Mike & Mike, ESPN Radio’s flagship morning show for more than 15 years, will originate from ABC’s Times Square studio beginning Monday, Feb. 8, 2016, the day after Super Bowl 50. The four-hour show (6 – 10 a.m. ET) is hosted by Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic.
Being located directly above ABC’s Good Morning America studio will allow for a wider variety of in-studio voices from the world of entertainment and pop culture for Mike & Mike as the shows work together on bookings. GMA contributors will also appear when opportunities arise – for example, Robin Roberts on sports, GMA legal analyst Ryan Smith discussing legal matters or ABC News chief meteorologist Ginger Zee on weather impacting sports. When appropriate, Golic and Greenberg will appear on GMA. The production teams will work together to create content for both shows as news dictates. The backdrop of the new set will highlight the vibrancy of New York City, which will be shown regularly during bumps.
While the focus will remain on the Mikes, an enhanced presentation will include an ensemble cast, more New York-based sports and celebrity guests and more on-camera guests from remote locations, instead of via phone.
“Mike & Mike has been an extremely successful sports talk show for its first 15 years,” said Norby Williamson, ESPN executive vice president, programming and production. “The physical move to New York combined with a strong working relationship with ABC will help evolve it into a very powerful and engaging morning sports entertainment talk show.”
Mike & Mike is the number one sports morning show in America:
- Multi-platform, distributed live across the largest number platforms – ESPN Radio, ESPN2, ESPNRadio.com, ESPN Radio app, SiriusXM, iTunes Radio, TuneIn, Slacker
- More than 4.6 million TV viewers per week
- More than 4.2 million weekly listeners on terrestrial radio
- More than 1.1 billion minutes spent streaming & 18 million On Demand downloads in 2014
In addition to content opportunities across programs, the move will facilitate ad sales as well, giving ESPN and ABC sales teams the opportunity to sell packages across networks. This will allow advertisers to take advantage of the scale of The Walt Disney Company and reach valuable audiences across multiple demographics, and multiple platforms.
Additional elements of the New York-based Mike & Mike show will be announced at a later date.