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After more than 20 years away from the network, beloved broadcaster Rich Eisen is returning to ESPN. Eisen was a staple of ESPN, particularly SportsCenter, in the late 90s and early 2000s before leaving to join the NFL Network in 2003.
Rich Eisen’s career with ESPN first began in 1996 as the host of SportsCenter alongside the late Stuart Scott, with the duo becoming well-known for their humorous style. In 2003, Eisen became the first on-air talent to join NFL Network’s roster. Since then, he hosted NFL Total Access from 2003 to 2011, and more recently NFL GameDay Highlights and the Thursday Night Football pregame show. Eisen also hosted coverage of the scouting combine, NFL Draft, Super Bowl, and so on.
The Rich Eisen Show, the program that ESPN will now be hosting, began in 2014 and was picked up by Fox Sports Radio. Eisen then moved to NBC/Peacock in 2020 and The Roku Channel, where it currently airs, in 2022.
“Rich Eisen is returning to the network as part of its forthcoming direct-to-consumer offering, sources briefed on the move said Monday. Eisen will take The Rich Eisen Show from Roku to ESPN in the fall. There is a strong possibility that the program, which runs from noon to 3 p.m. ET, could also land on ESPN Radio, where it would be viewed as an anchor for the network, but those details are not yet ironed out.” [via The Athletic]
The report ads that, similar to The Pat McAfee Show, “Eisen’s program will be licensed by ESPN, meaning he is expected to maintain ownership and editorial control.”
ESPN declined to comment, and it’s unclear when The Rich Eisen Show will make its debut on ESPN — though sources expect it to slot in at 3 p.m. after The Pat McAfee Show, with the network considering Eisen’s program to be a “complement” to the popular radio show hosted by the former Indianapolis Colt punter.