ESPN content president Burke Magnus is putting his personal stamp on the network, announcing a new structure that elevates longtime executives Mike McQuade and Dave Roberts to powerful new positions.
Magnus announced Monday he was promoting McQuade to the new post of executive vice president of sports production. The 37-year ESPN veteran will be in charge of live game production as well as sport-specific studio shows such as Sunday NFL Countdown, Monday Night Countdown, and NBA Countdown. McQuade recently led ESPN’s news-making coverage of golf superstar’s Scottie Scheffler’s pre-dawn arrest during the PGA Championship and helped create the midnight SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt, one of the network’s most popular shows.
Meanwhile, Roberts will transition away from NBA and WNBA coverage to focus solely on non-sports-specific studio shows as executive vice president and executive editor of sports news and entertainment. They include the network’s long-running SportsCenter, along with Stephen A. Smith’s First Take, Mike Greenberg’s Get Up, The Pat McAfee Show, Around the Horn, and Pardon the Interruption. Some of the duties picked up by McQuade and Roberts were previously handled by departed executive vice president Norby Williamson, who was pushed out of ESPN in April amid a “disconnect” with Magnus after nearly 40 years at the network.
About five or six veteran executives were laid off as part of the shuffle, while the overall head count will remain roughly the same, say sources. On-air NFL talents Samantha Ponder and Robert Griffin III were previously dropped in a cost-cutting move. Mike Greenberg was named to succeed Ponder on Monday Night Countdown, while new hire Jason Kelce replaced RGIII on the show.
In an interview with Front Office Sports, Magnus said his goal was to draw a clear line between game production and studio programming. Under Roberts’s leadership, ESPN’s weekday studio shows such as First Take have pummeled their FS1 competitors like Skip Bayless’s Undisputed in the TV ratings, forcing Fox to dump Bayless and retool its entire programming lineup. Magnus is excited about Roberts bringing his hot streak to the flagship SportsCenter. Meanwhile, McQuade, a veteran of golf, NHL, tennis, and boxing coverage, will lead live event production, where he’s earned respect from the front-line troops in the truck.
“As we went through the process, Mike continued to distinguish himself in every conversation with me and with others about his vision for how to do that,” said Magnus. “Mike is a longtime ESPN guy so he knows the culture of our company, he knows how the place works. Quietly, he’s extremely effective. Just a results-driven executive. Doesn’t bring a lot of drama with him. Just gets things done—and gets them done at an extremely high level. He’s probably the single best live event producer that we have.”
Along with Rosalyn Durant, whose title is executive vice president of programming and acquisitions, Magnus is one of the two most powerful leaders at ESPN under chairman Jimmy Pitaro. Under the new organizational chart, he will have seven direct reports in addition to McQuade and Roberts, ultimately overseeing all content. ESPN also plans to name another senior vice president responsible for basketball, hockey, and tennis who will report to McQuade.
With ESPN finally joining the NFL’s rotation of Super Bowl broadcasters, Magnus also plans to fill an important new role as vice president of sports production for the Big Game. The network will simulcast its first Super Bowls with sister Disney network ABC after the 2026 and 2030 seasons.
The months-long process wasn’t easy. Magnus, a 28-year ESPN veteran, said he talked with nearly 75 ESPN executives and organizational experts. In a memo to staff, he noted it was hard to say goodbye to senior executives losing their jobs.
FOS previously reported Aug. 22 that McQuade was a top candidate, along with former NBC Sports producer Jim Bell. Magnus acknowledged interviewing outside candidates. But ESPN has its own unique culture. In the end, Magnus decided to go with executives who’ve lived it while commanding the respect of colleagues.
“We have so much to do here, there can’t be friction. That will just hold us back and make things more complicated,” Magnus said. “Both of these gentlemen will help keep that to a minimum.”
McQuade, a Syracuse graduate, started in the mailroom at ESPN in 1987 before tackling his first production assignment with Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann’s iconic 11 p.m. SportsCenter in 1993. Like the plain-spoken Roberts, McQuade has earned a reputation as a no-BS leader.
He had a long-standing reputation of not being afraid to stand up to the powerful Williamson. Earlier this year, he shone leading the network’s news-breaking live coverage of Scheffler’s arrest May 14. With ESPN’s Jeff Darlington capturing video in almost real time, even interviewing the arresting Louisville police officers as the world’s No. 1 golfer was led away in handcuffs, the network owned one of the craziest sports stories in recent years. To me, it was ESPN at its best.
As one ex-ESPNer told FOS: “I’ve always said I’d hire McQuade to run content when I buy a network. He’s not political—very direct and suffers no fools—but knows immediately what he likes and would change about a show.”
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