Stephen A. Smith to Host Mannningcast-Style Alternate Broadcast for NBA Games on ESPN
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ESPN will add a Manningcast-like alternative broadcast to select NBA games this season, with Stephen A. Smith as the host.
Variety reported that the new broadcast, NBA in Stephen. A’s World will debut on October 26th. Smith will broadcast four shows to start.
The alternative telecast is similar to Peyton Manning and Eli Manning‘s Manningcast, which simulcasts ESPN’s Monday Night Football.
Smith wanted to show his fans and the audience how he analyzed an NBA game.
“How I watch a game, the kind of things I pay attention to, the kind of things I talk about when I’m just sitting around talking to family and friends,” Smith told Variety.
The Manningcast has led to similar telecasts in a variety of other sports. Pat McAfee started to host an alternative style broadcast in 2022 for college football games on Saturday nights called College Football Live With The Pat McAfee Show; Alex Rodriguez and Michael Kay hosted the KayRod Cast for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. And Joe Buck hosted an alternative broadcast for the 2022 PGA Championship on ESPN. Smith believes his broadcast will stand out from those others.
“I don’t think that anybody who has watched those shows should anticipate that they will see me doing anything remotely like them when it comes to how I watch a game,” Smith added.
Smith and Peyton Manning are co-executive producers of the new NBA alternative broadcast, and Smith’s SAS Production and Manning’s Omaha Productions are the production companies for the show.
