One-time SportsCenter anchor Rich Eisen is taking his eponymous radio show to ESPN. Plus: NFL schedule nuggets; ESPN plans an NBA alt-cast for the Western Conference Finals.
Rich Eisen taking his show to his old employer ESPN
Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported Monday that “The Rich Eisen Show” will move to ESPN this fall and will air on the company’s direct-to-subscriber platforms, including its new “Flagship” app, ESPN+ and Disney+. Per Marchand, the agreement does not include any airtime on the linear ESPN networks.
Eisen left ESPN for to join NFL Network when it launched in 2003. He had been a prominent “SportsCenter” anchor during the era of Dan Patrick and Stuart Scott. Assuming ESPN and the NFL eventually reach a deal to have the former run the media apparatus of the latter, Eisen would presumably become an ESPN employee again by default.
“The Rich Eisen Show” is currently airing on Roku, after a previous run on Peacock.
NFL sets Cowboys-Eagles for Kickoff Game
The NFL announced Monday that the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles will host the Cowboys in the league’s annual Kickoff Game September 4. It will be just the third Kickoff Game appearance for the Cowboys, and the first since they faced the Buccaneers in 2021.
In other NFL schedule news, NBC announced that Peacock will carry its annual exclusive game in Week 17 of this season on Saturday, December 27. Last year’s exclusive Peacock game was the Week 1 International Series game from Brazil, which this season is expected to air on YouTube.
For more news on the NFL schedule announcements, see the NFL schedule release tracker.
ESPN sets NBA WCF altcast with Ruocco, Legler, Goldsberry
ESPN will produce an an alternate broadcast of the coming NBA Western Conference Finals featuring play-by-play voice Ryan Ruocco and analysts Tim Legler and Kirk Goldsberry, the network said Sunday. Additional details will be announced this week.
Ruocco was for a time considered ESPN’s #2 NBA voice, but that would seem to have changed as the network’s succession plan — which also involved Richard Jefferson and J.J. Redick — broke down. He has not worked any ABC games this postseason and in recent weeks has worked ESPN’s lowest-tier game (Bucks-Pacers on ESPNU, Cavaliers-Pacers this past Friday).
Legler — who has been with ESPN since before it acquired NBA rights, working alongside Jason Jackson and Fred Carter as an analyst on shows like NBA 2Night and NBA Matchup — has become popular on social media for his Xs and Os analysis. It is only within the past year that he began a regular role as a game analyst.
Goldsberry, who wrote for ESPN’s Grantland from 2012 until its shuttering in 2015, is an analytics-focused writer and author of “Sprawlball” who briefly held a front office role with the San Antonio Spurs.
Still the “One” for Fox
Fox Corporation announced Monday that it will name its new direct-to-subscriber streaming service — which will include its sports, news and local networks — “Fox One.” The name follows the general pattern of direct-to-subscriber services that affix some distinguishing name (Plus, Max, One) to an existing brand.
As one might have noticed, Fox has previously used “One” (or more to the point, “1”) as a distinguisher for its sports cable network.
ESPN, it should be noted, is reportedly going against this trend. Alex Sherman of CNBC reported Friday that the company plans to simply name its “Flagship” service “ESPN.”
