The clock may be ticking for one of ESPN’s longest-running daily shows.
The ESPN daily talk show “Around the Horn” is facing an “uncertain” future and could end at some point over the next 14 months, Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post reported Wednesday.
Glasspiegel cited sources who put the potential end date sometime before the start of the 2025 football season. That is also the point when ESPN expects to launch its new direct-to-subscriber service.
It is unclear what ESPN could possibly air instead of “Around the Horn,” but it would not be surprising to see the network set aside the timeslot for one of its core personalities, such as Stephen A. Smith or Pat McAfee — especially if the move is being made in anticipation of the new D2C platform.
“Around the Horn” debuted in 2002 as part of an hour-long block with “Pardon the Interruption,” which launched the prior year. The brainchild of “PTI” executive producer Erik Rydholm, it filled a timeslot previously occupied by interview series such as “Unscripted with Chris Connelly” and “Up Close” with Roy Firestone.
In the event that ESPN moves on from “Around the Horn,” it would mark the latest change to a daily line-up that once included a string of offbeat talk shows created or in some way influenced by Rydholm. Arguably starting with the failure of “SC6” in 2017, ESPN has over time shifted away from unconventional fare — including “High Noon,” “Highly Questionable,” “The Jump,” and “Jalen and Jacoby” — in favor of more standardized sports talk.
