ESPN executives push back after Athletic survey questions Pat McAfee’s popularity

Jeff Hauser

•
ESPN executives push back after Athletic survey questions Pat McAfee’s popularity image

ESPN executives publicly defended Pat McAfee on Tuesday after a recent The Athletic reader survey suggested declining popularity for the outspoken College GameDay analyst. 

The Athletic’s survey asked readers how they felt about McAfee’s presence on the weekly college football pregame show.

Nearly half of respondents — 49.5 percent — said they did not like McAfee on GameDay, while 31.6 percent said they liked him and 18.9 percent reported no opinion.

Not a surprise considering how people seems split on McAfee, but the timing right before the National Championship game is odd. However, ESPN executives questioned whether the survey reflects reality and a true market test size. 

ESPN’s president of content Burke Magnus responded on social media by pushing ratings over reader polls. He noted that College GameDay has delivered three consecutive seasons of record audiences and argued that viewers ultimately “vote with their remote controls.”

On the other hand, ESPN senior vice president Mike Foss pointing to GameDay’s weekly audience of roughly 2.7 million viewers and McAfee’s daily show reach being a more meaningful indicator of his popularity.

More: Fernando Mendoza rejected Miami’s payday — now he’s one win from a national title

Since Lee Corso left the program eariler this year, McAfee has brought life back to the show with his personality. Despite mixed opinions, he is widely credited with bringing on a younger generation. It's something the longtime coach never did. That's why ESPN appears eager to stand behind McAfee. 

More college football news: 

Senior Editor