Peter Schrager reportedly ESPN’s frontrunner for new 2 p.m. show

Schrager has been candid about what he misses from NFL Network, specifically the three-hour daily runway on GMFB where he could spend eight minutes on whatever topic he felt like. His own show would give him something closer to that again.

The 5 p.m. picture is more complicated, and a lot of it comes down to Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon. The plan to keep SportsCenter there is tied directly to ESPN wanting Kornheiser, 77, and Wilbon, 67, to keep hosting PTI for as long as they want. Per Marchand, the network doesn’t want to touch the surrounding hour until they’re ready to step away, at which point the full 5-to-6 block would be reconsidered.

Expanding PTI to a full hour was the first idea that gained traction, with Marchand reporting in December 2024 that it was “at the forefront of discussions” inside Bristol, and from the outside, it made obvious sense. PTI is the gold standard of sports debate television, and Kornheiser and Wilbon remain as sharp as ever. But ESPN approached the pair about doubling their airtime without offering much of a raise, and unsurprisingly, no deal got done. Both hosts signed new contracts through 2028, and ESPN committed to keeping PTI going as long as they want, but at 30 minutes.

The more serious conversation that emerged last October centered on Scott Van Pelt moving from his late-night SportsCenter to the 5 p.m. slot. The network even tried to bring back Ryen Russillo to pair with SVP, given how popular their old SVP & Russillo ESPN Radio partnership from 2012-15 had been. Russillo had other plans — he moved to Barstool after leaving The Ringer — and Van Pelt has openly said he doesn’t want to do late-night SportsCenter forever, but the reality is that his show has become a genuine institution, keeping pace with traditional late-night television in the ratings and leaving ESPN with no obvious successor.

With SportsCenter putting up strong numbers at 5 p.m. in the meantime and Kornheiser and Wilbon signed through 2028, the urgency to force a change before they’re ready to step away has faded. Which brings everything back to Schrager, and the 2 p.m. show that has been waiting for him since he arrived in Bristol.

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