Senior ESPN Production Exec Norby Williamson Is Leaving After A Nearly 40-Year Run

deadline.com:

ESPN EVP of Production Norby Williamson, who helped build SportsCenter into a signature franchise but recently had a public clash with Pat McAfee, is departing after nearly 40 years at the network.

Burke Magnus, President of Content, relayed the news to employees in a memo Friday morning. (Read it in full below.) Magnus said the Disney sports division would soon be conducting “a full search for a new senior content executive.” He also saluted Williamson’s “steadfast commitment and attention to detail, Norby has had a lasting impact on the sports fans’ experience.” A statement from Williamson was also included in the internal memo. “Due to the exceptional hard work, creativity and commitment of the people of ESPN, and to a much lesser extent my contributions, I’d like to think we’ve left our great company in a far better place than we found it,” the statement said.

Through a number of turbulent periods for ESPN, especially in recent years as a number of top execs and talent exited and Disney’s company-wide efforts to trim costs took effect, Williamson remained a steady figure.

In recent months, however, friction with McAfee also spilled into public view. The high-paid host, whose YouTube-based show was picked up by ESPN last year for a reported $85 million over five years, named Williamson on a January 2024 episode, blaming the exec for leaking negative information and “actively trying to sabotage us.” McAfee, whose freewheeling show still streams on YouTube as it also airs on ESPN, has seemingly redrawn the boundaries of what makes for suitable ESPN programming.