Jim Rome is getting more air time. Starting January 2, his popular CBS Radio program, “The Jim Rome Show,” will be simulcast for three hours a day on CBS Sports Network.
Rome, who will build a new studio to reflect the new visual elements of his program, will be seen each weekday on the CBS-owned sports cable network between noon and 3 p.m. eastern, in a maneuver that increases the outlet’s original hours of programming.
“Jim is an engaging and dynamic host with an incredibly loyal and passionate fan base,” said Dan Weinberg, executive vice president of programming at CBS Sports. “We are excited to provide one of sports talk radio’s most enduring programs a new national platform on television.”
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Rome joined CBS in 2012, and continues to contribute to CBS’ Sunday-afternoon staple, “The NFL Today.”
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Rome has hosted a program on CBS Sports Network before, and also led a program on the company’s Showtime pay-cable outlet. But he’s never actually had his radio show air on TV, he said in an interview. “We can can add some production value to it,” he said, and allow people who might have been listeners to “see behind the curtain.” Having a video element to the program will also allow his production team to feed social-media with visuals from the program, so fans can follow what he has to say in new ways.
He continues to focus on sports but Rome acknowledged the issues on his program often range farther afield. “They don’t pay me to talk about politics, and people come to me to get away from all that,b ut you can’t not talk about it,” he said, “If the President of the United States is going to repeatedly start talking about the NFL the way he has, then I’ve got no choice to share my thoughts” on why he weighs in. “At that point, it becomes a topic,” said Rome.
The issues involved “are hot button, and they are sensitive. They are polarizing and people are reacting to it. The NFL is year round,” said Rome. “People cannot get enough of that.”
