New SportsNation Premiering January 11 Exclusively on ESPN+, Hosted by Ashley Brewer, Treavor Scales and Taylor Twellman

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New SportsNation Premiering January 11 Exclusively on ESPN+, Hosted by Ashley Brewer, Treavor Scales and Taylor Twellman

Reimagined Studio Show to Deliver New Episodes Every Weekday Morning

Release: https://bit.ly/38kEKzt | Images: https://bit.ly/2L6XAB8


Bristol, CT – December 29, 2020 – Studio Z: Treavor Scales, Ashley Brewer and Taylor Twellman on the SportsNation set (Photo by Kelly Backus / ESPN Images)

A newly reimagined SportsNation will premiere on January 11, exclusively on ESPN+. The show will take the best of what fans know and love about the original SportsNation and refresh it – delivering recaps of the best sports highlights through the lens of opinion, debate and social media. Ashley Brewer, Treavor Scales and Taylor Twellman will host, with new episodes on ESPN+ every weekday at 6 a.m. ET and on-demand thereafter.

Each morning, Brewer, Scales and Twellman will be joined by a rotation of special guests, analysts and commentators, including ESPN’s Mike Golic, Jr., Ariel Helwani, Cassidy Hubbarth, Katie Nolan, Chiney Ogwumike, Omar Raja, Gary Striewski, Christine Williamson and Clinton Yates, among others. Together, they will provide a look at the previous night’s most resonant plays and dig into social reaction, debate, Top 5 lists, deep dives, interviews and more.

SportsNation has always been a show anchored by the community and conversation of sports as a social experience,” said Norby Williamson, Executive Vice President, Event and Studio Production & Executive Editor, ESPN. “Over the years since its debut in 2009, the show has resonated with fans by evolving, and bringing SportsNation back on ESPN+ gave us the opportunity to reinvent it once again. Taylor, Treavor and Ashley will take the show in a new direction by injecting their unique style and energy to the brand, while still paying homage to the original SportsNation –entertaining, informing and connecting with fans in a way that reflects how they consume and engage with sports today.”

“I grew up a huge fan of SportsNation and always admired the talented female hosts who drove the show,” said Brewer. “I can’t believe I get to be one now! I’m thrilled to be a part of the reboot of an iconic ESPN show, and look forward to putting our own personal fun, high-energy twist on SportsNation.”

“This show allows me to be a part of an immensely talented group of people,” said Scales. “From day one, it was apparent that we’re all looking to have a ton of fun with creating it, all while being informative. It’s a fine balance to strike, but Taylor, Ashley and our entire production staff are excited to do just that each and every morning.”

“I am thoroughly pumped for this show and the opportunity to showcase the world of sports in a modern format with a talented group of people through a known brand like SportsNation,” said Twellman. “Should be fun!”

Brewer joined ESPN in March 2020 as host for ESPN’s studio, digital and radio programming, including SportsCenter anchor since September. Prior to ESPN, she served as weekend anchor and host for ABC7 in Los Angeles, covering the Dodgers in the World Series, Rams in the Super Bowl, and other major sporting events, in addition to co-hosting The Bachelor Winter Games on ABC. She began her career as a college football sideline reporter for Cox 7 and weekend sports anchor at KGUN-9, the ABC affiliate in Tucson, Ariz. She attended the University of Southern California, where she was a member of the varsity women’s swimming team.

Scales, a former four-time All-Ivy League running back at Harvard University, has served as commentator for ESPN since 2015. Over the years, he has appeared across ESPN’s digital and social platforms as host of Roll the Tape on ESPN+, SportsCenter on Snapchat, The College Football Show on Twitter, YouTube and the ESPN App, and “What’s Good” on @espn IGTV. Scales has also previously served as host and anchor for SportsCenter and ESPN New York 98.7 FM as part of a two-year fellowship program. He joined ESPN in 2013 as a crewing coordinator.

Twellman, a former U.S. Men’s National Team player and Major League Soccer MVP with the New England Revolution, was one of MLS’s most prolific forwards. He currently serves as lead soccer analyst for ESPN and is the lead soccer voice on ESPN studio shows including Get Up and the network’s flagship program SportsCenter. A highly recruited multi-sport athlete in high school, Twellman has in-depth knowledge and insight across a variety of sports including soccer, basketball, football and baseball. He also hails from a family of athletes – his father Tim and two uncles played in the North American Soccer League, his grandfather Jim Delsing was an outfielder for five Major League Baseball teams, and his uncle Jay Delsing is a professional golfer. Twellman joined ESPN in November 2011 after calling Philadelphia Union matches on local television during the 2011 season.

Also debuting January 11 exclusively on ESPN+ is Stephen A’s World, a new weeknight program from sports media icon Stephen A. Smith that will go beyond the sports headlines and give audiences an authentic and unique understanding of the stories that matter. (Details)

SportsNation and Stephen A’s World join a growing lineup of exclusive ESPN+ studio shows and Originals, including ESPN+ NFL PrimeTime, Peyton’s Places, Detail, Bettor Days, ESPN FC, Our Time, Dana White’s Contender Series, #Greeny, Chiney & Golic, The Max Kellerman Show, Ariel & The Bad Guy, America’s Caddie and more. Plus, subscribers have exclusive access to the entire library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films.

SportsNation on ESPN+ launches following a year of tremendous growth and leadership for ESPN across digital and social platforms. This includes:

  • ESPN Digital – by far the leading sports digital platform, per Comscore, reaching 38 percent more users than the next closest competitor in 2020. This includes a global sports category record of 161.6 million users worldwide in October.
  • ESPN App – overwhelmingly the No. 1 U.S. sports app, leading the nearest competitor in average unique visitors and minutes per month by 236 percent and 63 percent, respectively.
  • Streaming – ESPN recorded its best streaming month ever in September. According to Adobe Analytics, total unique devices and time spent viewing were both up 15 percent year-over-year. Growth was driven by both ESPN+, ESPN’s fastest-growing video product with subscribers growing to more than 11.5 million, and authenticated TV Everywhere, with unique authenticated devices at a record high and up 26 percent in September.
  • Social – per Shareablee, ESPN was also the No. 1 sports media publisher for engagement in 2020 with 4.2 billion total actions across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (up 64 percent) and 16.7 billion video views across YouTube and Facebook (up 35 percent).

About ESPN+

ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service that offers fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks and exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 11.5 million subscribers.

Fans subscribe to ESPN+ at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices). It is also available as part of The Disney Bundle offer that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu (ad-supported) — all for just $12.99/month.

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Kristie Adler

Kristie is Director of Communications. She graduated from Penn State University and is based in New York City.
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