ESPN mainstay Around the Horn aired its last episode on May 23rd. We’re now in mid-October and ESPN still does not have a permanent replacement in their lineup at 5 p.m. ET. However, a surprising new name has emerged at the forefront of ESPN’s plans to rejuvenate the timeslot – Scott Van Pelt.
SVP has cemented himself as one of the faces of ESPN for this generation. Although much of the daily attention at ESPN focuses on the likes of Pat McAfee and Stephen A. Smith, Van Pelt’s personality-driven 11 p.m. ET SportsCenter has been a bedrock of the network lineup for years.
For decades, that timeslot has been sacred space at ESPN. When ESPN shifted to SportsCenter with SVP, it was a bit of a gamble away from the traditional dual-anchor format that had seen the likes of Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick and Stuart Scott and Rich Eisen craft the SportsCenter legacy. However, Van Pelt has made the timeslot all his own as the total package. Not only can he do highlights like the anchors of old, but he can offer commentary and entertainment that hits all the right notes. When everything clicks, it’s the best of ESPN.
But with the ESPN lineup still in flux, it could be Van Pelt that is on the move. According to a report from The Athletic‘s Andrew Marchand, ESPN is considering moving Scott Van Pelt from the late-night SportsCenter to 5 p.m. ET in the afternoon in the old Around the Horn timeslot. ESPN executive Burke Magnus confirmed the discussions. The two other leading contenders for the timeslot at the moment are NFL personality Peter Schrager and NBA reporter Brian Windhorst.
Amazingly, ESPN also reportedly tried to make a move for Ryen Russillo to pair with Van Pelt as the two were former ESPN Radio partners from 2012-2015 with SVP & Russillo. However, after leaving The Ringer, Russillo has moved forward in a new partnership with Barstool Sports. Magnus also confirmed the pursuit of Russillo to rekindle his partnership with SVP.
“That was a bit of a selfish concept by me, because I was such a huge fan of those two when they were together years ago,” Magnus told The Athletic. “It just so happened that Ryen was exploring his future on a similar timeline. He ended up doing something different.”
The report states that if Scott Van Pelt does move his show to 5 p.m. ET earlier in the day, that he could still host the late-night edition of SportsCenter after major events including potentially Monday Night Football where he also pulls double duty as the host of Monday Night Countdown.
Moving Scott Van Pelt to 5 p.m. ET would certainly sure up an important timeslot for ESPN. However, it would open an even bigger hole in the lineup where SportsCenter with SVP has been an institution for years. In fact, Van Pelt’s ratings have even kept pace with traditional late night shows, showing his drawing power in the 11 p.m. ET timeslot.
Van Pelt has openly talked about not wanting to do the late-night SportsCenter forever. And the fact that he does SportsCenter from Washington D.C. as does Pardon the Interruption could create some nice synergy and provide the perfect landing spot for him while also extending his ESPN career at a more reasonable hour.
However, it would also be a risk given that ESPN has no natural successor for the late-night SportsCenter that he has called home since 2015. Would ESPN return that timeslot to a traditional episode of SportsCenter with rotating anchor pairings? Or would they try to place someone permanent in the lineup again? ESPN has put Gary Striewski and Randy Scott in prominent roles recently, perhaps they could be the ones to carry the torch in late-night if Van Pelt does make the move.
The fact that ESPN is openly confirming discussions around Scott Van Pelt makes it feel like that’s the direction the network is leading. Whatever direction ESPN decides to go in, it stands as one of the biggest programming decisions ESPN has made in years.
About Matt Yoder