When ESPN approached Scott Van Pelt about going solo with the midnight (Eastern) edition of “SportsCenter,” he initially said no.
Van Pelt was the co-host of a popular midday radio show on the network, which gave him the opportunity to express his views about various issues in sports. Typically, “SportsCenter” hosts aren’t given as much latitude in that regard. It’s mainly scores and highlights.
“I pushed back,” Van Pelt said. “I loved the radio show where I had the ability to have an opinion. They came back to me and said, ‘No, we’re encouraging that [if he did the ‘SportsCenter’ show]. We want you to bring opinion to that space.’ That made it an incredibly compelling opportunity.”
As a result, Van Pelt said good-bye to his radio show in June. Since then, he has been gearing up for the Sept. 7 debut of his version “SportsCenter.”
The midnight show hasn’t been renamed “SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt,” but that is essentially the case. ESPN is looking to tap into Van Pelt’s unique voice and perspective in between the more traditional 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. editions of “SportsCenter.”
Rob King, ESPN’s senior vice president for “SportsCenter” and news, said Van Pelt will “place a new, entertaining stamp on the midnight ‘SportsCenter.'”
Indeed, it hasn’t been lost on Van Pelt that ESPN is giving him the keys to drive perhaps the coolest car in the lot.
“I’ll admit at times it is daunting when I think about it,” Van Pelt said. “But it’s also like the coach saying you’re going to start. Time to go out and play.”
The move is yet another example of positioning a person’s brand into a high-profile platform. ESPN is banking that viewers will tune in to hear Van Pelt’s views on that day’s happenings in sports.
The 6-foot-6-inch Van Pelt has emerged as one of ESPN’s most popular and enduring personalities thanks to his dry humor. His many “SportsCenter” commercials, some of them classics, show he hardly is a person who takes himself too seriously. Yet Van Pelt has demonstrated he won’t hold back in coming down hard on a subject when warranted.
Van Pelt said his bosses said they aren’t looking for him “to be middle of the road.” His “One Big Thing” commentary/perspectives from his radio show will be among the elements featured on his “SportsCenter.”
“It seems that there is a seed change from the idea that the brand is more powerful than any one person,” Van Pelt said. “Ultimately, the four letters trump everything else. But I think the radio show let me know that people were interested to our approach on a daily basis. I view this show from the same standpoint. If people are interested in what I think about what happened today in sports, they will have the opportunity to find me at midnight or thereabouts.”
Van Pelt knows his “SportsCenter” has to be different than the shows before and after him. He might look at a game differently. He said if something strikes him from a particular game, he will run three minutes of highlights.
Basically, ESPN is giving Van Pelt plenty of freedom to create his own show.
“They are giving me the canvas for a reason. To paint,” Van Pelt said. “So you do it as honest and authentic as you can and trust it.”
The debut of the new show is less than two weeks, but it still is very much a work in progress. When asked about how it will feel to go solo on the “SportsCenter” set, he said Steve Coughlin, as known as “Stanford Steve” from his radio show, will have a role on the new program. He wants someone to challenge him when needed.
Exactly how “Stanford Steve” will be integrated on the TV scene remains to be seen. Like everything else, Van Pelt expects his “SportsCenter” to evolve over time.
“The way I look at it is that Sept. 7 is the start of the show, not the finish,” Van Pelt said. “We don’t have to have everything figured out.”
******
Recommended reading on sports media:
Wright Thompson discusses writing his massive story on Hurricane Katrina for ESPN The Magazine.
Andrew Bucholtz of Awful Announcing examines the issues involved in MMQB’s Robert Klemko not reporting Cris Carter’s “fall guy” comments.
Michael Bradley of the National Sports Journalism Center writes that sports journalism students need to be up to speed about recent trends.
