ESPN Launches 2 All-Female ‘SportsCenter’ Takeovers to Spotlight Coverage of Women’s Sports

ESPN’s “SportsCenter” is rolling out two female-led takeovers beginning Thursday, with all-women anchors and behind-the-camera crew meant to highlight the network’s commitment to greater coverage of women’s sports.

The takeovers — the second of which will air Aug. 11 — will both air in the 11 p.m. ET installments of “SportsCenter” with Elle Duncan and Nicole Briscoe anchoring. The initiative comes in partnership with Disney Advertising and Ally Financial Inc. and will feature exclusive content as part of the multimillion-dollar sponsorship package announced by Ally and Disney earlier this year.

“At Disney, we prioritize amplifying women’s sports and collaborating with like-minded brands to tell diverse sports stories,” Deidra Maddock, VP of Disney advertising sports brand solutions, said in a statement. “This particular execution with Ally marks the first time that we’ve developed such a unique combination of tactics and solutions to elevate women in sports — and we’re incredibly proud to be working alongside them on this initiative.”

Ally will sponsor the takeovers exclusively, receiving branding throughout the show. The financial services company will own all the commercial time in the two custom episodes. In 2022, Ally pledged to reach equal spending on advertising between men’s and women’s sports by 2027.

“ESPN is a leader in women’s sports coverage, and Ally is a leader in intentional and equitable sports media investments. Together, we’re demonstrating our shared commitment to elevating women’s sports,” Stephanie Marciano, head of sports and entertainment marketing at Ally, said. “These takeovers, which are unique and creative, deliver an important message — increasing visibility and investment changes the game. Our collaboration is another example of how brands and media can work together to advance women’s sports and meet fan demand.”

Each of the designated editions of “SportsCenter” will conclude with live commercials featuring the two anchors that will transition seamlessly into Ally’s branded content. ESPN CreativeWorks, Disney’s in-house creative agency, developed elements of the branded campaign in collaboration with Ally, its creative agency, Anomaly, and its media agency, EssenceMediacom.

Additionally, Ally and ESPN CreativeWorks developed a series of 60-second spots, titled “Flip the Game.” Featuring ESPN basketball analyst Monica McNutt and WNBA legend Sue Bird, each spot will demonstrate, tongue-in-cheek, how a “SportsCenter” segment might look if, hypothetically, a financial services company needed to increase the support for men’s sports.

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