UPDATE: This Jenna Wolfe story just became more interesting.
The former "Today" show correspondent and weekend anchor is also talking to ESPN about joining Mike Greenberg's new solo launching Jan. 1, say sources.
Wolfe, a fitness/lifestyle expert who started her career as a sports anchor, is also in negotiations to join Cris Carter and Nick Wright on FS1's first national morning show, "First Things First," that premieres Sep 5.
Both new morning shows will be shot in New York, where Wolfe is based.
Both ESPN and FS1 declined to comment.
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Fox Sports 1 may add a female co-host to its new national morning show, sources tell Sporting News. The sports cable network has been in talks to add former "Today" correspondent/anchor Jenna Wolfe, among others.
Wolfe is described as a "finalist" for the job after she "killed" her audition to join Cris Carter and Nick Wright on FS1's planned "First Things First," sources said. She isn't a slam dunk, however; Wolfe is one of several female journalists who have auditioned to join Carter, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, and Wright, a rising star who started in talk radio.
MORE: FS1 pressuring Skip, Shannon, others to talk about sports network airs
Neither Carter nor Wright has ever hosted his own national morning show. The funny, vivacious Wolfe could be a big addition. Besides being a "Today" veteran (she spent more than eight years on the show as a correspondent and weekend anchor before leaving NBC in 2015), she started her TV journalism career as a weekend sports anchor for WABC in New York. She also served as a reporter/anchor for MSG Network.
Wolfe and Fox Sports declined to comment for this story.
FS1's talks with Wolfe began well before before Jamie Horowitz was suddenly ousted as Fox Sports president of national networks on July 3. It's unclear what impact Horowitz's departure will have on negotiations.
Wolfe, 43, and Horowitz worked together at "Today" in 2014. NBC recruited Horowitz, then a programming wunderkind at ESPN, to restore the show's flagging ratings, but he was fired after only 10 weeks, which set up his move to Fox Sports in 2015.
MORE: Mark Schlereth ends 16-year run at ESPN, joins FS1
"First Things First" will serve as a lead-in for FS1's "Undisputed" with Skip Bayless, Shannon Sharpe and Joy Taylor (9:30 a.m. ET), but it will face stiff competition come 2018.
ESPN will launch Mike Greenberg's new solo show on Jan.1. Expect the Worldwide Leader to throw massive promotional support behind the show, which sources describe as a "community of conversation" around the host and two or three regulars, possibly including Jalen Rose, Anthony "Booger" McFarland and Cassidy Hubbarth.
NFL Network has also found success with its "Good Morning Football" daily morning show (7 a.m. ET). Launched a year ago, this is a good young show that bears watching. Hosts Kay Adams, Nate Burleson, Peter Schrager and Kyle Brandt have a strong chemistry. CBS Sports poached Burleson to work alongside James Brown, Phil Simms, Boomer Esiason and Bill Cowher on "The NFL Today" pregame show this coming season.
