Even though “Pardon the Interruption” has been around since the fall of 2001, Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon are still crushing it in the ratings department.
A few weeks ago, Kornheiser and Wilbon were named the recipients of the 43rd Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism. They’ll be honored at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown on Feb. 16.
“Tony and Mike have forged one of the most successful partnerships in sports media history on PTI, and they’ve made an extraordinary impact on the industry and generations of fans,” said ESPN president of content Burke Magnus. “Our entire ESPN team congratulates them on receiving the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism, and we look forward to celebrating them next month as PTI marks its 25-year anniversary.”
On Oct. 7, ESPN had exciting news to share regarding Kornheiser and Wilbon. It turns out “Pardon the Interruption” had its strongest September since 2015, averaging 794,000 viewers. That number is up 18% from last year.
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Wilbon recently put ESPN on blast.
What’s interesting about “Pardon the Interruption” and its success is that ESPN has done a “terrible job” promoting the show. At least that’s what Wilbon thinks.
“It’s not even need for attention. You watch a lot of promos of this network, of all the shows in this network, and you’ll never see mention of this show,” Wilbon said, via Awful Announcing. “There’s a phrase where I’m from that I utter. It starts with an F and ends with a U. That’s how I feel. I’m from the South Side of Chicago. I got a chip on my shoulder every day. And you want to ignore this show, really? Go ahead, but then ignore it. Don’t watch it. Turn the channel. I don’t care. But the promotion, go on your ESPN app. Stephen A. says, McAfee says. You won’t find a mention of this show.”
Clearly, the lack of social media marketing hasn’t impacted “Pardon the Interruption” from thriving at 5:30 p.m. ET every Monday through Friday.
