FS1 is expected to retain its pillar.
The network is nearing a deal to renew Colin Cowherd, sources tell Front Office Sports. Cowherd’s contract was set to expire in late February. A deal has not been finalized. A Fox Sports spokesperson declined to comment.
In a wild example of the passage of time, it’s now been nearly a decade since Cowherd made the jump from ESPN to FS1 in 2015. When Skip Bayless followed the next year and partnered with Shannon Sharpe, the network had a block of five and a half hours of established star power.
The Herd, now featuring Cowherd and cohost Jason McIntyre, has proved to be especially resilient in the past few years as the network’s lineup has had a lot of moving parts. The familiar lead-in of Undisputed disappeared after Sharpe and later Bayless exited the network, but The Herd has nonetheless maintained an audience of engaged sports fans.
Terms of the expected agreement were not immediately available.
Cowherd recently purchased a new home outside Chicago, and his plan is to split time between there and Fox’s Los Angeles studio, sources said. One possibility is for his Chicago studio to be in the offices of Big Ten Network. The Herd is simulcast nationally on radio through iHeart’s Fox Sports Radio platform.
In addition to The Herd, Cowherd is the founder of The Volume podcast network. The Volume’s programming includes The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis and a partnership with Sharpe’s Shay Shay Media. The podcast network has an extensive sponsorship deal with DraftKings.
FOS first reported in October that FS1 extended Nick Wright, who cohosts the popular First Things First program with Chris Broussard and Kevin Wildes that airs after The Herd.
