 | |
| Genre | Sports talk |
|---|---|
| Running time | 3 hours |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Home station | ESPN Radio (2004–2015) Fox Sports Radio (2015–present) |
| Syndicates | Premiere Networks |
| TV adaptations | ESPNU (2008–2011, 2012–2015) ESPNews (2011–2012) Fox Sports 1 (2015–present) |
| Starring | Colin Cowherd Jason McIntyre |
| Recording studio | Fox Network Center (Fox Studio Lot Building 101), 10201 WPico Blvd,Century City,Los Angeles,California |
| Original release | March 29, 2004 (ESPN), September 8, 2015 (Fox Sports Radio) – present |
| Opening theme | "Battle Without Honor or Humanity" byTomoyasu Hotei, fromKill Bill: Volume 1 |
| Website | The Herd with Colin Cowherd iHeartRadio channel |
The Herd with Colin Cowherd (or simplyThe Herd) is an American sports talk show hosted byColin Cowherd. Asimulcast, it airs as both asportstalk radio show and television broadcast onFox Sports Radio andFox Sports 1, respectively. The show features commentary on the day's sports news, perspective on other news stories, and interviews with celebrities, sports analysts and sports figures.
The Herd first aired onKFXX AM[1] in 2001[citation needed]. The show joinedESPN Radio in 2004, rebranding as The Herd With Colin Cowherd, and four years later in 2008 would later be simulcast onESPNU andESPNews.[2] During its run onESPN, Cowherd was joined by on-air by producers Vincent Kates, David Fisch and Tom Wassell, and guest hosted by personalities such asDoug Gottlieb.[3]ESPN Radio SportsCenter updates during the show were performed byDan Davis. The show was heavily sponsored bySubway, with the guest caller line being dubbed the "Subway Fresh Take Hotline".[4] On his March 5, 2010 show,Colin Cowherd announced that Amanda Gifford would be leavingThe Herd to become a "suit". Additionally, the show was cut back one hour, airing three hours, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Following controversial statements regarding the level of intelligence needed to understand the game ofbaseball and the education level of players from countries like theDominican Republic, The Herd pulled fromESPN Radio andESPNU on July 24, 2015, as Cowherd exited the network. After Cowherd joinedFox Sports,The Herd moved to thePremiere Networks-distributed Fox Sports Radio network, airing from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. ET. Its television simulcast also moved to FS1.[5] Fox Sports 1 airs a daily highlight show,The Best Thing I Herd, while a weekly highlight show,The Best Thing I Herd This Week, is posted on the program'sYouTube channel. With the move to Fox Sports, production relocated from ESPN headquarters inBristol, Connecticut to Fox Sports headquarters inLos Angeles. Also, Cowherd added a co-host role to the show, stating he hoped the position would be filled by someone who would use it to boost their career in the field, and that eventually the person would leave for a better opportunity.
On April 25, 2018, co-hostKristine Leahy announced her departure from the show to host her own program on FS1. Her final episode was April 26, 2018. Following her departure,Joy Taylor became the full-time co-host and news correspondent for the program. Taylor remained in this role for four years until leaving in 2022 to become the co-host ofSpeak for Yourself, and was replaced by current co-host Jason McIntyre, the co-creator ofThe Big Lead.
On January 30, 2025, Cowherd formally announced his move toChicago forThe Herd, stating that a new studio will be built insideBig Ten Network's office inRosemont, Illinois. He confirmed this move on his eponymous podcast.[6][7]
Cowherd calls his show a football show "first and foremost", with most of the discussions centered around theNational Football League andCollege Football.The Herd also focuses on theNational Basketball Association, but to a lesser degree. Other sports, such asMajor League Baseball,college basketball,soccer, theOlympics,boxing,golf andMixed Martial Arts are discussed usually during important times of the year (such as the World Series in Major League Baseball, March Madness in college basketball, etc.)
The show is a mix of Cowherd's own analysis alongside interviews with guests. Regular segments throughout the week include "Where Colin was Right/Where Colin was Wrong", "Hunch or Lunch", "The Blazin' 5" and "The Herd Hierarchy." He always ends his show with a final segment called "best for last." Cowherd used to take phone calls, but ended that practice a few years into his run while on Fox Sports.
Colin has been viewed as a somewhat polarizing figure, and his audience has varying opinions of his program, from "the best daily sports talk show" to "Awful. No one wants to hear that".[14][unreliable source?] The show has been praised for Colin's on-air honesty and unfiltered persona.[15]Deadspin praised Cowherd's performance on the show as producing the highest percentage of correct predictions of all media pundits in 2021.[16] However, he was also criticized for being self-contradictory, being unfunny during his attempts at humor,[17] as well as not featuring many interviews from sports figures, his tendency to lean towards discussing more controversial topics on-air,[18] and copying the style ofJim Rome.[19]
Following the move toFox Sports Radio andFox Sports 1, Gabe Zaldivar ofForbes found many faults with the program, focusing on the indulgently large studio,Jason Whitlock's Whitlock Wednesdays weekly segment, which he described as being "as exciting as your uncles fighting over who ate the last doughnut", andKristine Leahy's lack of opportunities to speak as co-host. He did however note that on September 28, 2015, The Herd outperformed bothThe Dan Patrick Show onNBC Sports Network andThe Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz onESPNU in terms of viewership.[20]
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While on ESPN the regular fill-ins for Cowherd wereDave Rothenberg,Ryan Ruocco,Jorge Sedano,Linda Cohn,Adnan Virk, andRyen Russillo. The fill-ins during his FOX tenure are Nick Wright andDoug Gottlieb. Former women's golfer turned broadcaster Holly Sonders fill in for Taylor.
On December 19, 2005,Sports Illustrated named Cowherd "Radio Personality of the Year". Cowherd was lauded by columnist Richard Deitch for providing "an engaging mix of entertainment, information, and reportage.[21]
