ESPN Sets Weekday SPORTSCENTER Anchor Schedules

(From Sports Business Daily)

ESPN's SPORTSCENTER will feature CONSISTENT ANCHOR TEAMS on its weekday editions beginning Monday with the 6 pm ET edition, when DAN PATRICK and FRED HICKMAN will start co-hosting on a regular basis.

JOHN ANDERSON and STEVE LEVY will begin as the 11 pm anchors, with NEIL EVERETT and SCOTT VAN PELT at 1 am, and the duos will flip time slots each month.

STUART SCOTT will continue to anchor THE SUNDAY NIGHT SPORTSCENTER and will host coverage from special events, such as THE SUPERBOWL and NBA FINALS, as well as work frequently with Everett on the 11 pm weekday show.

In MILWAUKEE, BOB WOLFLEY reports others who have anchored SPORTSCENTER in the past -- LINDA COHN, MIKE GREENBERG and CHRIS McKENDRY -- "will occasionally do the show when the need arises but will be taken up with other kinds of assignments." McKendry will work along with BOB LEY on weekend morning editions.

Wolfley notes there are NO WOMEN among the scheduled SPORTSCENTER ANCHORS, but ESPN Senior Vice President and Managing Editor NORBY WILLIAMSON said that "that did not mean the presence of women at the network had been diminished."

Williamson said, "Linda will continue to be a voice and will be exposed on SPORTSCENTER."
[Can he say that? Wow!]

He added other women at the net -- ANDREA KREMER, SHELLEY SMITH, RACHEL NICHOLS and LISA SALTERS -- "will continue to contribute not only for our specialty shows, but primarily for SPORTSCENTER and ESPNEWS."

Williamson, on the anchor shuffling -- "We believe at the end, a smaller pool of on-air talent and a more consistent production team will create a better product."
[Read: Increase ratings.]