Sports biz reporter Rovell leaving CNBC

Darren Rovell, who covers the sports business for CNBC, is leaving the business news network and returning to ESPN.

On his Twitter feed Thursday morning, Rovell wrote, “I will also be doing regular business reporting for ABC News, where I will definitely be covering the food & drink biz.”

Rovell joined the network in 2006 and is responsible for both analyzing and reporting on the sports business world on all of CNBC’s programming.  He is also author of the ‘Sports Biz’ blog on CNBC.com.

Earlier this month, Rovell was criticized for falling for a fake tip from a teenager that high-priced escort services were being hurt by the NBA lockout last year.

Prior to joining CNBC, Rovell served as sports business writer for ESPN.com and reported on the world of agents, stadium deals, endorsements and contracts on ESPN’s flagship, ‘SportsCenter,’ its investigative show, ‘Outside the Lines,’ and had weekly segments on ESPNEWS.

Rovell is also the author of two business books. ‘First In Thirst: How Gatorade Turned The Science of Sweat Into A Cultural Phenomenon’ and ‘On the Ball: What You Can Learn About Business From America’s Sports Leaders.’

In 2004 and 2007, Rovell was named to Newsbios’ “30 under 30,” a list of the top 30 national business reporters under the age of 30. He is the only sports reporter in the two-decade history of the awards to have been honored.

Rovell graduated cum laude from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., where he is on the advisory board for graduate programs in sports administration.

Here is Talking Biz News’ February 2011 interview with Rovell on covering the business of sports.