After seven years off the air, The Sports Reporters made its return to ESPN platforms on Tuesday with the premiere of a YouTube-exclusive program. Hosted by Jeremy Schapp, the first episode of the reimagined program with a new look and format features several venerated play-by-play announcers from around the NFL, including ESPN Monday Night Football announcer Joe Buck. Joining him on the panel included NBC Sports Sunday Night Football play-by-play voice Mike Tirico and announcers Ian Eagle (CBS) and Kevin Harlan (CBS/Westwood One). The episode features the panel weighing in on key issues around the NFL, different elements of broadcasting and the upcoming season.
Segments from the discussion will air on SportsCenter and NFL Live, along with other potential ESPN television programs as well. The new edition of the show will appear regularly featuring different panelists and subjects. Future episodes will feature new panelists and the return of some members of the show during its original run. Schapp, who also hosts ESPN E60 and Outside the Lines, hosted the Classic Sports Reporters edition of the show on ESPN Classic in the early 2000s. Dick Schapp, Jeremy’s father, hosted the original version of The Sports Reporters from 1988 until he passed away in 2001. John Saunders took over the role on the show and hosted from that time on until he passed away in 2016.
“As a college kid, I’d spend Sunday mornings in the studio watching my father host The Sports Reporters, and then for many years I had the opportunity to work on the show with Joe Valerio and John Saunders, Mike Lupica, Mitch Albom, Bill Rhoden, Bob Ryan and many others,” Jeremy Schapp said in a statement. “So to say that becoming the host of The Sports Reporters is meaningful to me is simply a massive understatement.”
During the first episode, the panel tackled an assortment of topics in discussions guided by Schapp hosting from the ESPN studios. One section of the program that brought laughter and revelry was when the announcers discussed how they approach calling a Kansas City Chiefs game with award-winning singer and songwriter Taylor Swift in the stadium. Buck explained that his daughters have implored him not to tell jokes about her while on the air in fear of him being subject to retribution by her fanbase. Additionally, Tirico stated that it is good to have more people watching football and trying to find a middle ground between highlighting the game and discussing the presence of the global superstar. The panel also discussed other aspects of their roles, including what it is like to broadcast NFL games, their favorite calls and the impact of social media on the profession.
“This is an opportunity for NFL fans to hear from four of the most experienced voices in the sport in the same discussion, and we thank CBS and NBC for the collaboration,” Andy Tennant, ESPN vice president, production, responsible for overseeing the revival of The Sports Reporters, said in a statement. “This is the rebirth of an iconic franchise and the possibilities for more collaborations involving other sports are endless.”
Mike Lupica, a former panelist on the show and newspaper columnist, expressed on The Michael Kay Show that if ESPN brought the show back, that he hoped they would do it in the right way. Moreover, he suggested that the company place the show back in the television lineup on Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m. and stated that former ESPN president John Skipper is the person who took it off the air in the first place. It remains unknown if the show could make a television return in the future, along with the frequency and/or number of new episodes to come.
