ESPN Programming update; Baseball Tonight crew’s humorous ride from Detroit Storfied
In an effort to keep viewers as informed as possible regarding Sandy-related programming changes, Front Row has updated the Sandy-related programming notes from across ESPN. Front Row urges everyone in the storm’s path to be safe and neighborly.
SportsCenter
• SportsCenter will not be live on ESPNEWS tonight from 8 p.m. – 11 p.m. ET, instead the 6 p.m. SportsCenter will re-air in its place.
• On Sunday night, ESPN’s Craig Bengtson, Vice President, SportsCenter informed staff that Monday’s and Tuesday’s 11 p.m. ET SC will originate from the network’s Los Angeles facility. The LA digital center will also provide — as the regularly do — the 1 a.m. ET edition.
“The safety of our Bristol-based employees is paramount,” Bengtson said. “It just makes sense to take advantage of our team in Los Angeles. It’s one of the
reasons why ESPN has a facility there.”
In a Monday afternoon email to employees, the company provided an update for employees explaining, “ESPN offices in Bristol and New York remain open. However, only employees who need to be at work to perform key business operations should be on site. All other employees are asked to work from home for the remainder of today and on Tuesday, October 30.”
ESPN2
Some changes to the baseball studio shows as a a result of the World Series’ end and Sandy’s arrival, to note for tonight:
The 7 p.m. ET Baseball Tonight will be replaced by re-airs of Around the Horn and PTI.
The 12:30 a.m. Baseball Tonight will be replaced by a re-air of College Football Live.
NASCAR
• NASCAR analyst Ricky Craven usually travels to Bristol for weekly Sunday through Tuesday programming from ESPN’s headquarters. This week, he may have to stay in Bristol a few extra days if airlines are not flying. And ESPN2’s daily NASCAR Now will likely being doing more phone interviews, especially if downlink capabilities are impaired due to the storm.
“We might have to run some features and do phone interviews if we have trouble getting guests (on satellite),” said NASCAR Now coordinating producer Jim Bowdon. “We have plenty of content from Sunday’s ESPN race at Martinsville.”
NFL/NBA
• Rachel Nichols was covering the Miami Dolphins at the New York Jets on Sunday. Fearing she might miss her scheduled flight to Miami where she is scheduled to cover the Miami Heat as they begin their title defense, Nichols departed MetLife stadium prior to the end of the game to help ensure she would be in Miami for Monday. ESPNNewYork.com’s Rich Cimini and Ian O’Connor were both still available for reporting from the game.
UNITE
Monday’s UNITE on ESPNU, which also originates from Bristol, will be pre-empted.
ESPN NY 98.7FM & ESPN Deportes Nueva York 1050AM Simulcast ABC7
To best serve metropolitan-area fans facing the fury of Hurricane Sandy, ESPN NY 98.7FM & ESPN Deportes Nueva York 1050AM will simulcast ABC7 on both stations while conditions warrant.
The two sports stations will present SportsCenter updates once each hour.
For more ESPN and Sandy-related news check back with Front Row for any additional storm-related news. For now, allow us to provide a diversion from the storm, in Storify form:
