'SportsCenter' Avoids Staples Traffic

ESPN’s 1 a.m. ET SportsCenter will return to the Bristol, Conn., mother ship overnight, to avoid the traffic nightmare created in Los Angeles by the Michael Jackson memorial at the Staples Center, close by the L.A. Live complex where the worldwide sports leader has been producing that edition of the flagship news program since April.

“We produce multiple SportsCenters from our Bristol headquarters daily and therefore have flexibility to make adjustments like this when needed,” a spokesperson said when we inquired. (Thanks to Linda Haugsted for the suggestion to ask.)

As the Los Angeles Times pointed out today: “Not only was the area around Staples being sealed off, but the California Department of Transportation said it would close several ramps on the 110 and 134 freeways to keep traffic flowing as smoothly as possible.”

Avoidance was the better part of valor clearly. Whether many TV viewers felt the same way — I’ve certainly seen some Facebook posters say they were steering clear of the coverage — will be seen in the ratings.