Peacock Takes Exclusive Rights To ‘The Rich Eisen Show’ In Sports Talk Push

Dade Hayes
·3 min read

Peacock will become the exclusive home of The Rich Eisen Show this fall as part of a planned push into sports talk by the NBCUniversal streaming service.

The three-hour daily talker has already been in the NBCUniversal family. Returning from a summer break on August 17, it will air for a few weeks on NBCSN before moving fully to Peacock in October.

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Apart from his eponymous show and podcast, which launched in 2014, Eisen is known for his eight-year stint as an anchor on ESPN SportsCenter and then as the NFL Network’s first talent hire in 2003. He remains the main host on NFL Network.

The structure of Peacock and its focus on advertising motivated the deal. The streaming service went live in April in Comcast’s cable and broadband footprint before a nationwide launch on July 15. Leveraging the NBCU portfolio, Peacock surfaces trending video, including short-form segments from Today, NBC News, Access Hollywood and other programming operations.

NBC Sports is a major piece of that strategy and Eisen’s guest bookings and tackling of the day’s news will put it in a rotation to get wider exposure through streaming. The show will be on the free tier. Peacock also has a “premium” level costing $5 a month.

While the official announcement didn’t indicate other sports talk titles in the lineup, Peacock insiders say the streaming operation is actively pursuing more opportunities there. The favorable economics and flexible production requirements make such shows appealing, at a moment when COVID-19 has waylaid a lot of the more expensive originals Peacock had planned to have ready for its launch.

“My entire career I have taken pride in being at the forefront of new ventures, from the NFL Network to my own show,” Rich Eisen said. “Now streaming on Peacock, I am proud to be hosting and producing the next chapter of sports talk.”

Rick Cordella, an NBC Sports veteran who is now EVP and Chief Revenue Officer for Peacock, said the show is a “great fit” for Peacock because of its blending of sports and pop culture.

The Rich Eisen Show is executive produced by Eisen and Don Bui, with Central Talent Booking’s Liz Waild serving as co-executive producer. Central Talent Booking will continue to oversee all entertainment-based bookings for the show.

Eisen is repped by UTA.

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