SportsCenter Expanding on ESPN’s New App

ESPN announced new digital versions of SportsCenter that will live on the new ESPN app and stream on Twitter at its NewFront presentation in New York Wednesday (May 2).

ESPN also announced a new show featuring Katie Nolan called Always Late With Katie Nolan. The show will feature reaction to and commentary on the week’s news, produced segments, and interviews with athletes and celebrities.

With sports becoming a growing part of the digital landscape, ESPN held its first NewFront. Earlier this year the sports programming launched a new app and ESPN+, a direct-to-consumer streaming service that costs $4.99 a month.

ESPN said the app version of SportsCenter would appear daily and be hosted by Scott Van Pelt and other SportsCenter anchors. The show will be a curation of the top things fans need to see, know and look for in sports, ESPN said. It will include what fans missed last night, top plays and what to expect today, highlighting the array of content from across ESPN. Daily episodes will feature prominently on users' home screens upon first opening the ESPN App.

The Twitter version of SportsCenter was announced Monday at Twitter’s NewFront presentation and will appear live on the platform.

Related: Twitter Announces 30-Plus Content Deals at NewFront

Other programming announced by ESPN includes:

  • Fantasy Focus Live, ESPN’s award-winning and most popular fantasy sports podcast will now also be live streamed daily on Twitter. Each morning, fantasy experts Matthew Berry, Field Yates, Stephania Bell and Daniel Dopp will provide player previews, injury reports, game overviews and strategies, as well as featured guests and interviews, throughout the football season. The show will take fan questions and opinions, and engage the Twitter audience using key football moments and social content.
  • Hoop Streams, an NBA Playoffs show featuring David Jacoby and Ryen Russillo. The show will provide a preview of each playoff, conference final and NBA Finals game prior to tip-off and break-time conversation with fans will be incorporated as they discuss the upcoming match-up.
  • The College Football Show, ESPN’s new weekly college football show will deliver a recap of the best highlights of the day and a preview of the biggest game of the week on every college football Saturday throughout the season. Fans will be able to interact with the show through Twitter.
  • Rankings Reactions, which returns with Mike Golic Jr. and Jason Fitz this upcoming college football season. Each week, Golic and Fitz will react to and discuss the latest College Football Playoff rankings from their unveiling on Oct. 30 through Selection Day on Dec. 8. Audience questions and insights will be brought in directly from Twitter to the forefront of the conversation
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.