Following the news that ESPN would be laying off 150 employees, the sports network has announced that they will be ending the broadcasts of SportsCenter on ESPNEWS that air between 7-11 pm ET on November 30. This continues the trend of de-emphasizing live broadcasts on ESPNEWS as they eliminated the live midday airings earlier. Sportscenter will continue on ESPNEWS from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. during the NFL season.
ESPN Executive Vice President and Executive Editor, Studio Production, Norby Williamson, shared the news with employees today with the following memo:
SportsCenter, ESPN’s flagship since 1979, continues to evolve. Two weeks ago, we debuted SportsCenter on Snapchat, with daily editions of the show running between three and five minutes and hosted by a dynamic roster of ESPN talent. Our presence on this platform is important for many reasons, not the least of which is reaching a younger audience.
We have also launched SportsCenter Right Now on both linear and digital platforms as a way to provide up-to-the-minute news updates within First Take and on the ESPN App. SC Right Now is also woven into halftime of Monday Night Football and ABC Saturday Night College Football and updates will also appear during more of our biggest live events.
At the end of August, we relaunched SportsCenter:AM, welcoming Sage Steele back to Bristol to host the Monday-Thursday edition along with Jay Harris and Randy Scott, and we welcomed Kenny Mayne back to Bristol to join John Anderson, John Buccigross, Nicole Briscoe, Steve Levy and other talented anchors on the 11 p.m. ET SportsCenter. Coinciding with the beginning of the NFL season, a new Sunday night NFL-centric edition of SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt launched, while SVP’s weekday midnight SC consistently generates higher ratings among 18-34-year-old men than late-night talk shows on broadcast or cable.
The further integration of SportsCenter into the ESPN App provides fans even more ways to consume SC – whether it be live or through clips of must-see interviews and highlights.
Beyond the content, SportsCenter continues to innovate with business partners for distinct ways of presenting ads, including this month’s debut of a live spot within the 11 p.m. SC with Kenny Mayne.
With these initiatives we will shift existing resources and the current editions of SportsCenter airing on ESPNEWS between 7-11 p.m. will end on November 30.
SportsCenter will continue to air on ESPNEWS from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Sundays during the NFL season.
As always, we will cover important breaking news at all times of day.
SportsCenter, ESPN’s biggest sub-brand, remains a vibrant and vital part of our plans going forward as we find the best ways to serve sports fans.