The Jump Expands to NBA Season-Long Show, Roadshows, New Set & New Commentator Cast to Highlight Second Season
NBA Senior Writer Zach Lowe Re-signs with ESPN; Six-Time NBA Champion Scottie Pippen Joins as Analyst
ESPN today announced that The Jump, its daily NBA studio show, will return for season two starting Monday, Oct. 24, during the opening week of the NBA season. The Jump, hosted by Rachel Nichols, will air Mondays through Fridays at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2, before moving to ESPN after the Super Bowl. ESPN has expanded The Jump to a season-long show, which will air through the NBA’s summer league in July.
In its second season, The Jump will increase its number of roadshows as Nichols and the team will be live, on location at various NBA venues throughout the regular season and the NBA Playoffs. Nichols will also hit the road to conduct interviews with the NBA’s biggest stars for pieces that will air on The Jump and NBA Countdown. The Jump, which regularly emanates from ESPN’s Los Angeles Production Center, will feature a new studio set this season, details of which will be released in the coming days.
Rachel Nichols on the return of The Jump:
“We had such a great response to The Jump last season, it’s amazing to have ESPN come back and say – ‘you know all that really cool stuff? We’re just going to do more of that.’ Oh, some of the most interesting names in basketball hanging out, having fun, smart conversations? Yeah, let’s also add six-time champ Scottie Pippen to the group. Going on-site for the biggest moments of the season? Great, let’s do that even more often, in more places. More shows, more resources, all with one of the most creative teams of behind-the-scenes folks in television. And then for me personally, getting to expand my role on NBA Countdown this season is going to be such a treat.”
Nichols will be joined by a highly-respected, diverse cast of expert ESPN NBA commentators, which includes former NBA head coaches, NBA All-Stars and top reporters:
- ESPN has re-signed NBA senior writer Zach Lowe with a new, multi-year agreement. Lowe will have a regular presence on The Jump, which is part of his multi-platform ESPN Lowe is one of ESPN’s most popular NBA columnists, and also hosts “The Lowe Post” – a weekly ESPN Audio podcast;
- ESPN has signed six-time NBA Champion Scottie Pippen as an analyst for The Jump. Pippen will add his championship perspective throughout the season;
- Seven-time NBA All-Star and two-time scoring champion Tracy McGrady, who joined ESPN as an analyst for The Jump last season, has signed an extension with the company and will expand his role on The Jump, while also contributing to NBA Countdown and other ESPN programming this season;
- ESPN has re-signed former NBA Coach of the Year and three-time NBA Champion Byron Scott as an NBA analyst, primarily for The Jump;
- Former NBA Champion Stephen Jackson, who made several appearances on The Jump last season, has also re-signed with ESPN and will be a regular contributor to the show during the 2016-17 season;
- Several of the top ESPN NBA writers and basketball voices will make regular, rotating appearances on the show, including Ramona Shelburne, Brian Windhorst, Amin Elhassan, Israel Gutierrez, Pablo Torre, Tom Haberstroh, and Marc Stein.
Kevin Wildes, ESPN vice president, original content:
“We’re doubling-down on The Jump in every way this year. We have one of the best in the business with Rachel and now we’re adding more shows, a new set and a more robust on-site schedule. We think of The Jump as the daily NBA conversation of record, and we have a superstar cast who will facilitate that discussion.”
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Media contacts: Ben Cafardo at 860-766-3496 or ben.cafardo@espn.com, (@Ben_ESPN);
Gianina Thompson at 860-766-3496 or gianina.thompson@espn.com (@Gianina_ESPN).
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