ESPN will televise Zion Williamson’s expected NBA debut Wednesday night. Also: the NBA is tabling a vote on a proposed schedule overhaul; ESPN is reportedly eyeing David Cone; and more.
ESPN adds Zion’s expected debut
ESPN has added Wednesday’s Spurs-Pelicans NBA regular season game, which is expected to feature the NBA debut of Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson. The game replaces Nuggets-Rockets, which itself was a replacement for an originally-scheduled Jazz-Warriors game.
As of Wednesday, the Pelicans will have played 13 games on ESPN, ABC or TNT this season, tied with the Celtics as the third-most in the league. Only the Lakers and Clippers will have made more appearances (14 each). [NBA]
NBA tables vote on scheduling overhaul
The NBA has tabled a vote on its proposed overhaul of its regular season schedule, ESPN reported Friday. The league was initially planning to have owners vote on the changes — a reduction of the regular season schedule to 78 games, the addition of in-season and playoff play-in tournaments, and reseeding of the final four playoff teams — in April.
According to ESPN, the league is planning to study the potential changes further and still “hopes” to implement them in time for its 75th anniversary in 2021-22. [ESPN.com 1.17]
ESPN reportedly eyeing Cone for MLB role
ESPN is in discussions with YES Network Yankees analyst David Cone about a potential role on its Major League Baseball coverage, including Sunday Night Baseball, the New York Post reported Friday. According to the report, Cone could potentially replace Jessica Mendoza in the Sunday night booth alongside Alex Rodriguez. ESPN executives are said to have “liked” how Rodriguez worked with Cone during a guest appearance on YES Network last year. [NYP 1.17]
Miscellaneous: PTI, EPL, 4K, WNBA
ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption will debut a new studio set and updated graphics on Monday, though the changes are not expected to be significant. … The 140 English Premier League matches that are currently exclusive to NBC Sports Gold will also be available on the pay version of the new NBC streaming service Peacock. … ESPN will begin televising its Saturday Primetime college basketball games in 4K resolution starting this weekend. … ABC will televise five regular season games during the upcoming WNBA season, the network’s most in a single year since 2008. [ESPN Front Row 1.16; Awful Announcing 1.17; ESPN PR 1.17; WNBA]
