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Starting this week, ESPN is rolling out a new SportsCenter show that’s being made exclusively for Snapchat. It will air at 5am and 5pm (EST), and while it’s possible there will be a carousel of regular rotating hosts, today’s premiere will be hosted by Katie Nolan.
ESPN announced this move today on their MediaZone blog:
SportsCenter on Snapchat will be hosted by a dynamic roster of ESPN talent, each with his or her own unique point of view, providing diverse perspectives and personality to every show. Today’s first show will be hosted by Emmy-winning sports personality Katie Nolan, who recently joined ESPN. Other hosts for SportsCenter on Snapchat include Elle Duncan, Cassidy Hubbarth, Jason Fitz and Cy Amundson.
“SportsCenter on Snapchat provides a creative new format and platform for our flagship franchise to continue to evolve,” said Connor Schell, ESPN executive vice president, content. “Katie, Elle, Cassidy, Jason and Cy collectively bring a new style, energy and substance that I believe will connect with Snapchat’s audience in a real way. I’m thrilled to bring this level of talent and personality to a new and innovative daily touchpoint for ESPN.” (via)
I’ll be honest, I think this is a great move for ESPN and it’ll be great to see Katie Nolan getting more coverage. I used to share a desk with Katie Nolan when we worked together on Guyism years ago, and it’s been wild to see her career explode over the past few years. I just hope that this doesn’t mean ESPN will be keeping her tucked away on Snapchat and not on TV.
ESPN has been an exclusive content provider on Snapchat for over two years now, but it’s interesting to see ESPN devote additional resources to Snapchat when the social media platform is slowly being made obsolete by Instagram’s stories. I think this is a great deal for Snapchat, getting exclusive SportsCenter content with Katie Nolan, but I think ESPN might be sleeping on Instagram here.
You can click here to visit ESPN’s Media Zone to see the full press release.