Fox Sports loves having Katie Nolan around — just not on TV, apparently.
The former host of “Garbage Time” hasn’t been on the airwaves much since her weekly show effectively was canceled in February, but Fox Sports president Eric Shanks said it’s not because the network doesn’t want Nolan in front of the camera.
In fact, Shanks said he doesn’t know why Nolan does not have a show.
“We’d love to keep Katie as part of the Fox Sports family, either now or in the future,” Shanks told the New York Times, which asked why the network had not found a show for her.
“I’m wondering that question, too,” he said.
So there you have it: The president of the network doesn’t know why an asset he says he considers valuable is being completely wasted.
The recent turmoil at Fox Sports — including the ouster of ex-president of national networks Jamie Horowitz amid a sexual harassment scandal — has led to rumors of Nolan jumping ship when her contract expires at the end of the year. ESPN has been named Nolan’s most likely landing place.
It is a far cry from the talk surrounding Nolan in February, when the network chose not to renew “Garbage Time.”
“[The network] could not be more excited about Katie Nolan’s future with Fox Sports,” executive vice president of FOX Sports 1 content Charlie Dixon said at the time.
Nolan indicated she was working with the network to develop a daily show and seemed to believe they were “working toward that.”
Since then, it has been mostly radio silence from both sides, apart from a May Twitter post by Nolan, which read: “Man. I miss working.”
If Fox Sports can’t find anything for Nolan to do, it would be hard to blame her for finding a network that can.