ESPN Wants To Get Into The Late-Night Talk Show Business
Skipper admits that ESPN was "interested," however, Myers spurned ESPN to take over Jimmy Fallon's late-night spot on NBC.
On the surface, starting a late-night talk show would seem like a logical next-step for the self-proclaimed Worldwide Leader. For the most part, ESPN does two things great, live sports followed by "SportsCenter."
However, as strong as the ratings can be for those two endeavors, ESPN is not taking advantage of those audiences and giving them something to watch afterwards.
On most evenings, ESPN will follow the 11:00 PM "SportsCenter" with a re-run of the same "SportsCenter." Anybody that watches the 11:00 PM episode is almost certainly jumping ship and going someplace else.
But if not Myers, then whom? McIntyre noted that Craig Kilborn, a former ESPN anchor, has also been mentioned. Kilborn has experience hosting talk shows, and was the original host of Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show." However, he may not be the name ESPN would want in order to make a big splash.
More likely, ESPN will continue to push for a comedian, rather than try to force a sports person to be funny.