On Thursday, ESPN announced its new weekday TV lineup, highlighted by the debut of The Pat McAfee Show.
Per ESPN’s release, McAfee’s show premieres on Thursday, September 7 at noon ET. The first two hours of the show will air on ESPN, ESPN+, and ESPN’s YouTube channel, with the third hour airing exclusively on ESPN+ and ESPN’s YouTube channel.
The premiere of McAfee’s show forces some tweaks to ESPN’s schedule from 12 p.m.-2 p.m. ET. This Just In, Max Kellerman’s show that premiered two years ago, was in peril when McAfee’s hiring was announced and its fate was sealed when Kellerman was laid off earlier this summer. The noon SportsCenter, a midday staple on ESPN, has also been axed, with an hour-long edition now airing at 2 p.m.
The rest of ESPN’s schedule throughout the day is unchanged. Get Up continues to lead off the schedule at 8 a.m., followed by First Take at 10 a.m. Following the first two hours of McAfee’s show and SportsCenter, the schedule continues with NBA Today at 3 p.m., NFL Live at 4 p.m., Around the Horn at 5 p.m., Pardon the Interruption at 5:30 p.m., and concluding with the 6 p.m. SportsCenter.
ESPN’s release notes that “select fall Friday shows will be hosted from College GameDay sites.” In Week 1, GameDay is heading to Charlotte on September 2. The host site for Week 2 on September 9, after McAfee’s show debuts on ESPN, has yet to be announced. However, McAfee said this week that he’d have a live show in Tuscaloosa on Friday, September 8, and will be hosting an ESPN2 alternate broadcast for Texas vs Alabama, so I feel like we can go ahead and assume that’s the Week 2 GameDay host.
[ESPN]
About Joe Lucia
I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.