ESPN FRONT ROW: Grantland’s Jalen & Jacoby debut national primetime radio show tonight
September 29, 2015
ESPN Audio will debut NBA analyst Jalen Rose and Grantland’s David Jacoby in their new primetime national radio show, Jalen & Jacoby five nights a week beginning tonight (7-9 p.m. ET).
Originally a podcast on Grantland.com, Jalen & Jacoby has evolved since it was first developed as a passion project of both Rose and Jacoby back in 2011. A large factor in the success of their podcast-turned-radio-show is their on-air chemistry. Beyond just colleagues, Rose and Jacoby are friends outside the office and often invite each other on vacation.
According to Rose, their professional relationship only has gotten stronger over the years, which he attributes to “never taking anything personal and making time to develop concepts and ideas.”
Surprisingly, the initial idea for a podcast with Rose did not involve Jacoby being in it.
“I produce all the podcasts at Grantland, so when I first spoke with Jalen about his potential podcast I detailed to him how important it was that he have good chemistry with his partner,” said Jacoby, a Grantland writer, podcaster and senior producer. “I asked him if there was someone he had in mind, someone he played with or someone he grew up with, he responded, ‘What? You don’t want to do it?’ Now here we are four years later with a national radio show.”
Their on-air personas also have drawn the attention of fans far and wide. Jalen & Jacoby offer a unique voice and feel that differs yet also complements the existing radio lineup at ESPN. Their loyal and dedicated following are a result of their popular tagline and social media hashtag “#GTPWTW” – “Give The People What They Want,” which Rose kicks off each podcast with.
“Jalen and I have always been focused on our digital ‘on-demand’ audience,” Jacoby said. “The only difference is that someone who downloads our audio podcast or watches our YouTube videos will notice that they have a lot more of Jalen & Jacoby every week. The concept that terrestrial radio shows are only listened to as they are broadcast is outdated.”
With the new radio show come new challenges, but their focus will not change. Fans who miss their radio show between 7 -9 p.m. ET during the week will still be able to listen to the podcast or watch the Grantland Channel YouTube version the next morning.
