ESPN’s podcasts are getting a bit of an upgrade quite soon.
As part of what the company calls a new “seasonal content initiative,” the company will be airing one of its podcasts every weekday from 2-3 p.m. ET on ESPN2 starting on January 29, according to an ESPN statement sent to For The Win.
The lineup of podcasts will include The Lowe Post by ESPN NBA expert Zach Lowe, The Hoop Collective run by NBA insider Brian Windhorst, The Mina Kimes Show led by NFL expert Mina Kimes, First Draft run by draft experts Mel Kiper Jr. and Field Yates and The Elle Duncan Show featuring ESPN anchors Elle Duncan and Gary Striewski.
The shows were already featured on YouTube so there was already a video component included. But for the podcasts to be broadcast on ESPN’s airwaves is another step forward in video.
It’s similar to how the company once aired its radio programming live on television, except it’s ESPN’s podcasts with a different show playing daily. The shows will be pre-recorded and then re-formatted to be aired on TV.
Here’s what the schedule will look like:
This is a move that the brand could potentially use to further highlight some of its lesser-known individual personalities. As things stand, Pat McAfee and Stephen A. Smith are the brand’s biggest personas.
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Current ESPN Senior Vice President and former For The Win founding editor Mike Foss said this is about audience expansion.
“This strategic content initiative provides our ESPN podcasts with a tremendous opportunity for continued growth and audience expansion while simultaneously lending compelling content to our ESPN2 television lineup,” he said in a company statement.
Broadcasting podcasts probably won’t make stars in the magnitude of names like Smith or McAfee, but it does give other ESPN personalities a chance to shine outside of the show formats we’re used to seeing them in. That’s a good thing.