ESPN Buzzer Beater has been part of ESPN’s college basketball coverage since 2011. It particularly came in handy during Championship Week when conference tournaments were in action. Providing viewers with live cut-ins to games across the country, Buzzer Beater was the NFL RedZone of college basketball. But the 2016-17 season was apparently the last for the whiparound channel that was carried on various cable and satellite providers.
The TV Predictions site reports that the move comes in the wake of recent cost cutting moves such as layoffs and pivoting resources to other areas. An ESPN spokesperson issued this statement to TV Predictions:
With more ways than ever to program our networks across all screens, we have decided to shift resources to better position ourselves for the long-term. We will leverage the reach and scale we have across our TV and digital platforms to continue to provide more college basketball coverage than any other company.
No change to Goal Line and Bases Loaded – they will each return to the network for their respective seasons.
Goal Line is used during college football season and Bases Loaded airs during the NCAA College Baseball and College Softball Tournaments’ regional rounds
Buzzer Beater aired twice a week during college basketball season, but as it won’t be returning, we’ll see how ESPN uses the resources that were once allocated for the channel.
About Ken Fang
Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.
He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.
Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.