ESPN Radio’s national lineup of shows will soon be almost unrecognizable. After losing Stephen A. Smith earlier this year and Will Cain’s departure last month, the network has confirmed a new lineup will hit the air on August 17th.
Rarely does a network forego tweaking for a complete overhaul the way ESPN Radio is about to, but the network told affiliates today it will indeed feature four new daytime shows. Andrew Marchand of The New York Post was the first to report that possibility.
The new lineup will feature former wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, basketball analyst and former point guard Jay Williams, and SportsCenter host Zubin Mehenti in morning drive. The trio will occupy the 6a-10a timeslot.
Johnson, Williams and Mehenti as ESPN Radio’s new morning show from 6 – 10am ET, brings to an end Golic and Wingo. Golic’s impressive run on ESPN Radio looks to be ending after more than two decades with the company. Wingo’s morning show tenure falls short of three years. Both hosts have contracts that expire at the end of this year.
The Dan Le Batard Show will continue its daily start at 10am, but it will lose an hour in the process. The show will now operate weekdays from 10a-12p. They make room for Mike Greenberg, the host of ESPN’s morning TV show Get Up who previously spent 16+ years on the network hosting alongside Golic on Mike & Mike. Greeny will fill the weekday slot of 12p-2p.
Also returning to his radio roots is Max Kellerman. The First Take star has previously hosted on ESPN LA 710 and ESPN New York, and was considered for mornings, but his responsibilities opposite Stephen A. Smith would’ve made it difficult to work on both shows. Kellerman will take over weekdays from 2p-4p ET on the network.
After Kellerman, current morning show contributor Mike Golic Jr. and basketball analyst Chiney Ogwumike will team up to in afternoons from 4 – 7pm. Evenings will feature the reunited team of Jason Fitz and Sarah Spain from 7p-9p, and Freddie & Fitzsimmons from 9p-1a.
It’s interesting to see ESPN potentially go with three two-hour shows in their new weekday lineup instead of a more traditional schedule breakdown. But with five shows from 6am – 7pm, affiliates will have plenty of flexibility in mixing local talent with syndicated programming.