ESPN has announced that several of its award winning storytelling content will be expanded across multiple platforms in the coming months.
Via ESPN
What’s happening:
- Coming off a year filled with prestigious honors, ESPN will enhance its storytelling content offerings this fall with a mix of series debuts and scheduling developments, including E:60, Backstory, ESPN Cover Story and ESPN Daily.
E:60 Moving to Prime Time:
- Now entering its 12th season, E:60 will move to a prime-time slot on ESPN on a monthly basis.
- The series will move to its new home in prime time beginning in October.
- Veteran reporters Jeremy Schaap, and Monday Night Football’s Lisa Salters will host the show together in studio.
- An E:60 prime-time special will air on Tuesday, September 10 and feature the story of the Paradise High School football team whose lives were turned upside down when the California fires destroyed nearly everything.
- E:60 tells the team’s story as they look to rebuild their lives on and off the field.
New Backstory Series to Debut August 18:
- On Sunday, August 18, multiple Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Dan Van Natta Jr.’s Backstory will premiere on ABC.
- This first episode will delve into last year’s controversial US Open title match between Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka, where Williams and chair umpire Carlos Ramos had a heated argument over alleged cheating by Williams.
- Van Natta interviewed more than a dozen people on camera and another two dozen off-camera to discover the “backstory.”
- The recurring series will also air on ESPN and be available on the ESPN App.
ESPN Cover Story Coming to ESPN Platforms this Fall:
- The new monthly presentation, ESPN Cover Story, debuts this fall, featuring access-driven profiles of athletes and major storylines among sports fans, as well as the faces of high-concept franchises born in ESPN The Magazine, including:
- ESPN BODY
- Dominant20
- Heroes
- ESPN Cover Story will be defined by inside access, compelling writing and stunning visual production for platform-optimized feature content distributed across TV, digital and social.
ESPN Daily Podcast Set for October Debut:
- As previously announced, ESPN Daily will launch in October.
- The new podcast will be posted five times per week, Monday through Friday, and feature ESPN’s award-winning team of journalists and storytellers.
- ESPN Daily will take a deep dive into a specific event or issue in sports, using ESPN’s unmatched resources and roster of reporters, producers and commentators.
What they’re saying:
- Alison Overholt, Vice President, Editorial Director and Executive Producer, ESPN: “We’re entering an exciting time in the sports calendar and to match that energy, we’ve got a team focused on delivering ESPN’s best journalism and long-form storytelling to fans this fall in a multitude of powerful formats. September 10 kicks this off with an incredible night of storytelling on ESPN, showcasing the range and depth of this work with a prime-time E:60 special, the debut of The American Game, a new weekly series as part of our College Football 150 programming, and the premiere of our 30 for 30 on Dennis Rodman.”
- Alison Overholt: “We’re particularly excited, though, about the way our many platforms allow us to get creative about which format can best serve any particular story. Our goal is to craft stories that engage fans wherever they may already be watching and reading us—you’ll see us reaching new audiences with all this content by offering fresh, high impact storytelling far beyond linear, from narrative podcasts to our social channels and digital feature presentations.”
A Night of Unprecedented Storytelling, Tuesday, September 10:
- 7 pm – E:60 tells the story of the Paradise High School Football Team
- 8 pm –The American Game, a weekly series part of ESPN College Football 150, debuts
- 9 pm – Rodman a 30 for 30 on Dennis Rodman premieres