Let the O.J. Simpson media frenzy begin.
With Simpson scheduled to be freed from a Nevada prison on parole as early as Oct. 1, TV networks, book publishers and Hollywood studios will be lining up to get their piece of the 70-year old former NFL star who was acquitted in 1995 of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Brown Simpson's friend Ronald Goldman.
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Within minutes of Simpson being granted parole Thursday after serving nine years for an armed robbery, Sporting News contacted various sports TV networks to see if they would be interested in interviewing a man many believed got away with murder.
ESPN, the largest and most powerful player in sports media, confirmed Thursday night it would like to sit down with Simpson.
"Given public interest, we would be among the many outlets interested in an interview if the opportunity presented itself," ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz told SN in a statement.
I don't blame ESPN, which devoted its "Outside the Lines" program Thursday to Simpson's parole hearing, for wanting to do that. Simpson is still news and everybody will be trying to land him for a sitdown once he leaves prison and returns to public life.
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Are you telling me that Megyn Kelly, with her failing ratings at NBC News, wouldn't love to land Simpson for a one-on-one? I could see NBC Sports' Bob Costas grilling Simpson the way he grilled Jerry Sandusky. I'd also love to see Bryant Gumbel take him apart on HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel."
Simpson, though, probably still has enough clout to make sure his first public interview comes in a controlled setting with cupcake questions and a bought-and-paid-for interviewer.
There's a huge incentive for entertainment studios and news networks to indulge the public's appetite for Simpson news. ESPN Films won an Academy Award for its documentary "O.J.: Made in America." The Disney-owned network will be covering the Simpson story until the day he dies and beyond. FX's "The People vs. O.J. Simpson" garnered huge audiences, critical acclaim and nine Emmys. Virtually every major TV news network cut to live coverage of Simpson's parole hearing Thursday.
Like many people, I believe Simpson is an unrepentant, sociopathic murderer. Anybody who has ever seen the horrific crime photos from Bundy Drive in Los Angeles' Brentwood neighborhood would never laugh at his antics the way the Nevada Parole Board did Thursday.
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More than two decades after Simpson was charged with murder, Americans were motivated enough to watch a parole hearing for the first time. That's how newsworthy his appeal to return to society was.
Will the media frenzy last? Probably not. After a few months, Simpson will likely sink into media obscurity like he did a few years after his acquittal. For now, though, the O.J. reality show continues.
