Last week, Chad Withrow and Jonathan Hutton made their first joint appearance together in more than two months. For the past 15 years, the duo has hosted sports talk programming for audiences on both terrestrial radio and digital platforms. For the last five years, Hutton & Withrow served as the longstanding daily flagship program for Clay Travis’s OutKick platform, providing insights, interviews, and analysis from their Nashville-based studios.
However, on May 11, OutKick Hot Mic went dark. Hutton and Withrow were no longer producing daily content for the platform they had called home since 2021. Speculation quickly surfaced about their future with the company and whether they had departed OutKick after five years with the brand.
Last week, the silence ended as Hutton & Withrowannounced their return with a new show launching during SEC Media Days this week. The program also features a new timeslot and a new platform. One that’s still awaiting an official announcement.
“I looked at SEC Media Days as a deadline instead of a launch,” said Hutton. “We wanted to be back by then, because you want to be at the unofficial kickoff of college football season. I would rather be there and reacting to it live than recapping it afterwards.”
Withrow said the timing of the new Hutton & Withrow program aligned with the show’s overall content strategy. Because the SEC and college football will drive much of what they envision for the program, there was no better opportunity to return than during SEC Media Days.
“We’re southern guys and children of the SEC. That’s where our interests lie is in the southeast. So it was always the natural partnership of where we want to do this, what time makes sense and needing to do something in Tampa at SEC Media Days,” explained Withrow. “We’re all fearful when you disconnect with an audience for a couple of months. This is a short-term memory span society. You don’t want to be gone for too long.”
Saying Goodbye To OutKick
Following the final OutKick Hot Mic program on May 11, Hutton and Withrow began navigating their departure from OutKick. Throughout the process, both credited the professionalism of FOX executives who oversee the outlet.
“It was all handled the right way. A longer process, but it wasn’t difficult,” explained Hutton. “We didn’t put pen to paper for a while. We wanted to ensure things were handled the right way. Our last show was in May, but we didn’t finalize anything until the end of June.”
After five years with OutKick, Hutton and Withrow admitted they never discussed remaining with the outlet. In fact, the contracts they originally signed were with Clay Travis before FOX assumed those agreements when it acquired OutKick.
“There were never any discussions about sticking around [with OutKick],” said Withrow. “I did not see myself long term with OutKick. I enjoyed my time there, but I wouldn’t have seen myself in that company long term at all.”
The experience is one neither Withrow nor Hutton will forget. Both expressed gratitude for the opportunity to learn, work, and experience every stage of growth and education that came with it. Withrow described his time at OutKick as “a necessary step in his career.” One that allowed him to move beyond terrestrial radio. He says gaining a better understanding of what will be required in the industry’s next era alongside Hutton was paramount.
Between their final show in May and their official departure in June, discussions with FOX continued regarding ownership of the show’s intellectual property. As they prepared to go independent, Hutton and Withrow wanted to ensure the brand they had created before joining OutKick would return to their ownership. That included a YouTube channel the duo created before joining OutKick, one that had remained dormant while all of their content lived exclusively on the platform’s channel.
“The biggest part of it was making sure our YouTube channel was ready to go. We had that prior to getting going with Clay and before our first show. We had the base already, and didn’t want to start a new channel,” said Hutton. “That’s what kept us from doing anything immediately was just ensuring that channel was ready to go.”
It’s also why both hosts remained silent about their status following their final OutKick program. Neither publicly discussed their departure or their next steps until a short video appeared last week on the dormant YouTube channel.
“I wanted the one announcement to be something positive,” explained Withrow, noting people did reach out privately following their last program. “We live in a world with big announcements all the time… I didn’t want to make it some big emotional thing. I wanted to wait till we had our ducks in a row and make an announcement about what we’re doing. Getting to that announcement was more important than announcing we left OutKick.”
New Opportunities Await
Now that the show has returned with long-form distribution on YouTube, Hutton & Withrow will also join a new digital network, with additional details still to come. The move to mornings is intentional. The program will kick off a weekday lineup that remains unannounced.
The earlier timeslot is equally intentional for the growth of their independent brand. Rather than publishing content later in the evening, they believe making it available during the day will improve engagement, reach, and consumption.
“We’re going to get our content out faster for socials in the mornings. We’re constantly listening to what the algorithms tell us,” said Hutton. “At OutKick, we were getting shows out at 6pm. By the time you get home, I don’t know how many people would scroll past it or click on it. It benefits us to get it out earlier in the day so everyone has a shot at it.”
Withrow described the new venture as operating much like a small business that feeds a larger network. That network is yet to be formally announced, but will feature additional collaborators. The new show will be housed on YouTube for quicker monetization while also being distributed across social platforms to create a broader experience for audiences.
A Radio Future?
Hutton and Withrow both consider radio their first love. The pair spent many years together at Nashville’s 104.5 The Zone before joining Clay Travis’s OutKick in 2021. Although Hutton & Withrow is launching exclusively as a digital product, they have not ruled out future radio distribution.
“Radio could be part of the plan. I love my years in radio, and would absolutely love to be back on radio,” said Hutton. “I want to be wherever you consume media and be on the platform [radio] if it’s available to us.”
Withrow agreed, saying radio distribution could once again become part of the show’s future. While at OutKick, the program was syndicated through Skyview Networks. While the new platform has yet to be announced, Hutton and Withrow credit Clay Travis for the trust and guidance that helped shape their success. The duo worked alongside Travis during their radio days in Nashville before following him to OutKick in 2021.
“Clay [Travis] is one of the smartest men in media that I know. Not just the political realm which he’s ventured into, which does not interest me as much as the sport part of it. It’s what he continues to do in sports media that continues to interest me,” said Withrow. “I always had a fascination with working for Clay in any way I can.”
Last month, Travis announced his own departure from the OutKick brand, stating that he hopes to launch a new project in the coming months. Given the longstanding relationship between Travis, Hutton, and Withrow, it would not be surprising if their paths crossed again.
“If given the choice, Clay is someone I would choose to work with because it’s always been a great experience. He cares about his employees, and an incredibly loyal guy. I respect the heck out of the guy, and our journey with him has been a six-year process,” noted Withrow.
For now, Hutton & Withrow are focused on building something that reflects where the media business is headed rather than where it has been. After years of working within established brands, the pair now controls its own content, owns its intellectual property, and has the flexibility to distribute its programming wherever audiences choose to consume it.
That freedom ultimately represents the biggest change in this next chapter. Rather than relying on a single company or platform to define their future, Hutton and Withrow now have the ability to shape it themselves, adapting to new technologies, audience habits, and business opportunities as they emerge.
For two hosts who have spent the better part of 15 years evolving together, the platform may have changed. The partnership hasn’t. As Hutton & Withrow continue building an independent brand, they’re betting that the audience they’ve earned over the past decade and a half will value authenticity and ownership just as much as the platform delivering the show.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
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