The popular “whip around” format is coming to the local pre-game show.
FanDuel Sports Network, the group of 15 regional sports outlets that were previously operated by Fox, plans to introduce “FanDuel Sports Network Countdown Live,” as part of its early-evening lineup. The new hour-long program, hosted by former ESPN stalwart Stan Verrett, will give viewers a look at the run-up to key games taking place across the company’s entire portfolio. It will start to air Monday, October 27, at 5:30 p.m.
“We have an ability on any given night to promote our games across three major sports, NBA, NHL, and MLB, and utilize all those resources from our trucks to the play by-play, to the game talent,” says Norby Williamson, president of programming and production at Main Street Sports Group, which operates the FanDuel-branded outlets. “It makes it fairly obvious that we should sort of create a whip-around style that can promoting games that night.”
The show may also feature games and teams that aren’t tied to the FanDuel networks, says Williamson. Main Street is “having conversations with other RSNs to include their games and their matchups in this format, to give baseball and hockey and NBA fans a real look at that night in those various leagues,” the executive says. And there’s also a chance the program gets utilized by some of those partners, some of which may need pre-game content in different hours. “There is the possibility that this show does get cleared on additional non-Main Street networks,” Williamson adds.
More companies are growing enamored with the so-called “whip around” format, which dips in and out of telecasts across the country. Sports fans are most familiar with “Red Zone,” the Sunday-afternoon NFL sampler that has been distributed for years via traditional cable by the NFL. Under a deal recently struck with Disney, ESPN would gain the ability to sell Red Zone and to create new programming concepts based on the format.
But others have also started to use the theme. NBCUniversal offered Peacock subscribers a “Gold Zone” whip-around show during its coverage of the Winter Olympics. CBS News now streams a daytime news program that gives viewers a look at news stories emerging from all of its parent company’s various stations.
The goal with this new show, says Williamson, is to “arm people to be prepared to watch their game on any given night.” A local audience is often “very sharp and very sophisticated, so we are going to bring a certain level of expertise,” he adds. In Verrett, the FanDuel properties get someone with significant experience explaining all kinds of different sports. “He’s done “Sports Center, and he’s juggled a lot of things,” says Williamson, and has “the detail and the knowledge across multiple sports and multiple teams. He will be a huge asset.”
“I’ve long admired the way local fans live and breathe their teams, and I’m thrilled to join FanDuel Sports Network to help bring that passion to life every night,” said Verrett, in a statement. “What drew me here was the chance to do meaningful work that connects with fans on both a national and local level. Sports are about community, and I’m looking forward to being part of the team that brings that energy to viewers every day.”
Williamson has aimed to build out programs around the games, including the launch of “Golic & Golic,” a talk show featuring the popular father-and-son duo of Mike Golic and Mike Golic Jr. “The more you can ramp up the hours front of your live game window, the better off you’ll be, and the more fans that you can serve,” says Williamson.