ESPN’s Omar Raja to co-host Oscars red carpet show

In the name of corporate synergy, ABC is bringing a sports component to their Oscars red carpet show by naming ESPN social media guru Omar Raja as a co-host.

The crossover stems from the fact that ABC will be airing an NBA matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves at 1 p.m. ET that will serve as the lead-in for the On the Red Carpet pregame show for the Oscars that begins at 3:30 p.m. ET once basketball coverage has concluded.

For the 2nd straight year, ESPN’s @OmarESPN joins ABC’s @OnTheRedCarpet

Sunday, Raja helps bridge NBA on ABC (Timberwolves-Thunder, 1p ET) into The Oscars

📺 3:30p ET | ABC, ESPN’s social channels pic.twitter.com/gsD1IZ4YkX

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) March 10, 2026

In a feature at Variety, Raja says that he will bring the hot takes of sports to the Oscars red carpet in addition to non-sports topics brought to him by fans like whether or not popcorn is overrated. He will host alongside Linsey Davis, Whit Johnson, Lara Spencer, and longtime ESPN contributor Chris Connelly. This year’s Oscars has multiple sports movies up for major awards with the likes of F1 and Marty Supreme.

It will be Raja’s second year on the red carpet after making a brief cameo last year where he sped down the famed runway and interviewed Guillermo from Jimmy Kimmel fame. Needless to say, it was not an award-winning segment.

Omar Raja shot to stardom through his House of Highlights venture and was hired by ESPN in 2020 to help modernize their social media strategy. He then re-signed with the network in 2024.

While Raja can point to a lot of success with ESPN’s social brands, this collaboration seems as forced as when Fox would have Michael Strahan patronize American soccer fans by explaining the differences between “football” and “futbol.”

Are NBA fans really going to stick around to watch a red carpet Oscars show because someone with a microphone is asking C-list celebrities what their favorite movie snack is? Perhaps the better question is whether or not Oscars fans are even going to want to watch that?