SportsCenter, ESPN’s flagship news, highlights and information program, will go live 6 a.m.-3 p.m. ET Monday-Friday starting August 11, the opening week of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, replacing the current wheel of re-aired SportsCenters. ESPN’s morning programming has consisted of encore presentations of SportsCenter since January 1996.

The new nine-hour block of live SportsCenters will feature three teams of two main show anchors, an update anchor, and production personnel split into three-hour shifts. Shows will generally reset every hour and SportsCenter Right Now updates will be presented every 20 minutes throughout the block.

SportsCenter will evolve throughout the day, originally putting more emphasis on reviewing the previous night’s news and events, then shifting that emphasis to the news of the day, that night’s events, and the current “buzz” via fan interactivity through a new SportsCenter.com site. Shows (available on ESPNHD) will consist of highlights, breaking news, expert analysis, commentary and debate, plus interviews, live coverage of press conferences, and more.

ESPN, Inc.’s multi-platform presentation of live news now provides fans several options in the morning, including live morning SportsCenters on ESPN which complement differentiated live programming on ESPN2 (ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning 6-10 a.m. and First Take 10-noon live, noon-2 p.m. encore), ESPNEWS’ ability to present live breaking news as warranted within the network’s 30-minute blocks, ESPN Radio (and ESPNRadio.com), SportsCenter Right Now updates on ESPN.com and ESPN Mobile TV, ESPN Mobile text and video alerts. 

“These live SportsCenters will answer fans’ call for greater immediacy and interactivity,” Norby Williamson, executive vice president, production, said. “Going live will allow us to put a fresh perspective on the previous night’s games and cover breaking news during the day, all within the traditional SportsCenter approach, which focuses on highlights, scores and news.”

New Elements Complementing Live (6 a.m.-3 p.m.) SportsCenter  

SportsCenter.com: SportsCenter.com will launch in August and provide users greater access to interact with SportsCenter and its commentators and other fans via chats, blogs, e-mails, instant polls and more.

Continuous Bottom Line: Viewers will receive a continuous Bottom Line that will graphically present the latest news and scores throughout the show and during commercials.

Rundown: The vertical list of upcoming stories will be updated live throughout the nine-hour block.

ESPN Day Programming Effective August 11, 2008

6 a.m.-3 p.m. ET           SportsCenter

3-3:30 p.m.                      Outside the Lines First Report                                        

3:30-4 p.m.                      College Football Live

4-4:30 p.m.                      NFL Live

4:30-5 p.m.                      Rome is Burning                                      

5-5:30 p.m.                      Around the Horn

5:30-6 p.m.                      Pardon the Interruption

6-7:30 p.m.                      SportsCenter

NOTE: Live editions of SportsCenter are also presented at 11 p.m., 1 a.m. and weekend mornings.