WWO Launches Podcast, Weekday Radio Show with McAfee

RADIO ONLINE | Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Pat McAfee

Cumulus Media's Westwood One partners with former NFL punter, standup comedian and social media star Pat McAfee to bring his podcast, "The Pat McAfee Show 2.0" to the Westwood One Podcast Network starting September 9. McAfee will expand his distribution from two podcasts a week to three, all featuring the former Indianapolis Colts punter delivering unique observations and interviews with friends, former and current players, coaches and other personalities. Currently, the podcast generates more than 225,000 downloads per episode.

McAfee will also make an entrance in the broadcast space with the debut of an new weekday morning Sports/Talk show that also launches September 9 and features McAfee's take on sports news and newsmakers. "The Pat McAfee Show" will air live Monday through Friday from 10am-12noon ET and will feature a video simulcast on DAZN, a global sports streaming platform.

"Some of my earliest and fondest memories are with my dad in the car listening to WDVE in the morning in Pittsburgh. I believe that's when my affinity for talk radio truly began," said McAfee. "When I got to college, at the prestigious WVU, I applied to work at the university radio station in hopes to become a voice in the community. The scheduling didn't work out but I always knew I wanted to be a radio guy."

He continued, "When I was drafted to the Indianapolis Colts, I knew I had arrived in Peyton Manning's city but also the city of a staple of morning talk radio, The Bob and Tom Show. They invited me to come on one morning, let me do my thing, and it was love at first opportunity. I knew that no matter where my life would go, talk radio was going to be a passion for me. It's a special intimate bond between the host(s) and listener that is impossible to duplicate in other avenues of entertainment."

"Pat McAfee is exactly what sports media needs right now," said Suzanne Grimes, EVP Marketing, Cumulus Media and Westwood One President. "He's played at the highest level with power and passion. He exudes energy. He can relate to the greatest athletes, but he also truly connects to the everyday fan. He puts you right by his side so you can vicariously enjoy what he experiences."

McAfee was recently signed by ESPN to be its Thursday night prime time college football analyst. After retiring from the NFL in 2016, he joined Barstool Sports and developed their "Heartland" division and the Heartland podcast, which will also be moving to the Westwood One Podcast Network. He also works for the WWE as a co-host on several of their NXT TakeOver Events.