Courtesy: ESPN
The “King” of talk is coming to ESPN. Larry King will fill in for ESPN’s Keith Olbermann on Olbermann next Tuesday – Thursday, October 1st – 3rd. King will fill in while Olbermann takes a temporary leave of absence to host TBS’ Major League Baseball post season studio show. Olbermann will be gone from his namesake show from next Monday, September 30th to October 2oth. He will return October 21st. King will fill in for Olbermann each night at 11pm ET when the show airs. He is also scheduled to make an appearance on Olbermann this Friday, September 27th. King, who hosts his own show, Larry King Now, discussed filling in for Olbermann when asked about his temporary assignment. “I am a great admirer of Keith Olbermann who I think is the quintessential sports host,” said King. “Sports have always been my avocation – they’re part of my being. Having the chance to come back to my hometown of New York and host Keith’s show for several days is a terrific joy for me and a return to my first love.”
ESPN Executive VP of Programming and Acquisitions Norby Williamson was just as pleased that King accepted the offer to fill in for Olbermann. “Olbermann is designed specifically around Keith’s one-of-a-kind personality so having a guest host like Larry, who can deliver a similar level of editorial expertise and intellectual commentary to entertain sports fans, fits the bill perfectly,” said Williamson. “Larry is so popular and well-known to television viewers but being able to bring them his unique perspective on sports topics is a new twist and we’re excited to have him.”
Once King’s turn is up on Olbermann ESPN’s own Jeremy Schaap and Colin Cowherd will each have a turn hosting the show with Schaap hosting first from October 8th – 10th. Cowherd will fill in for Olbermann from October 15th – 17th. Jamie Horovitz, ESPN VP of Original programming and production was optimistic in discussing having two ESPN veterans filling in for Olbermann in his absence. “Both Jeremy and Colin have distinctive personalities and points of view that will bring a different perspective to the program while Keith is away,” said Horowitz. “While we’ll certainly miss Keith in the coming weeks, we’re also looking forward to producing some fun and entertaining shows for sports fans with our guest hosts.”
King’s new web only series, Larry King Now, is much like his previous hit CNN show, Larry King Live. He continues interviewing some of the most important names in the news and world of entertainment in his show, which can be seen on Hulu and Ora TV.
Colin Cowherd can be heard regularly on ESPN and ESPN radio on his show, The Herd with Colin Cowherd. It runs daily from 10am ET – 1pm ET. The former host of SportsNation, Cowherd also now hosts Colin’s New Football every Sunday morning at 9am. Cowherd shares his personal thoughts on football and life in general.
Jeremy Schaap hosts ESPN Radio’s The Sporting Life and serves as correspondent for ESPN’s E:60. He also contributes to ESPN’s Outside The Lines, NFL Countdown, and College Game Day. His interviews and commentary are featured each week on ESPN’s flagship show, SportsCenter.
More information on each of these shows and more is available online at http://www.espn.com and http://www.facebook.com/ESPN. To keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it. Fans can always keep up with the latest sports and entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.
philspicks 