TCA: ESPN Sets 30th Anniversary 'SportsCenter' Special
Special Edition On Sept. 7 To Reflect On Network's Three Decades
By R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 7/29/2009 7:37:48 PM
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Pasadena, Calif. -- On the eve of ESPN's 30th anniversary on Sept. 7, network veteran sportscasters Chris Berman, Bob Ley and John Saunders will host a special edition of SportsCenter.
The 90-minute show, announced during the network's Television Critics Association press tour presentation Wednesday, will premiere Sept. 6 at 11:30 p.m., and will primarily focus on the sports news of the day but will also include retrospective segments on three decades of ESPN. Ley and Berman joined the network in its first year, while Saunders came to the network in 1986.
"These ESPN pillars are three of the most respected professionals in our business," said Norby Williamson, ESPN's executive vice president, production. "Their contributions to ESPN are endless, and it's great to have them together on this special day."
The network is also prepping for its ambitious 30 For 30 documentary series featuring sports stories for the past 30 years told through the eyes of top movie producers and actors such as John Singleton, Ice Cube, Peter Berg and Steve James, all of whom appeared during the TCA presentation.
Other filmmakers joining the project include Morgan Freeman, Lori McCreary, Alex Gibney and Frank Marshall. Also, producing individual sports stories are the production trios of Spike Jonze, Johnny Knoxville and Jeff Tremaine, and Steve Michaels, Joel Surnow and Jonathan Koch, said the network.
The documentary series will launch in October and will run through December 2010, according to Keith Clinkscales, ESPN senior vice president of content development and enterprises.
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