ESPN hires Katie Nolan because of her versatility and pop culture ties

Former Fox Sports television and social media personality Katie Nolan has been hired by ESPN.

Just months after ESPN laid off several long-time staff members like Trent Dilfer and Ed Werder, it has made the hire of Katie Nolan. Nolan’s hire represents the priority that sports media companies like ESPN are placing on their personalities being able to communicate with broad audiences across multiple platforms.

According to a press release from ESPN, Nolan’s exact assignments are yet to be announced. It’s unclear if she will have an ESPN podcast, her own show or be a “talking head” on existing entities. What’s more clear is that consumers of ESPN media should expect to see her in many different places.

Nolan rose to prominence while working for Fox Sports, with her late-night television show Garbage Time with Katie Nolan and a podcast by the same name. While hosting the show, she won an Emmy for Outstanding Social TV Experience. Last week, Nolan negotiated an early end to her contract with Fox under speculation that she was doing so in order to head to ESPN. Those suspicions were confirmed on Wednesday.

Nolan became famous for her integration of pop culture and social media into her podcast and television show, proving her ability to reach a wide audience on multiple platforms simultaneously. It’s that kind of versatility that companies like ESPN are seeking in their sports media personalities. Other sports media personalities like Ed Werder, who had much more focused careers, were recently laid off by ESPN because of their lack of versatility.

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Nolan’s success is proof that it’s vital for aspiring sports media personalities to be familiar with pop culture and extremely versatile. Her success in those aspects of her performance has earned this position with ESPN.