ESPN is in a New York State of Mind for its two biggest new studio shows of 2018.
The network is eying the historic South Street Seaport in Manhattan as the studio location for two new programs, one starring Mike Greenberg and the other starring Bomani Jones and Pablo Torre, sources told Sporting News. The Seaport talks are ongoing, but the deal is not done.
Described as a "community of conversation" between Greenberg and a rotating series of semi-permanent guests, Greeny's national ESPN morning show will debut Jan. 1 (6 a.m. ET). The solo show will end his 18-year on-air partnership with Mike Golic on "Mike & Mike in the Morning." Trey Wingo of "NFL Live" will succeed Greenberg on "Mike & Mike," which will shift to ESPNU from ESPN2.
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The next day, Jan. 2, 2018, Jones and Torre will team up for the debut of their own new show (noon to 1 p.m. ET). Jones, host of ESPN Radio's "The Right Time with Bomani Jones," and Torre, a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine who frequently appears on "Around the Horn" and "Pardon the Interruption," have been signed to long-term contract extensions.
Given that both Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman are New York City natives, I could see ESPN taping "First Take" frequently in a South Street Seaport studio, as well.
ESPN declined to comment.
The scenic South Street Seaport district and its adjoining Pier 17 could be the ideal setting for a Manhattan-based sports show. The tourist hot spot is conveniently located next to Wall Street and the Financial District and overlooks the Brooklyn Bridge, East River and Brooklyn.
There's plenty of room for cutesy outdoor shoots with live audiences. I could easily see NFL analysts tossing footballs around with the hipster capital of Brooklyn as a backdrop. National TV viewers will be instantly familiar with the Seaport from its prominent placement in movies ranging from "I Am Legend" to "Godzilla."
Of course, ESPN producers and bookers will be able to land more athletes and celebrity guests for a studio a cab ride away in Manhattan rather than its Bristol, Conn., campus, which is hours away from the Big Apple.
Greenberg recently bought a new pad near his childhood home in Greenwich Village, according to the New York Post. As a New York City native, Greenberg would be familiar with the Seaport's colorful history.
During the Big Apple's dark days of the 1960s and '70s, the Seaport was a forgotten backwater consisting of a museum, a few historic ships and charming cobblestone streets. Then it exploded as a tourist spot as the Pier 17 food/entertainment/shopping mall was built, and traders and brokers reveled in the go-go 1980's.
Hurricane Sandy heavily damaged the Seaport in 2012. But new construction and development is underway via the Howard Hughes Corporation.
Greeny & Golic address the future of Mike & Mike pic.twitter.com/86JfHwBS2C
— Mike & Mike (@MikeAndMike) May 17, 2017
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The Bristol-based sports network hasn't shot a show in New York City since the cancellation of "Olbermann" in 2015. Keith Olbermann's comeback ESPN show was filmed in a studio in the Times Square area.
The former "Cold Pizza" and "Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith" were also filmed in midtown Manhattan before ESPN pulled the plug on both shows and moved "Cold Pizza" (now "First Take") to Bristol.
FS1, meanwhile, will beat ESPN to the punch by launching its own New York-based morning show on Sep. 7. The new "First Things First" will star Cris Carter, Nick Wright and ex-"Today" show weekend anchor Jenna Wolfe.
