ESPN this morning announced they have a new multiyear agreement with SportsCenter anchor Ryan Smith.
As part of the extension, Smith will become a permanent co-anchor of the 7 AM Eastern edition of SportsCenter. This is well-earned for Smith, who is always a welcome presence, and has a strong news and broadcasting background on top of his on-air gifts.
Via ESPN’s announcement:
As part of his new deal, Smith’s position as an anchor for SportsCenter has been expanded from a fill-in status to a permanent co-anchor of the 7 a.m. ET edition of ESPN’s signature news and information program for several days each week.
In addition, Smith is continuing his role as a legal analyst and is reporting feature stories and investigative pieces across multiple ESPN platforms, and for ABC News. He also continues as a fill-in host for other editions of SportsCenter as well as Get Up and Outside the Lines.
Smith joined ESPN fulltime in 2017 after having contributed as a legal analyst and fill-in host for Outside the Lines since he joined ABC in 2014.
Before joining ABC News, Smith served as the nightly news anchor at CNN’s Headline News, where he reported on a variety of stories including the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School and some of the most high-profile trials including those of Casey Anthony and George Zimmerman.
Congratulations to Smith, of course, but this is a win for viewers and ESPN itself as well.
[ESPN]
About Jay Rigdon
Jay is a columnist at Awful Announcing. He is not a strong swimmer. He is probably talking to a dog in a silly voice at this very moment.