With the NFL and NBA currently in the midst of their offseasons, two of ESPN’s biggest stars are set to get some additional exposure. According to Front Office Sports’ Ryan Glasspiegel, Malika Andrews and Joe Buck are each set to guest-host upcoming episodes of ABC’s Good Morning America.
Per Glasspiegel’s report, an ESPN spokesperson confirmed Andrews will guest co-host GMA this Saturday and Sunday, as well as the GMA3 digital program next Monday, July 14. Meanwhile, Buck will guest-host GMA from Wednesday, July 23 to Friday, July 25.
Glasspiegel also reports that fellow ESPN personalities Elle Duncan and Laura Rutledge have “had discussions to potentially set up dates for later this summer.”
Such guest-hosting assignments follow a recent trend of sports personalities crossing over into the world of news. Good Morning America‘s current co-hosts, Michael Strahan and Robin Roberts, each have sports broadcasting backgrounds, while NBC has recently utilized Mike Tirico and Dwyane Wade on its own national daily morning show, Today.
Putting Andrews in such a position is especially notable, as Glasspiegel previously reported that the NBA Today and NBA Countdown host’s contract with ESPN is set to expire later this year. Nevertheless, the 30-year-old clearly has plenty of fans at Disney, with some even likening her potential career path to the same one that Roberts has followed.
“Several sports media insiders have independently told FOS that Andrews could eventually follow the Robin Roberts model and flourish on a daytime news and entertainment program within the Disney empire, such as ABC’s Good Morning America,” Glasspiegel reported in February.
Andrews’ upcoming guest-hosting role appears to be an early step in that direction and it will be interesting to see how such roles potentially factor into her contract negotiations. And it will also be worth monitoring which other ESPN personalities ultimately find themselves on ABC airwaves in the weeks and months ahead.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.