ESPN is pulling the plug on a legend. It feels weird even saying it out loud, but the rumors that started swirling in late 2024 have officially hardened into a concrete timeline. For over two decades, Tony Reali has been the ringmaster of a digital circus, awarding points for "facetime" and punishing bad takes with a ruthless mute button. But the scoreboard is finally blinking out. If you are looking for the exact date for when is the last episode of Around the Horn, the current schedule points toward the summer of 2025. Specifically, ESPN is expected to wrap production on the iconic panel show just before the 2025 football season kicks off, likely in late August.
It’s the end of an era. Honestly, it’s hard to imagine the 5:00 PM ET hour without that chaotic, fast-paced theme music. The decision isn't about ratings—not entirely, anyway. It's about a massive shift in how Disney is managing its balance sheets and how sports fans consume their daily dose of debate.
Why ESPN is Finally Cutting the Cord
The sports media landscape is currently a mess of "cost-cutting measures" and "strategic pivots." Since 2023, Disney has been under intense pressure to make ESPN a standalone streaming powerhouse. This transition requires a ton of capital. Unfortunately, legacy studio shows that carry high production costs—even those as beloved as Around the Horn—are finding themselves on the chopping block.
Think about the overhead. You have a host in a high-tech studio in New York. You have four rotating columnists calling in from across the country, all requiring dedicated high-speed lines and technical support. You have a production crew that has been refined over twenty years. When you add up the contracts for stars like Woody Paige, Bill Plaschke, and Mina Kimes, the bill starts to look pretty steep for a 30-minute block of linear television.
People don't watch TV like they used to. They just don't. In 2002, when the show launched with Max Kellerman, we sat on our couches and waited for the news. Now, by the time 5:00 PM rolls around, most of us have already seen the highlights on X (formerly Twitter), watched a three-minute breakdown on TikTok, and read the analytical deep dive on an athletic subscription site. The "news" part of the news-cycle is dead. Around the Horn was a pioneer in gamifying sports talk, but the game has changed.
The Legacy of Tony Reali and the Stat Boy Era
We have to talk about Tony Reali for a second. He started as "Stat Boy" on Pardon the Interruption, the annoying kid in the back correcting Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon. When he took over Around the Horn in 2004, he turned it into something special. He wasn't just a host; he was a moderator, a referee, and a friend. He brought a level of empathy and emotional intelligence to a format that usually rewards yelling and hot takes.
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The show survived the move from Washington D.C. to New York. It survived the transition from standard definition to the "virtual" set that looks like something out of Minority Report. Through it all, Reali remained the constant. He managed big egos. He managed the "Mute" button. He managed to make us care about writers from the Boston Globe, the Denver Post, and the LA Times who we might never have known otherwise.
What Happens to the Panelists?
The biggest question isn't just about when is the last episode of Around the Horn, but what happens to the voices we’ve grown to love. The show was a kingmaker. It took local sportswriters and turned them into national celebrities.
- Woody Paige: The king of the chalkboard. He’s been there since the beginning. Will he move to a full-time podcast? It’s likely.
- Mina Kimes: She’s already a superstar. Her work on the Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny and her NFL analysis will keep her at the top of the ESPN hierarchy regardless of this show's fate.
- Pablo Torre: Having already moved a significant portion of his work to Meadowlark Media, he’s a prime example of the "new media" pivot.
The reality is that many of these regulars are already preparing for life after the horn. The show served as a daily audition for every other platform. If you could survive a 15-second "Showdown" against Frank Isola, you could survive anything in media.
The Financial Reality of 2025 Sports Media
The "death of the bundle" is a phrase people use a lot, but what does it actually mean for your favorite show? Basically, every time a household cancels cable, ESPN loses a few dollars in "carriage fees." Multiply that by millions of people, and you get a massive revenue hole.
To fill that hole, ESPN is betting big on high-profile talent like Pat McAfee. The "McAfee-ization" of the network means moving away from structured, segmented shows and toward long-form, personality-driven "vibes." Around the Horn is the opposite of that. It is highly structured. It is segmented to the second. It is, in the eyes of the current executives, a relic of a more formal time.
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But let’s be real: there’s a nuance to Around the Horn that you can’t find in a four-hour bro-fest in a basement. The show forced journalists to be concise. You had to make your point in 20 seconds or get muted. That discipline is becoming a lost art in sports media.
How to Watch the Final Run
As we approach the end, ESPN plans to make the final season a bit of a victory lap. Expect a lot of "best of" segments. We’ll probably see a return of some original panelists. Maybe Max Kellerman makes a guest appearance? One can hope.
The episodes will continue to air in their usual time slot until the finale in late August 2025. You can catch them on the linear ESPN channel or stream them via the ESPN app. If you miss the live broadcast, the podcast version of the show—which is essentially just the audio of the episode—will likely remain available until the very end.
What Replaces the 5:00 PM Slot?
Speculation is rampant about what will fill that half-hour gap. The most likely candidate is an extension of SportsCenter or, more likely, a digital-first program that can be easily chopped up into social media clips. ESPN has been experimenting with more betting-focused content as well. Don't be surprised if the new show features a lot more talk about point spreads and player props than Pulitzer Prize-winning columnists.
It sucks. It really does. There was a comfort in the 5:00 PM / 5:30 PM block of Around the Horn and PTI. It was the "Smartest Hour in Sports." Taking away the first half of that feels like breaking up a winning team.
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The Cultural Impact of the Mute Button
We shouldn't overlook how much this show influenced the way we talk about sports. The "Buy or Sell" concept? That's Around the Horn. The idea of "The Lightning Round"? That’s Around the Horn. It taught a generation of fans how to argue. Not just how to yell, but how to make a point, back it up with a stat, and move on.
Tony Reali’s sign-off—"Thank you for being part of the show"—always felt sincere. He knew the show was a bit ridiculous. He knew that awarding points for sports takes was inherently silly. But he also knew it mattered to the people watching. It was a ritual.
Strategic Steps for Fans
If you’re a die-hard fan of the show, don't just let the clock run out. There are ways to preserve the experience and stay connected to the personalities.
- Follow the Panelists on Substack and Podcasts: Most of the regulars like Jackie MacMullan (who retired but still appears), Israel Gutierrez, and Clinton Yates have their own platforms. This is where the real "Around the Horn" energy will live on.
- Archive the Classics: YouTube is full of old clips from the early 2000s. If you want to see the evolution of the show, start digging now before licensing issues potentially scrub the web.
- Engage with Tony Reali: He’s incredibly active on social media and has always been transparent with fans. As the finale nears, his insights into the show's history will be the definitive record of what happened behind the scenes.
- Watch the "Paper of Record" moments: Some of the show's best segments weren't about sports at all, but about social justice, mental health, and the humanity of the athletes. These are the episodes that deserve a re-watch.
The end of Around the Horn isn't just the end of a TV show; it's the closing of a chapter in sports journalism. We’re moving into a more fragmented, more chaotic world. We’re losing the referee. While the exact final date is still subject to the whims of network executives and potential sports preemptions, the writing is on the wall. Enjoy the mute buttons while you still can.
Go follow Tony Reali and your favorite panelists on social media now to ensure you don't lose their voices when the lights in the virtual studio finally go dark.