ESPN alters ‘SportsCenter’ focus, lineups
ESPN announced plans Monday to shake up its flagship show
SportsCenter, with an initiative to reach sports fans on platforms outside of just television. The announcement comes on the heels of the network laying off more than 100 staff members in recent weeks.
ESPN senior vice president Rob King told Yahoo Finance it will be a trial-and-error experiment and two of the big changes will focus on a more digitally driven SportsCenter and putting more emphasis on the personality of the host during shows. Among the digital changes to SportsCenter include running “Right Now” video updates — some capturing breaking news, some capturing viral happenings — on TV and digital avenues, while shooting more segments specifically for the Web instead of repurposing highlight-reel and interview segments from TV. To bolster the personality that SportsCenter adopted with Scott Van Pelt on midnight ET show- ings and Michael Smith and Jemele Hill on 6 p.m. showings, the network is shuffling its lineup.
Sage Steele will anchor the 7 a.m. SportsCenter, set to air seven days a week. Kevin Negandhi, Jay Harris, Randy Scott, Elle Duncan and Matt Barrie will join.
Neil Everett and Stan Verrett will stay at their 1 a.m. slot.
Steve Levy, John Anderson and John Buccigross will co-host the 11 p.m. SportsCenter, which also will feature Kenny Mayne hosting from the cable network’s Bristol, Conn., headquarters for the first time in close to a decade.
Hannah Storm, the current host of the 10 a.m. broadcast, is set to move to a new role focusing on “high impact journalistic pieces” for SportsCenter and E:60.