Scott Van Pelt To Debut New ESPN Podcast

Scott Van Pelt will join ESPN’s podcast lineup with SVPod, to debut Tuesday, Jan. 14. The popular anchor of late-night’s SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt and former ESPN Radio host will present a weekly show that will include long-form interviews, commentary and expanded takes on his “One Big Thing” segment on SportsCenter. In addition, Van Pelt’s co-host for the “Bad Beats” section of SportsCenter, “Stanford” Steve Coughlin, will make appearances. Each episode will run 30-45 minutes.

Scott Van Pelt

“As much as I enjoy the SportsCenter show we get to do at midnight, it doesn’t always provide the time and space for all I want to get to,” said Van Pelt. “I look at interviews we had with Patrick Beverley, Matthew McConaughey or Rakim as examples of times when the conversation was so interesting to me that it went on far beyond what we had room for on TV. Obviously, a podcast allows as much leeway as we’d like. To take the deeper dives with guests, and flush out topics that matter will be fun. My love of radio was well documented and this is as close as I am likely to find for the time being. I’m grateful to have to chance to throw some headphones on and have at it. My guy Stanford Steve will be involved, as always. In what capacity, I am not certain. I might just lay out and let him carry the show. Might be better. We look forward to seeing you soon.”

Tom Ricks, vice president, digital marketing and strategy in ESPN Audio, added, “Scott has always had a great connection with his audience, on TV or on radio, which is all the more critical in a podcast format. The audience will enjoy his interview style and his insightful thoughts on the biggest stories and most interesting people in sports.”

Van Pelt, who joined ESPN as a golf reporter in 2001, has hosted his own, personalized edition of SportsCenter at midnight since September 2015, bringing his unique perspective to the venerable show. The program showcases Van Pelt’s passion for sports, with his self-deprecating wit and disposition toward celebrating stars and storylines. Van Pelt’s radio involvement dates from July 2009 when The Scott Van Pelt Show made its debut on ESPN Radio and in a simulcast on ESPN2 through the summer of 2015 when Van Pelt was preparing for the launch of the new midnight SportsCenter.