ESPN Cancels ‘Mike & Mike’ Radio Show, Mike Greenberg Will Have New Show In 2018
Today, ESPN announced that they will be canceling the radio show Mike & Mike. The show has been on the air for almost two decades. The first episode aired on January 3, 2000 and it’s hosted by Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg. It’s the four-hour morning show on ESPN Radio and in 2004, it was simulcast on TV on ESPNews. The two Mikes initially met when Greenberg first filled in as a co-host on Golic’s ESPN Radio show that he was originally co-hosting with Tony Bruno.
Mike & Mike went through some branding changes over the years with a few various logos. Despite these changes, the show’s content remained the same. The show focused on the daily sports news and people loved the show for the comedic banter between the two hosts. They’ve had a long run, especially in the sports and entertainment industry where things seem to be constantly changing.
The two hosts might not be working together after 2017, but they will each still have a show. USA Today has the scoop on what Mike Greenberg will be up to.
“Mike Greenberg will begin a new morning show on January 1, 2018, the network announced on Tuesday. According to the network, the show will feature ‘several’ full-time co-hosts, guests and contributors. It will air from 7-10 am ET on ESPN — a spot currently held by SportsCenter — and then re-air on ESPN2 at 10 am ET.”
Mike Golic will be hosting a show with Trey Wingo that will air from 6-10 a.m. EST. It will be simulcast on ESPN2 to start and then on ESPNU once the lineup changes are finalized for the network. You’ll also be able to catch his son, Mike Golic Jr., on air from 6-7 a.m. EST each day.
Mike & Mike isn’t the only thing that the two worked on together. Some other ESPN things they worked on were a game show called ESPN Bowling Night and coverage for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. They made a number of appearances as panelists on 2 Minute Drill, a game show that ran from 2000-2001. They even covered the Arena Football League in 2007. There isn’t much in the way of sports that these two guys haven’t discussed or called together. They joined Mike Ditka to cover an NFL game in June 2007, too. So for that night, they were Mike, Mike, and Mike. The three would again call some Monday Night Football games for ESPN. The last one was back in 2009.
It’s hard to argue with the success that Mike & Mike brought to sports radio. The two clearly worked well together in order to keep a show going for 17 years. Not only did they work well together, but they kept the listeners and viewers interested in what they had to say as well. Considering that Mike Golic had a show prior to Mike & Mike,, it’s amazing that he’s still going to continue with a new show after this. On April 19, 2016, the show was inducted into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame. They join the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Bob Barker, and Vin Scully with that accomplishment, along with many other greats, of course.
Mike & Mike coming to an end allows the two hosts to start something fresh. Both Mike’s will continue to have morning shows for their fans to enjoy. If you’re interested in either catching up on the show or taking yourself through a sports time capsule, you can check out some of the show archives. It doesn’t look like you can get everything through there, but it’s a good place to start. Are you disappointed about the show ending? Will you be checking out the new shows from both Mike’s? Let us know in the comments section.
[Featured Image by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]
