5 Show Ideas To Replace Around the Horn on ESPN

ESPN announced this week that "Around the Horn" will air its final episode in May, 23 years after its debut. While the afternoon program long overstayed its welcome--more on that here--its cancellation creates an opening during ESPN's most-watched hour of the day, from 5 to 5:30 pm ET.

The network will temporarily fill the time slot with a generic version of "SportsCenter" while it determines a permanent replacement. Look for ESPN to finalize those plans in August, ahead of the football season.

Though ESPN doesn't always put its best programming forward--see "Around the Horn" the last decade--the channel actually has several in-house options to consider.

Here are five that would not only do well but also strengthen the lineup:

Extend PTI to an hour

Sources inside ESPN tell OutKick that management prefers to extend "PTI" to an hour, filling the 30 minutes "Around the Horn" occupied leading into "PTI." However, agreements with show hosts Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser are not yet in place.

This is the best option. Despite the virility of "First Take," "PTI" remains ESPN's highest-rated studio show—by hundreds of thousands of viewers a day. Some 24 years later, Wilbon and Kornheiser still resonate with sports fans more so than any of the younger commentators. 

There's something to be said about them growing up wanting to be sportswriters, not television celebrities. 

While there's some risk in extending a show that has worked so well in a condensed format, Kornheiser is turning 77 in July. The show will likely undergo changes in the next few years anyway. 

ESPN might as well try to capitalize on its flagship brand, with its flagship commentators, while it can.

A show with actual reporters

At its inception, "Around the Horn" served the valuable purpose of putting newspaper columnists on television. In doing so, the program offered unique perspectives not found elsewhere.

However, the show eventually lost its way on account of DEI, to the point that anyone with a byline on the race blog Andspace had a role on the show.

Still, that doesn't mean there isn't room for a show that features actual journalists. ESPN just hired columnist Dan Wetzel this week and has an impressive list of reporters covering various teams and beats.

Brian Windhorst, an NBA reporter who doesn't focus on transactional scoops for social media, might be the most interesting and informed voice in sports media today.

The best replacement for "Around the Horn" might be a call back to the show's original days, which means more voices like Windhorst and less like David Dennis Jr. and Sarah Spain.

BOSTON, MA - JUNE 10: ESPN Sideline Reporter Brian Windhorst looks on before the game between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics during Game Four of the 2022 NBA Finals on June 10, 2022 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2022 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

SVP-style show with Laura Rutledge

ESPN may not want to tinker with the success of "NFL Live," of which Laura Rutledge is a key part. However, perhaps an even bigger question mark going forward for ESPN than filling 5 pm is its midnight time slot. And she might be the company's solution.

Last year, Scott Van Pelt told Sports Illustrated he does not intend to host the midnight "SportsCenter" past 2028. That's an issue. 

His show airs in arguably the network's most valuable time slot, serving as the de facto post-game for the company's biggest events, like Monday Night Football and the College Football National Championship Game.

Not many sports broadcasters could do a show like that well. Most anchors are either too bland or too full of themselves (like Elle Duncan) to host an entertaining but still credible post-game show. 

Like Van Pelt, Rutledge is a more personality-driven anchor but doesn't lose sight of the fact that viewers come to the channel for the players, games, and information. Not the anchor.

ESPN could move Rutledge to 5 p.m. for a few years, preparing her to replace Van Pelt at midnight when he steps down.

Rutledge is also one of the few ESPN personalities the company can trust not to get political, racial, or reckless – the three reasons "Around the Horn" became such an embarrassment in its later years.

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Podcast to TV

Fox News has found great success in spinning off Will Cain's daily podcast into a new daily television show. In two months on air, Cain's show recorded the two highest-rated months in the 4 pm time slot in company history. ESPN could take a similar approach by turning a popular podcast into a television show. 

Granted, it may have to look outside the ESPN umbrella. Most of the top sports podcasts are not currently under the ESPN umbrella.

Interestingly, several of the top-rated sports podcasters are former ESPN employees, including Bill Simmons and Ryen Russillo. The company's decision to invest in Bomani Jones over Russillo was a horrific one.

Future PTI

JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE - "Jimmy Kimmel Live" airs every weeknight at 11:35 p.m. EST and features a diverse lineup of guests that include celebrities, athletes, musical acts, comedians and human interest subjects, along with comedy bits and a house band. The guests for Thursday, February 11 included Tony Goldwyn (Scandal), Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon (ESPNs Pardon the Interruption) and musical guest Alessia Cara. (Photo by Randy Holmes/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

Again, unless Kornheiser plans to work into his 80s, the company ought to start looking at potential successors. And Wilbon, 66, might not be interested in working with a new co-host.

If ESPN doesn't extend "PTI" to an hour, perhaps it will use the 30-minute lead-in to find Kornheiser and Wilbon's successors. Who that may be is the more challenging part of the equation.

A potential wild card: Adam Schefter.

Like Wilbon and Kornheiser, Schefter has a newspaper background covering all major sports. While he's known as an NFL insider, he's also a passionate NBA fan. In fact, Schefter appeared on "Get Up" this week to discuss the NBA.

The insider grind caused Adrian Wojnarowski to retire from media and take a $75,000-a-year job general managing St. Bonaventure Bonnies men's basketball. Could Schefter give up that grind to co-host "PTI" in the future? Unlike most insiders, he's more than good enough on television to be a full-time commentator.

For other potential "PTI" successors, the network may have to look beyond its current roster. Other than Frank Isola, there aren't many promising in-house candidates.