ESPN is putting an end of to the Los Angeles-based edition of SportsCenter.
In a statement to multiple publications Wednesday, ESPN said that it is relocating the Los Angeles-based SportsCenter to the company’s Bristol, Conn., headquarters. The final L.A.-based edition of the program will air on May 16. ESPN’s Los Angeles production studio will continue to host its NBA studio programming.
The L.A. version of SportsCenter debuted in 2009 and for most of its run was hosted by Neil Everett and Stan Verrett. Everett left ESPN two years ago. It has also been hosted by any number of prominent anchors, including Linda Cohn, the late Stuart Scott, and even 1990s SportsCenter fixture Larry Beil.
Because the Los Angeles edition aired primarily in the overnight hours — typically airing at 1 AM ET and rerunning until daybreak — it tended to fly under the radar compared to other editions of the show. At the same time, its West Coast locale provided distinct advantages, including a 10 PM local time start and an ability to secure prominent guests who would be unlikely to trek to Bristol.
The Los Angeles SportsCenter is just the latest staple of the ESPN lineup set to leave the network in the coming weeks. ESPN is also discontinuing Around the Horn in May, with the final edition of that show set for a week after the L.A. SportsCenter signs off.
The 35 employees affected by the move can either relocate back to Bristol in the same or similar roles or accept a severance package.
In addition to ending the L.A.-based SportsCenter, ESPN is also moving its ESPN FC studio shows from Los Angeles to Bristol.
The news Wednesday comes two years after Puck initially reported that ESPN would close both its Los Angeles and South Street Seaport studios no later than this year. Between “SportsCenter” and “Around the Horn” — which originates from the Seaport studio — both are losing promiment programming, but per Sports Business Journal there is “no indication” that ESPN plans to fully cease production at either location.
