ESPN president of content Burke Magnus told The Athletic this week that the network is considering moving Scott Van Pelt from the 12am EST timeslot, to earlier in the day at 5pm EST.
That timeslot was previously held by Around the Horn, and is only 30-minutes in length as it proceeds Pardon the Interruption with Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser. Pardon the Interruption remains ESPN’s highest-rated daytime program.
Life after Around the Horn
Since the cancellation Around the Horn, the network has seen an uptick in ratings in the slot at 16%. In its place, ESPN has been airing generic editions of SportsCenter with various anchors for just 30 minutes in length, before shifting over to Pardon the Interruption, and then followed by a full-hour edition of SportsCenter.
In the interview with The Athletic, Magnus elaborated on the idea of moving Van Pelt to the daytime slot stating, “I don’t want to speak for [Van Pelt], but I think there is a limit for how long people can have their lives upside down from working late nights,” Magnus said. “This could provide some relief in that regard.”
Van Pelt’s next step
This isn’t the first time either that Magnus has publicly discussed moving Van Pelt off of the evenings and into an earlier slot. Magnus told Sports Illustrated in 2023, that there was “no chance” Van Pelt would be hosting the midnight window in three years. This upcoming June will be three years since Magnus made that claim.
Van Pelt has a lot on his plate these days, in fact more than ever before. Not only is Van Pelt hosting his very popular midnight SportsCenter, he is also hosting Monday Night Countdown, his SVPod podcast, and serving as the lead host for ESPN’s golf coverage.
The network has typically used Van Pelt’s show as a vehicle for postgame shows. With Inside the NBA now a part of ESPN’s lineup, and Van Pelt already hosting their NFL coverage, there isn’t as much of a need anymore for his version of SportsCenter in the late-night window as a de facto postgame program.
Hear Tyler discussing the possible “SVP” move to earlier in the day on ESPN’s lineup off our “LWOS Media Podcast” by clicking play below,
Why the move?
Ratings wise, it wouldn’t be a great move to Van Pelt to an earlier timeslot, and then try to find a replacement program in his place. But, it could be a move to keep one of the network’s most valuable talents happy, making his workload easier as he gets older. Van Pelt is currently 59 years old and has been at ESPN since 2001, becoming one of the network’s most-recognizable voices.
If ESPN were to make life easier on Van Pelt by giving him an earlier timeslot, it wouldn’t be the first time they made accommodations for him. IIn August 2020, Van Pelt relocated his show from Bristol, CT, to his home in Washington, D.C.
