Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi Will Lead ESPN NBA ‘Alt-Cast’ on Christmas

Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi are taking their show to the NBA.

The two WNBA stalwarts will host their first NBA game together on ESPN, bringing back a programming concept that has proven popular during the network’s coverage of the NCAA women’s final four tournament. “The Bird & Taurasi Show,” seen six times over the course of 2022 and 2023, has gained notice for the duo’s rapport and rogue energy. The program will be produced in conjunction with Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions, which is the backer of the so-called “Manning-cast” that airs alongside ESPN’s “Monday Night Football.”

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The pair will call a noon game on Christmas between the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks and can be seen on ESPN2 and ESPN+. Scheduled guests include Jason Sudeikis, Tyrese Haliburton and Breanna Stewart.

So-called “alterna-casts” have become all the rage among sports broadcasters, with ESPN, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports and Amazon experimenting with the format. These concepts run alongside a traditional broadcast of a game, with a different set of hosts holding forth, usually in less formal circumstances. Warner recently tested a program that ran during coverage of Major League Baseball that tilted toward Latino audiences. Early next year, Paramount Global will test the biggest concept yet — an alternate feed of the Super Bowl, aired on the Nickelodeon cable network and aimed at young viewers and their families.

The Disney-backed sports-media giant plans to simulcast five different Christmas Day games on ESPN+, and will feature three editions of “NBA Countdown.”

Coverage plans include Dave Pasch and Hubie Brown covering the noon game between the Bucks and Knicks on ESPN, with Andraya Carter reporting; Ryan Ruocco Richard Jefferson and JJ Redick covering a 2:30 game between the Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets on ABC, with Katie George reporting; Mike Breen, Doris Burke and Doc Rivers covering a 5 p.m. game on ABC between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, with Cassidy Hubbarth reporting; Mark Jones and Monica McNutt leading an 8 p.m. game on ESPN between the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat, with Angel Gray reporting; and Beth Mowins and Stephanie White covering a 10:30 p.m. game on ESPN between the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns with (Jorge Sedano reporting.

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