Regis Philbin Has New Sports Talk Show And A Social Media Problem

Regis Philbin may not know social media too well, but his newest gig has that taken care of for him.

Philbin has been tapped by Fox Sports 1 to host a new sports talk show, called Crowd Goes Wild. The show plans to interact with viewers through social media, but that task isn’t going to fall on the soon-to-be 82-year-old Philbin.

Instead, executive producer Michael Davies — who teamed up with Regis Philbin on Who Wants to be a Millionaire — has hired a social media correspondent.

“Every single one of us has a parent or a grandparent who struggles with social media,” Davies said. “We’re going to frankly have a lot of fun with Regis’ struggles with social media.”

Instead of sticking Regis Philbin with having to interpret fan reaction via Twitter or Facebook, the producers instead just want him to do what he does best — sit down and talk. Regis will open each show with commentary and move on to a guest interview, sticking with the tried-and-true formula of his Live! shows.

Regis is a noted fan of Notre Dame football and the New York Yankees, but never got too far into sports with Kathie Lee Gifford or Kelly Ripa.

“I could talk about what I’d seen last night at Yankee Stadium or something like that, and Kathie Lee’s eyes would start to get scared,” Philbin said. “Talk about something else, a football game that was so hot this Sunday, and Kelly would just not care at all. And (executive producer Michael) Gelman would say, ‘What are you talking about?’ ”

Interestingly enough, the person who replaced Philbin on Live! was retired New York Giants defensive lineman Michael Strahan.

After leaving Live! in 2011, Regis had not been in touch with Kelly Ripa, who said earlier this year the two don’t really talk anymore. But she still had good things to say about her former co-host, saying he still had a lot left in the tank.

“Well they’re both incredible storytellers,” Kelly Ripa said about Philbin and Strahan, adding that Regis could even keep up with the former New York Giant on the football field. “They are both fiercely competitive, and they’re both incredible football players.”

Regis Philbin makes his debut on Crowd Goes Wild on August 19.