ESPN Makes Huge Programming Change To Morning Broadcast
Besides adding Hannah Storm to their coverage ESPN had a big announcement this morning and it was that they're going do to live Sports Centers all morning long. Here are the details....
SportsCenter, ESPN’s flagship news, highlights and information program, will go live 6 a.m.-3 p.m. ET Monday-Friday starting August 11, the opening week of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, replacing the current wheel of re-aired SportsCenters. ESPN’s morning programming has consisted of encore presentations of SportsCenter since January 1996.Very very interesting choice and the hiring of Hannah Storm now makes a whole lot more sense. The line of thinking seems to be the things blogs have been stating for years in that stories from an hour ago are old news and news from last night is ancient. Good move if you ask me.
The new nine-hour block of live SportsCenters will feature three teams of two main show anchors, an update anchor, and production personnel split into three-hour shifts. Shows will generally reset every hour and SportsCenter Right Now updates will be presented every 20 minutes throughout the block.
SportsCenter will evolve throughout the day, originally putting more emphasis on reviewing the previous night’s news and events, then shifting that emphasis to the news of the day, that night’s events, and the current “buzz” via fan interactivity through a new SportsCenter.com site. Shows (available on ESPNHD) will consist of highlights, breaking news, expert analysis, commentary and debate, plus interviews, live coverage of press conferences, and more.
ESPN Day Programming Effective August 11, 2008
6 a.m.-3 p.m. ET: SportsCenter
3-3:30 p.m.: Outside the Lines First Report
3:30-4 p.m.: College Football Live
4-4:30 p.m.: NFL Live
4:30-5 p.m.: Rome is Burning
5-5:30 p.m.: Around the Horn
5:30-6 p.m.: Pardon the Interruption
6-7:30 p.m.: SportsCenter
(Via ESPN PR)
