Media Tip Sheet – ESPN Upfront 2017

Twitter: #ESPNUpfront

SHOW PARTICIPANTS (in order of appearance)

• DILEMMA, Music Producer and DJ
• Sugartone Brass Band, Musicians
• John Skipper, President, ESPN and Co-Chairman, Disney and ESPN Media Networks
• Vikram Somaya, Senior Vice President, Global Data Officer and Ad Platforms, ESPN
• Eric Johnson, Executive Vice President, Global Ad Revenue and Sales Operations, ESPN
• Mike Greenberg, Mike & Mike Co-Host
• Serena Williams, Professional Tennis Player
• Scott Van Pelt, SportsCenter Anchor, Golf Analyst
• Paul Pierce, Retired Professional Basketball Player
• Rece Davis, College Basketball and Football Studio Host,SportsCenter and ESPN Radio Contributor
• Suzy Kolber, Monday Night Countdown Host
• Matthew Berry, Senior Fantasy Sports Analyst
• Jon Gruden, Monday Night Football Analyst
• Sean McDonough, Monday Night Football Play-by-Play Commentator
• Randy Moss, NFL Analyst
• Lisa Salters, Monday Night Football Reporter, E:60 Correspondent
• Charles Woodson, NFL Analyst
• Rex Ryan, NFL Analyst
• Chris Fowler, College Football and Tennis Host/Commentator
• Kirk Herbstreit, College Football Analyst
• Patricia Betron, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, ESPN
• Wendell Scott, Senior Vice President, Multimedia Sales, ESPN
• Kenny Mayne, SportsCenter Anchor
• Wright Thompson, ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine Senior Writer
• Jemele Hill, SportsCenter Anchor
• Michael Smith, SportsCenter Anchor
• Joel Embiid, Professional Basketball Player
• Kelly Rowland, Musician
• Marly Rivera, Nación ESPN Co-Host, ESPN and ESPN Deportes Commentator
• Jorge Sedano, Nación ESPN Co-Host, ESPN Radio Host
• Ed Erhardt, President, Global Sales and Marketing, ESPN

ADDITIONAL TALENT APPEARANCES (in alphabetical order)

• Stephania Bell, Injury Analyst
• Jay Bilas, College Basketball Analyst
• Will Cain, Contributor
• Cari Champion, SportsCenter Anchor
• Harry Enten, FiveThirtyEight Senior Political Reporter and Analyst
• Neil Everett, SportsCenter Anchor
• Kate Fagan, espnW Writer
• Paul Finebaum, The Paul Finebaum Show Radio Host
• LZ Granderson, ABC Contributor, ESPN The Magazine and The Undefeated Senior Writer
• Israel Gutierrez, NBA Reporter, Contributor and Radio Host
• Matt Hasselbeck, NFL Analyst
• Bomani Jones, Highly Questionable Co-Host, ESPN Radio Host, Commentator
• Max Kellerman, First Take Featured Commentator
• Bob Ley, Outside the Lines Host, E:60 Co-Host, SportsCenter Anchor
• Patrick McEnroe, Tennis Commentator
• Jessica Mendoza, MLB Analyst
• Beth Mowins, Play-by-Play Announcer
• Wendi Nix, NFL Insiders Host, NFL Reporter
• Bernardo Osuna, Nación ESPN Co-Host, Boxing Reporter, ESPN and ESPN Deportes Commentator
• Molly Qerim, First Take Host
• Jeremy Schaap, E:60 Co-Host, ESPN Senior News Correspondent
• Adam Schefter, NFL Insider
• Danyel Smith, The Undefeated Culture Lead
• Ryan Smith, Outside the Lines and E:60 Correspondent
• Stephen A. Smith, First Take Featured Commentator
• Sarah Spain, espnW Writer, ESPN Radio Host
• Sage Steele, SportsCenter Anchor
• Hannah Storm, SportsCenter Anchor
• Mark Teixeira, MLB Analyst
• Pablo Torre, ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine Senior Writer
• Stan Verrett, SportsCenter Anchor
• Mike Wilbon, Pardon the Interruption Co-Host, NBA Studio Analyst
• Marcellus Wiley, SportsNation and ESPN Radio Co-Host
• Jay Williams, Men’s College Basketball Analyst
• Trey Wingo, NFL Host

GUESTS

• Atlanta Falcon’s Freddie the Falcon, Brooklyn Nets’ Brooklynettes, Clemson University’s Tiger & Tiger Cub, University of Miami’s Sebastian the Ibis, New Jersey Devils’ NJ Devil, New York Mets’ Mr. Met, University of North Carolina’s Rameses and University of Texas’ Hook ‘em.

SHOW ANNOUNCEMENTS and RELATED PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS

Monday Night Football Doubleheader Game (Full Release)

• Veteran play-by-play voice Beth Mowins and analyst Rex Ryan will call the late game in ESPN’s season-opening MNF doubleheader (Sept. 11: Los Angeles Chargers vs. Denver Broncos, 10:15 p.m. ET).
• Mowins – who joined ESPN in 1994 – will be the first female broadcaster to call an NFL game since 1987 and the first woman to call a nationally-televised NFL game.
• Ryan, the former Buffalo Bills and New York Jets head coach, joins ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown as a new studio analyst this fall.

Maria Taylor Named College GameDay and ABC Saturday Night Football Reporter (Full Release)

• Maria Taylor, current ESPN and SEC Network host, reporter and analyst, will join the crews ofCollege GameDay Built by The Home Depot and ABC Saturday Night Football.
• Taylor will take on the reporter role vacated bySamantha Ponder who was recently named the new host of ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown.
• She will begin her new duties in August as part of her existing multiyear contract.

Laura Rutledge Named New Host of SEC Nation (Full Release)

• SEC Network rising star Laura Rutledge has been tabbed as the new host of the national network’s traveling pre-game showSEC Nation, featuring Tim Tebow, Marcus Spears and Paul Finebaum.
• Rutledge was a reporter onSEC Nation last season and hosted the network’s studio show SEC Now year-round.
• She will replace the show’s previous host Maria Taylor.

New College Football Playoff National Championship Halftime Show

• Next year’s College Football Playoff National Championship on ESPN will have an A-list music act perform a halftime show for ESPN viewers for the first time in College Football Playoff history.
• The performance will take place outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Centennial Olympic Park as part of ESPN’s first live watch party, where non-ticketed fans can watch the game for free and attend the concert.
• As always, school bands of the respective teams will perform at halftime for fans in the stadium and as part of the ESPN Megacast (ESPN network to be announced).

New Mike Greenberg Morning Show (Full Release)

• Mike Greenberg’s new morning show will launch on January 1, 2018.
• The weekday program will air live from 7 – 10 a.m. ET on ESPN and will re-air each day at 10 a.m. ET on ESPN2.
• Elements of the show are currently in development, but the program will originate from a studio in Manhattan and will feature Greenberg with several full-time co-hosts. The show will also include a rotation of various guests and expert contributors.
• The show will be overseen by television veteran Bill Wolff, who has returned to ESPN as Vice President of Studio Production under Connor Schell.

New ESPN Radio Morning Show Hosted by Mike Golic & Trey Wingo (Full Release)

• ESPN Radio will debut its new morning drive show hosted by Mike Golic and Trey Wingo later this fall, from 6 – 10 a.m. ET.
• The daily ESPN Radio program will initially be simulcast on ESPN2 before moving to its permanent simulcast home on ESPNU.
• The show will also be heard on ESPNRadio.com, the ESPN app, SiriusXM Channel 80, Apple Music, Slacker Radio and TuneIn. A daily podcast will also available on ESPNRadio.com and through the ESPN App.
• ESPN has signed both Golic and Wingo to new multiyear extensions.
• Mike Golic, Jr., who also signed a new multiyear agreement, will join the show every day from 6 – 7 a.m. He will continue to host ESPN Radio’s First & Last from 4 – 6 a.m. every weekday before transitioning to the new morning show at 6 a.m.

New Bomani Jones & Pablo Torre Show on ESPN (Full Release)

• ESPN rising stars Bomani Jones and Pablo Torre will host a newly created one-hour live program premiering Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018 on ESPN from 12 – 1 p.m. ET.
• The program will also be streamed live on the ESPN App and WatchESPN across all devices and platforms.
• More details about the show will be announced at a later date.

New ESPN/ESPN2 Weekday Programming Lineup (Full Release)

• New weekday lineups on ESPN and ESPN2 in 2018 will provide viewers with abundant day-long opportunities for the latest in sports news and perspective on the day’s hottest topics with discussion and personality-based programming.
• From 7 – 10 a.m., Greenberg’s show will be on ESPN while a live SportsCenter airs on ESPN2. At 10 a.m., First Take will air on ESPN until noon, followed by the new show hosted by Jones, host of ESPN Radio’s The Right Time with Bomani Jones, and Torre, senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com. Meanwhile, Greenberg’s show will reair on ESPN2. From there, the rest of the weekday afternoon will continue, as announced recently.
• Also as recently announced, starting in January, SportsCenter Right Now will bring news updates to both digital and television platforms.

Disney Difference

• New enterprise-wide offering that will allow customers to tap into assets across The Walt Disney Company.
• Client specific and client driven program delivers fully customized, tailor-made opportunities that will go beyond the company’s marketplace leading ESPN and Disney/ABC media assets and include promotional opportunities across the entirety of the Walt Disney portfolio – including movie studios and parks.
• Packages can be global, national or regionalized.
• Clients will also have unique access to valuable Disney data, insights and technology.

Total Live Audience

• ESPN has partnered with Nielsen to offer clients one number on which to transact for live sports – every impression, every screen, 24 hours, third party verified.
• As the marketplace increases efforts to capture delayed-viewedimpressions (e.g.:  C3, C7, C35), ESPN understands the impact of live-viewed impressions, especially at a time when there is a greater focus on brand-safe and viewable environments.
• Total Live Audience will add Nielsen-measured live streaming and out-of-home audiences on ESPN and ESPN2 to the TV viewing number, providing consistency and standardization of measurement across the marketplace.
• The adoption of this measurement as part of currency is a continuation of the acknowledged power of live impressions.

-30-