UPDATE: Chris Broussard confirmed Sporting News' exclusive scoop that he was jumping to rival FS1 from ESPN Friday night.

Broussard sent out several tweets thanking ESPN and saluting new FS1 colleagues.

Had a wonderful 12 yrs @ESPN! Can't thank them enough for the support & opportunities they gave me. But time for a new chapter in my life. — Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) October 15, 2016

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NBA insider Chris Broussard is finalizing a deal to jump to rival FS1 from ESPN, sources tell Sporting News.

The veteran NBA reporter would give Fox Sports a strong NBA voice to compete with ESPN's army of NBA insiders/reporters, ranging from Rachel Nichols and Marc Stein to Zach Lowe. The tip-off the new 2016-2017 NBA season is only 11 days away.

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Late Friday afternoon, ESPN confirmed Broussard is leaving after 12 years.

“While we attempted to re-sign Chris, we want to thank him for his contributions to our NBA coverage and wish him the best," said ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz in a statement to SN. "We have an impressive array of NBA voices who will continue to help make our NBA coverage thrive.”

FS1 declined to comment.

As a basketball expert, Broussard will likely pair with Jim Jackson, the former Dallas Mavericks star turned FS1 basketball analyst. But sources said FS1 programming czar Jamie Horowitz wants to use Broussard more as an "opinionist," ala NFL expert Mike Lombardi, rather than a traditional insider/reporter.

Broussard has been a polarizing figure in ESPN's NBA coverage. He had a public dust-up with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, and his routine "sources" tweets coming late to breaking news are a point of jokes for many NBA media followers. His Christian beliefs led to him decrying homosexuality on air during a segment on Jason Collins.

But he also has a strong TV presence — though his days of doing NBA sideline reporting likely are over — and plenty of name-recognition. He now is set to become the latest high-profile on-air talent to jump to FS1 from ESPN.

Fox Sports boss Eric Shanks and Horowitz have recruited ex-ESPNers Skip Bayless, Jason Whitlock, Colin Cowherd and Erin Andrews to Fox Sports, which is based in Los Angeles as opposed to ESPN's Bristol, Conn., headquarters.

But ESPN has been busy on the talent front as well. It recently re-signed Stein and Lowe, both respected NBA insiders, to a new contracts. ESPN re-upped rising star Cari Champion to a multi-year contract extension, according to The Big Lead. Six-time NBA champion Scottie Pippen will join Nichols on "The Jump" this season, according to the network. The venerable 83-year old Hubie Brown is back on a new deal, according to Awful Announcing.

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On another key beat, ESPN also re-signed its ace sports business reporter Darren Rovell, according to Awful Announcing. Before re-sighing with ESPN, Rovell and his reps held talks with his old employer CNBC and Fox Business.

Like many NBA and NFL insiders, Broussard has a big social media presence, boasting 1.2 million followers on Twitter. But he's kept mum in recent months as he negotiated his future. In August, Sporting News first reported Broussard's contract was expiring at ESPN in mid-September -- and that he was likely headed to FS1.

FS1's push to challenge ESPN continues. "Undisputed" with Bayless and Shannon Sharpe and Joy Taylor is taking a big chunk out of the audience of ESPN''s "First Take" with Stephen A. Smith, Max Kellerman and Molly Qerim.

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"First Take" fell to 251,000 viewers vs. 125,000 for the new "Undisputed" on Tuesday. That narrowed the audience gap to only 2-1 vs. 3-1 or more for "First Take." The smallest audience for "First Take" this year was 203,000 on July 20 when Smith was on vacation and before Kellerman joined the show to replace the departed Bayless.

First Take at lows, Undisputed matches series premiere high: pic.twitter.com/cOISWIkbNj — Sports TV Ratings (@SportsTVRatings) October 12, 2016

Despite some initial pushback from his producers, Smith is launching a "First Take, Your Take" viewer contest, where the winners will embrace debate with him and Kellerman on the show.