Seen on Screen: ESPN Lays Plans For SportsCenter AM; CBS Sports Launches Daily Fantasy Show

by Jarrel Harris, Editorial Assistant

ESPN’s SportsCenter will give sports fans a new way to start their days with two fast-paced hours of live programming starting in February of 2016. SportsCenter AM will air 7-9 a.m. ET. The initiative was revealed at ESPN’s annual Upfront presentation in New York City, where the network showcases upcoming programming in front of an audience of advertisers and media buyers.

Designed for viewers who are on the move and don’t have much time early in the morning, the new live show will take the popular “SportsCenter Top 10” franchise and turn it into a program with the previous night’s top plays, storylines, quotes, blunders and more. Audience engagement will help select the “SportsCenter Number 1,” the very best play of the previous day. SportsCenter AM will work closely with ABC’s Good Morning America, which also airs from 7-9 a.m., and Mike & Mike, which airs on ESPN Radio and ESPN2 from 6-10 a.m., to share resources. With the connection, for example, Good Morning America legal analyst Ryan Smith could appear on SportsCenter AM to discuss a news story or ABC News chief meteorologist Ginger Zee could discuss weather affecting a sports event…

… CBS Sports launched a daily sports show, Daily Fantasy Live, on all of its digital platforms, including its app and sports hub at CBSSports.com. This is good news for fantasy sports fans, and the people that put up with them, because they won’t have to monopolize the television to get their fix. You don’t have to have a cable subscription to authenticate, or a CBS All Access account. Viewers can watch the show at 6 p.m. Monday- Friday via the site, app, or the CBS Sports channel on Roku, Apple TV, and Android TV. The nightly newscast is will cover fantasy football, baseball, and hockey rankings and player news. While baseball is in season right now, it’s never too early for coverage of football. Already viewers can tweet lineup questions using the hashtag #DFL and hosts Heath Cummings and Ryan Bass will answer them…

…In its ninth year of French Open coverage, Tennis Channel is launching two new preview shows that dive into the many variables of match ups and outcomes that could happen at the Paris-based major this year. The network will dedicate more than 13 total hours to Racquet Bracket: French Open and Tennis Channel Live at the French Open, premiering Friday, May 22, 8 p.m. ET and Saturday, May 23, 12 p.m. ET, respectively. Starting on Opening Day Sunday, May 24, through the men’s semifinals Friday, June 5, Tennis Channel will take viewers through 12 days of live coverage at the 2015 French Open, followed by same-day encore matches during the championship weekend. During the two-week event in the City of Light, the network will deliver more than 260 total hours of day-to-night coverage of the tournament, with more than 85 hours of live or first-run matches, nearly 45 hours of encore replays, and 122 hours of three-hour nightly primetime show French Open Tonight (37-and-a-half first-run) hosted by Bill Macatee…

…NBA TV will commemorate the 20-year anniversary of the Houston Rockets’ back-to-back championship seasons with Clutch City, a documentary to be televised during The Finals on Monday, June 8, at 9 p.m. ET. Produced by the Sports Emmy Award-winning NBA TV Originals, Clutch City examines the Rockets’ 1993-94 and 1994-95 teams as Houston greats such as Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, Kenny Smith, Robert Horry, Sam Cassell and Vernon Maxwell reflect on their experiences and how their unusual team chemistry helped them succeed…

…The Dan Patrick Show – NBCSN’s and DIRECTV’s critically-acclaimed sports television show and syndicated radio program starring Football Night in America co-host Dan Patrick – will travel to Marina Del Rey, Calif., to present five days of shows next week.

Beginning on Monday, May 18, and continuing through Friday, May 22, The Dan Patrick Show will originate from a specially designed set located at the DIRECTV Los Angeles Broadcasting Center in Marina Del Rey. The week of shows will feature a number of high profile athletes and celebrity guests including, NBA Hall of Fame member Jerry West, comedians Frank Caliendo and Jim Breuer, actor Jerry Ferrara, and regular guests Reggie Miller and Rich Eisen. Patrick will also be joined by his production staff of Paul Pabst, Patrick O’Connor, Andrew Perloff and Todd Fritz, known as The Danettes.