Sports Illustrated announced Monday that it will
debut a daily live Web talk show on June 3.
SI Now Powered by Ford will air on si.com weekdays at
1 p.m. ET and be hosted by SI's digital sports anchor Maggie Gray. The
daily sports talk show will feature SI writers/editors, newsmakers and
special guests. The show will travel to major sporting events, with the first
being the U.S. Open from Ardmore, Pa. on June 10. For those shows, SI
will partner with Time Inc. Sports Group partner Golf Magazine.
"Our writers and anchors are the brightest in the
sports world, and this live show gives them an important new way to interact
with sports fans in real time," said Matt Bean, managing editor of SI.com.
"SI Now is a revolution in how we create and deliver video to our
audience. It is the next phase in SI.com's content evolution."
The Time Inc. title launched SI Video in 2010, which
featured short-form clips and interviews with athletes and newsmakers, pumping
out roughly 50 original videos each week. Time Inc. noted that this is the
first time one if its titles will produce a regular, live video series.
"Our goal is for SI Now to deliver
what SI does best -- thoughtful conversation and commentary around the biggest
stories in sports," said Ian Orefice, Time Inc. news and sports executive
producer. "Since launching SI Video in 2010, we've built tremendous
momentum with increased viewership and critical acclaim for our original
productions. Now with the addition of the production facility, we can deliver
exponentially more video across the site and throughout the spectrum of
digital, mobile and broadcast distribution channels."
