Scott Van Pelt is making a major change to his nightly ESPN show this summer. According to John Ourand of Sports Business Daily, Van Pelt is moving his midnight edition of SportsCenter from ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, CT to his home city of Washington DC.
A Montgomery County native, Maryland alum and die-hard fan of the Terps, Van Pelt will host his show from the same studio that tapes PTI. According to Ourand, the midnight edition of SC will continue to be produced from Bristol.
As one of ESPN’s most recognizable personalities and a near two-decade long employee for the Disney-owned sports giant, Van Pelt has anchored their late-night version of SportsCenter since 2015.
While Van Pelt told Ourand the essence of his nightly show won’t change, being in DC could present opportunities to enhance the program. Because Bristol doesn’t have professional sports teams, there is not much chance for face-to-face time between Van Pelt and star athletes during the midnight hour. But DC boasts four pro teams, and Van Pelt noted to Ourand, if Steph Curry and the Warriors are in town, they might have the ability to do something on the show.
The idea of moving the show to DC began last May, Van Pelt told Ourand. After watching the DC-based PTI win an Emmy-award for outstanding studio show, Van Pelt figured why not return to his hometown and bring his nightly show along? The decision was green-lit soon after, and the midnight edition of SC will debut from DC this August.
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
