Stephen A. Smith made a big decision about his future on Tuesday.
No, it wasn’t about his contract with ESPN. Instead, it was about his podcast “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” which he decided to move from Audacy to the iHeartPodcast Network.
“When you connect with anything or anyone at the top of their field, the excitement can’t be tamed,” Smith said in a statement to Variety. “I’m honored to have their commitment and faith, and I can’t wait for their collaboration with ‘The Stephen A. Smith Show’ to begin — knowing even more success is coming down the road. Buckle up! Here we come!”
Smith launched his show, originally called “Know Mercy with Stephen A. Smith”, in September 2022 before renaming it “The Stephen A. Smith Show” in May 2023.
“Regardless of subject matter, to have the opportunity to do so with a podcast I personally own, with content I personally control, is an adventure I’ve waited to tackle head-on for my entire career,” said Smith at the time.
The show, produced by his Mr. SAS and executive produced by himself, covers sports, politics and culture and gives Smith an outlet to opine on topics he can’t sound off on while on air at ESPN.
One of his most talked about episodes was when he unleashed on Jason Whitlock after Whitlock accused him of writing lies and exaggerations in his book “Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes.”
The freedom of expression and choice of topics give Smith a powerful platform to control the conversation and narrative, something Disney-controlled ESPN doesn’t always permit.
And that power continues with his new platform partner.
“’The Stephen A. Smith Show’ features an extraordinary talent with a powerful host in Smith, who provides honest, unfiltered and passionate commentary on the platform,” said Will Pearson, president of iHeartPodcasts.
The move is effective immediately, and Smith will post new episodes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday on the iHeartRadio app as well as the show’s YouTube channel and podcast platforms such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
