ESPN will launch a midnight edition of its studio scores and highlights show SportsCenter on Sept. 7.
Scott Van Pelt will anchor the new show, which will debut following ESPN's telecast of the Ohio State-Virginia Tech college football contest.
“Scott and a team of very talented and creative people have been working hard to be ready to launch a new and entertaining midnight SportsCenter,” said Rob King, ESPN senior VP, SportsCenter and News. “The show will deliver what sports fans are used to from SportsCenter but in a different and fast-paced way, led by the intellect, humor and sports fandom of Scott Van Pelt.”
Van Pelt is a familiar ESPN anchor and hosted a program on ESPN Radio.
“It’s still SportsCenter,” said Van Pelt. “It’s still a show that at its core is about whatever has happened that day in sports – highlights and stories – and not a variety show. It’s our interpretation of what SportsCenter would be if you blended it with some room for commentary. The crux is that it’s SportsCenter, just our version of it.”
Features of the new show will include:
• One Big Thing -- the trademark essay from Van Pelt’s radio program
• Bad Beats -- games that had a unique resonance in Las Vegas
• Best Available Video -- the fun, extraordinary images of the day
• Best Thing I Saw Today -- Van Pelt’s nightly pick of the signature moment/topic
• Oh, No! -- a kinder, gentler, and shorter version of the SportsCenter “Not Top 10,” presented with empathy
• West Coast Bias -- a feature designed to serve fans who watch at 9 p.m. PT, at times including 1 a.m. SportsCenter anchors Neil Everett and Stan Verrett.
• Where in the World Isn’t SVP? -- Tweets from fans who see lookalikes of Van Pelt at places around the world.
The show’s staff includes producer Tom DeCorte, director Rodney Perez and “Stanford Steve” Coughlin, a former producer of Van Pelt’s radio show, who will have both an on- and off-air role, appearing on-camera for segments and also helping to book guests and conceive show ideas.
