\
ESPN are planning to expand primetime daily show Pardon the Interruption to an hour as they are expected to cancel Around the Horn.
PTI currently runs for only half an hour but Around the Horn is expected to air its last episode next summer.
4
4
4
4
According to The Athletic, expanding the show has emerged as one of ESPN’s “top ideas” for what to do with the 5 PM ET timeslot.
That is despite speculation suggesting the network is also interested in new shows involving Shannon Sharpe or Stephen A. Smith.
However, the PTI plan is said to be at the “forefront” of internal discussions within the channel.
The same report suggests hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon would receive raises if the show goes for an hour.
PTI is the most-watched daily sports talk show, mainly because of its timeslot — as opposed to First Take — and its length.
It is also easier to sustain viewers over the course of half an hour than an hour, as opposed to Smith’s popular two-hour show.
Expanding to a full hour would be the biggest change to the show’s format since its first episode.
The popular show has been around for a while as it launched 23 years ago.
And PTI has almost always been half-hour long in the last two decades.
The only exception occurred during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was shortened to about 20 minutes.
Around the Horn also launched around the same period as PTI as it aired its first episode in 2002.
