Dwell from Philadelphia, it’s … Jason Kelce?!
ESPN is giving the previous Philadelphia Eagles star and present Monday Night time Countdown analyst his personal late evening present, which is able to debut in January and movie in Philly. Kelce introduced the pickup on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Dwell! Thursday.
They Name It Late Night time with Jason Kelce will air on ESPN at 1 a.m. throughout the Friday/Saturday in a single day hours, beginning Jan. 3/4. It would additionally stream on ESPN+ and on the ESPN and Jason Kelce YouTube channels, considerably increasing its attain. ESPN has picked up 5 episodes of the present, with the final episode slated for Feb. 1.
They Name It Late Night time will probably be filmed at Union Switch in Philly, with a stay viewers. The format is described as being “personality-driven,” with clear inspirations from late evening exhibits. The present will emphasize that weekend’s NFL video games, and can embody celeb company from the world of soccer and past.
NFL Movies will produce the present alongside Kelce’s Wooderboy Productions and Skydance Sports activities.
The present received’t truly be stay (it should tape a number of hours earlier than it airs), however it should retain lots of the hallmarks of basic late evening exhibits, together with a stay band in Philly’s personal SNACKTIME, in addition to segments that interact with the stay viewers of soccer followers.
The identify, They Name it Late Night time, is definitely a callback to They Name it Professional Soccer, which is the primary feature-length movie produced by NFL Movies in 1967. NFL Movies can hint its origins to Philadelphia, and continues to be based mostly within the space, simply throughout the border in New Jersey.
The late evening present is an interesting transfer, each for ESPN and the format basically. Late evening exhibits throughout TV are downsizing because the style turns into much less important within the new media setting and with fewer individuals watching linear TV (the format does journey properly on social, however income continues to be catching up).
And whereas Kelce’s present sounds considerably conventional, with a home band and particular company, it should movie outdoors of the standard late evening corridors of New York and Los Angeles, which means many company might want to make a journey particularly to look on the present.
However for ESPN, which is attempting to rework itself into the preeminent sports activities streaming participant, it’s also an experiment price attempting, particularly given Kelce’s character and rising fanbase. A sports-centric late evening format could possibly be a singular draw to its upcoming “flagship” streaming service, even when the present is, for now, an experiment, with just a few episodes on faucet.
By additionally streaming it on YouTube, the present might properly discover an viewers outdoors of the evening owls which might be up at 1 a.m. It would additionally run as a replay on ESPN2. No phrase on how they landed on the timeslot, although it’s price noting that the timeslot implies that the present won’t compete with Kimmel on ABC.
Netflix can also be attempting to experiment within the late evening house, choosing up a weekly selection speak present from John Mulaney to debut subsequent yr.
Kelce is understood for his large character, and it made him the highest media free agent after he retired from enjoying within the NFL earlier this yr. He finally signed with ESPN, which has him behind the desk for its Monday Night time Soccer studio present.
He additionally co-hosts the podcast New Heights alongside his brother Travis Kelce, with the present lately inking a nine-figure cope with Amazon’s Wondery. The brothers are in high-demand in Hollywood, with Travis additionally internet hosting Are You Smarter Than a Celeb? for Prime Video.
