How ESPN Plans to Survive Without Sports During Coronavirus Hiatus
What’s a sports network to do when there are no more sports? That’s the dilemma ESPN faces right now as the coronavirus pandemic that has brought sporting events to a screeching halt. Typically around this time, ESPN would be preparing for the women’s NCAA basketball tournament, the first pitch of the MLB season and the tip off for the NBA playoffs in April. But after real-world issues collided with sports on an unprecedented scale last week, ESPN is left sifting through the rubble of a schedule now littered with holes. “Thursday, March 12, 2020 is a day none of us will soon forget,” Burke Magnus, executive vice president, programming acquisitions and scheduling, said in an interview conducted by ESPN’s Front Row. The NBA made the decision to suspend its season on March 11 after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19, which put every other sporting event on the clock. “We had already established a programming task force that was tracking cancellations and postponements, yet on that day, our programming grids went from a handful of events or programs impacted to a significant amount of distinct programs, games, events or streams impacted,” Magnus said. Also Read: A World...
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