ESPN is staging a 24-hour promotional blitz called “The Handoff” beginning immediately after Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8, using SoFi Stadium and Disneyland Park to launch a year-long campaign for the network’s first Super Bowl on Feb. 14, 2027.
The event kicks off at SoFi Stadium, where Chris Berman will ceremonially hand off coverage to Scott Van Pelt following the Patriots-Seahawks game. Van Pelt will anchor his late-night SportsCenter from the site of next year’s Super Bowl LXI, with Laura Rutledge hosting a new show, Super Bowl Live, from the same location.
The programming continues Monday at Disneyland Park, where First Take with Stephen A. Smith, multiple editions of SportsCenter, NFL Live, and a second Super Bowl Live will all originate from a set at the foot of Main Street. ESPN will welcome a player from the Super Bowl LX championship team at the park, tying into the traditional Super Bowl MVP appearance at Disneyland. The day begins with Get Up from ESPN’s Los Angeles studios and concludes with Jimmy Kimmel Live! from Hollywood.
ABC’s Good Morning America will also originate in part from Levi’s Stadium on Monday, with Tuesday’s broadcast featuring an interview with a player from the Super Bowl-winning team. World News Tonight with David Muir will include content in Monday’s broadcast as part of what ESPN is calling a “cross-platform moment.”
This is the most aggressive attempt ESPN has made to program around someone else’s Super Bowl. The network has broadcast NFL games for decades, but never held the Super Bowl rights until securing the 2027 game. Now it’s dedicating an entire day to building anticipation for a game more than a year away.
The Berman-to-Van Pelt handoff connects ESPN’s NFL history to its future. Berman called highlights during the network’s early years and remains synonymous with ESPN’s football coverage, even after stepping back from regular duties in recent years. Van Pelt hosts ESPN’s signature late-night show and represents the network’s modern era. Bringing both to SoFi Stadium symbolically passes the torch while positioning ESPN as the Super Bowl’s next steward.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.