent events.” Those events revolve around leaked comments made by one of the the network’s highest-profile female hosts Rachel Nichols, who is white, and another of the network’s highest-profile female hosts Maria Taylor, who is Black.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorESPN plans to drill deeper into issues of diversity and inclusion, going as far as to examine the exit interviews of recently departed employees, in the wake of a dispute that has engulfed two of the network’s basketball reporters, the chairman of the Disney-backed outlet told staffers in a memo.“Change takes time, and I ask for your partnership on this journey,” ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said to employees in the memo, which was circulated last week.

Sonia Coleman is expanding her role within Disney’s content group, adding HR oversight of ESPN to her current role as senior VP, Human Resources, Disney General Entertainment Content, effective immediately. 

said NABJ president Dorothy Tucker.

Burke Magnus, who first joined ESPN in 1995, has been promoted to president of programming and original content.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe Super Bowl is the TV industry’s biggest annual event. What if it became several?Walt Disney is considering a Super Bowl “mega-cast” that could create different broadcasts of the gridiron classic tailored to specific types of audiences, says Jimmy Pitaro, the company’s chairman of ESPN and sports content, during remarks made Thursday evening.

500 cut jobs last week.)“When Jodi and Connor each approached me about starting their next chapters, those conversations were filled with mixed emotions,” Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement. “Jodi has been a trailblazer, not just at ESPN, but throughout our industry, and, because of her entrepreneurial approach, ESPN has always led the way.

that ESPN is eliminating 500 jobs in an effort to cut costs amid the coronavirus pandemic, Jimmy Pitaro informed his staff on Thursday.More to come…Deadline first reported the news.

Jill Goldsmith, Dade Hayes Walt Disney’s ESPN will eliminate 500 positions, including 300 jobs that are filled and 200 that aren’t, to reserve cash for DTC and digital initiatives, the sports media broadcaster, chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a memo (below) to staff Thursday.He said the division had reached an “inflection point.”“The speed at which change is occurring requires great urgency, and we must now deliver on serving sports fans in a myriad of new ways.  Placing resources in support of

Executives at ESPN had high hopes in the Spring of 2018 when they launched a new morning program called “Get Up!” Within weeks, they were wondering whether they ought to put the show down.