For seemingly the umpteenth time, ESPN has ventured into late night only to give up shortly after.
The ESPN2 talk show Olbermann will move to 5 PM ET beginning September 8, ESPN announced Tuesday. The show will be shortened to a half-hour, with Outside the Lines airing directly after.
Olbermann spent just one year in its 11 PM ET timeslot, just the latest ESPN late night venture to eventually move into the afternoon. Some may recall that the daily Outside the Lines aired after Midnight from 2003 to 2006, when it moved to daytime. Much-hyped failures Mohr Sports and Quite Frankly also began in late night before shifting to the afternoon.
Olbermann figures to be more Outside the Lines than Quite Frankly. Host Keith Olbermann has a rising profile at ESPN, recently hosting a special on Pete Rose, and the show is well liked by sports media critics.
Even if Olbermann‘s future seems relatively secure, ESPN’s future in late night is murky at best. The network has sought to establish a late night franchise on ESPN2 for over a decade, and Olbermann was arguably its best shot at doing so.
(Tue. news from ESPN Media Zone via Fang’s Bites)
