ESPN said it is launching a new version of SportsCenter on Snapchat.
The new show will be three to five minutes long and will debut today (Nov. 13) at 5 p.m. On weekdays, new editions of SportsCenter on Snapchat will be available at 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. On weekends, there will be a 5 a.m. edition.
ESPN has been tinkering with SportsCenter because its ratings have been falling, especially among younger consumers, who are going online to find scores and highlights. The network has tried to make each edition of SportsCenter more distinctive partly by emphasizing the personality of their anchors.
The first host of SportsCenter on Snapchat is Katie Nolan, who recently joined ESPN form Fox Sports. Other host will include Elle Duncan, Cassidy Hubbarth, Jason Fitz and Cy Amundson.
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"SportsCenter on Snapchat provides a creative new format and platform for our flagship franchise to continue to evolve," said Connor Schell, ESPN executive VO, content. “Katie, Elle, Cassidy, Jason and Cy collectively bring a new style, energy and substance that I believe will connect with Snapchat’s audience in a real way. I’m thrilled to bring this level of talent and personality to a new and innovative daily touchpoint for ESPN."
“The original SportsCenter defined and changed the way people watched sports,” said Sean Mills, Head of Original Content for Snap Inc. “Today the enormous changes resulting from technology, especially mobile, are having a huge impact on how sports fans follow their favorite players and teams, not to mention fundamentally changing the conversations around sports. There’s a huge opportunity to reimagine SportsCenter for this new medium -- and we’re thrilled about the team and talent ESPN has assembled to do it.”
The deal with Snapchat is part of ESPN’s effort to push SportsCenter online.
On ESPN.com and the ESPN App fans have viewed nearly 1.2 billion SportsCenter video clips to date in 2017 (more than 4 million per day). Additionally, fans have logged nearly 67.7 million hours of time streaming SportsCenter on the ESPN App.
