The NBA is only one year away from its historic media deal to kick in. With Amazon being one of their partners, the media giants have been on a hiring spree. Among its plans is to have a studio show with the likes of Taylor Rooks, NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki, and Blake Griffin. And now, they are also reportedly poaching from ESPN.
According to The Athletic, Amazon Prime is closing in on a deal with Cassidy Hubbarth, one of the most experienced NBA reporters in the business. She has spent over a decade with ESPN. In her time with the media house, she has played host to several of the top shows and is renowned for her post-game coverage.
However, despite her rich experience, ESPN has failed to give her an equal platform to some of their other NBA reporters. The Athletic writes “Hubbarth, 40, has been at ESPN for 15 years, where she has climbed the ranks of its NBA coverage, but failed to be selected for its lead team, nor given regular hosting duties on one of its prime shows. Still, she established herself as a fixture in its NBA coverage and is known for being an excellent teammate”.
NEWS: Amazon Prime Video is poaching ESPN’s Cassidy Hubbarth to be its No. 1 sideline reporter when it begins its NBA coverage next season, sources tell @AndrewMarchand.
She will join play-by-player Ian Eagle on its lead crew.
More details: https://t.co/od3kFv7eKb pic.twitter.com/9b5kJy7VJ0
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) January 28, 2025
With Amazon Prime, she is reportedly set to become the number one sideline reporter for the company. Moreover, it’s also one of their initiatives to deepen their NBA roster as they prepare to air NBA games through their $1.8 billion media deal with the league. For ESPN, it’s a particularly heavy loss.
Moreover, they might lose another vital member of their team.
ESPN could still lose Stephen A. Smith
Since the new season began, there have been several stories about the future of the face of ESPN, Stephen A. Smith. The popular analyst has been at the helm of ESPN for twelve years. However, with his contract expiring in June, reports suggest he could opt to leave the media giants in pursuit of more freedom.
Still, The Athletic reported that ESPN and Smith have gotten closer in their contract negotiations. The reports suggest Smith’s contract value to be $120 million. It would pay him $20 million per year, more than any other employee at the company. However, the 57-year-old has called these reports to be a “lie”.
He joined SiriusXM in December to discuss his contract situation. Smith claims the talks have been “constructive”. But as far as an agreement goes, they are still far from it. The problem though isn’t money. Smith wants to extend his opinions beyond the confines of sports. And with ESPN, that pathway is seemingly blocked due to the limited freedom he would have.
“ESPN and I don’t have an issue with the money. For me personally, there are a lot of other things that I want to do and I want the freedom to do it. We live in a different world and being able to diversify your portfolio and do things outside of that one job that you may have is incredibly important to me,” he said on SiriusXM.
Previously, Stephen A. Smith has expressed his interest in speaking about politics amidst the election race. With such goals in mind, unless he and ESPN reach an agreement, there is always a chance that they lose their most popular analyst in June.
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