Absent from television will be many hours of daily, live sports programming, with networks left needing to fill the void created by the coronavirus impact.
According to SBJ’s John Ourand, ESPN plans to air live editions of SportsCenter all day and night on their flagship, with ESPNEWS continuing to offer its usual simulcast of First Take, Your Take With Jason Fritz, and The Will Cain Show. ESPN2 will simulcast a combination of both ESPN and ESPNEWS programming.
Consumers can usually look to sports as a distraction during times of unrest, but with the NBA, NHL, NCAA, MLB, MLS, PGA, XFL, Tennis and motorsports all suspending, postponing and canceling play, networks need to provide other content.
Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports notes ESPN and ABC have up to 16 regular-season NBA game windows and 44 playoff telecasts to fill. Turner Sports will have 14 regular-season NBA games and 40 playoff telecasts to replace on TNT. Turner, in conjunction with CBS and trueTV were also set to air all 67 games from the men’s basketball NCAA Tournament throughout March, concluding with the National Championship game, Apr. 6 on TBS.
Being an entertainment network first, Turner has an extensive library of content to pluck from and air in place of their sports offerings. ESPN is more of a news source, with viewers expecting to tune in for information especially in the immediacy of sports’ cancelations. The Worldwide Leader does also have a library of 30 for 30 documentaries and ESPN Classic content to utilize.
As we rapidly move into a time without sports, we’ve also rapidly moved into a time where the coronavirus continues to cause life-altering decisions. We saw CBS News need to evacuate their New York headquarters after two employees reportedly tested positive for coronavirus. In addition to providing information and content to the public, ESPN and Disney will similarly prioritize keeping their employees safe.