What To Make Of Scott Van Pelt Mocking Fake Report About Getting 'Monday Night Countdown' Job

Last week, Richard Deitsch of The Athletic reported “Scott Van Pelt will be getting the Monday Night Countdown job." Deitsch then backtracked saying ESPN wants Van Pelt to host the show but that the two sides have not agreed to a deal.

Deitsch framed the follow-up report as a clarification while it was clearly a correction.

“It was reported that I was the guy. And other than me not having been offered the job or accepting a job I haven’t been offered, it was spot on,” Van Pelt told radio host Dan Patrick on Monday.

“God, that was weird. I mean, you read things and you’re like, ‘Whoa, whoa.’"

Consider how news spreads:

Deitsch reported the deal was done, that Van Pelt would host Monday Night Countdown this upcoming season. Every site that covers media quickly aggregated the report to best capitalize on the clicks. In less than 30 minutes, the news was all over the internet. "SVP" trended on Twitter, as a result.

None of that was true of the correction, however. The sites that aggregated the report either added a note at the bottom or left it out entirely, perhaps even unbeknownst of Deitsch's follow-up.

The correction was far from as viral as the exaggeration.

Thereby, even a week later, there are more readers who think Van Pelt got the job than might think he could still get the job. Let that be a lesson as to the importance of the language attached to an initial report.

As a matter of technicality, Deitsch's report was inaccurate. And that will remain the case even if ESPN ultimately names SVP the host.

Which is still the most likely outcome.

Scott Van Pelt is not slated for Monday Night Countdown. But it could still happen. (Photo c/o Imagn/USA TODAY)

Personalities at ESPN and their agents have told OutKick they expect ESPN and Van Pelt to eventually agree to terms to host MNF.

As for the hold-up, there might not be one. Contracts take time. ESPN just laid off Suzy Kolber, the previous host of the show, three weeks ago. Assigning Van Pelt to replace her requires workarounds that take longer than a month to construct.

For one, he currently hosts the midnight SportsCenter, which includes a Sunday night edition during football season and serves as the de-facto post-game show following Monday Night Football.

Would SVP do Countdown and then SportsCenter on the same night? Could he still anchor the Sunday show while on location, where he would have to arrive a day prior to host MNF on-site?

Moreover, Van Pelt recently told SI he plans to leave the weekday SportsCenter in the next three years. He may try to expedite his departure from SportsCenter if ESPN opens up his deal to add in Countdown.

Ultimately, Van Pelt will likely be the next host of Monday Night Countdown. Put the chances at 75 percent. But the deal is not done. And there are reasons that could prevent it from reaching a completion.