Last August, when Rich Eisen hosted SportsCenter for the first time in 22 years, ESPN also brought back the retro graphics and music of that program. ESPN told Front Office Sports at the time that this broadcast attracted 708,000 viewers, which was 67% higher than the average ratings of SportsCenter at 11 p.m. Eastern Time that same night.
Online reactions show how much fans miss that time. Eisen said in a recent interview with Fortune that he watched a video where a young woman recorded herself as the familiar opening music of a program played, and she cried in the footage.
“That was a simpler time,” said Eisen, “and people kind of wish it could come back again.”
This scene also validated an idea he brought with him when he returned to ESPN: to create a nostalgic video podcast. “This Was SportsCenter : Stories from the Set” is a video podcast where Eisen reunited with former colleagues and obtained full access to the ESPN video library. The first season was launched in June on the Disney+ and ESPN apps, with guests including Dan Patrick, Chris Berman, Mike Greenberg, Linda Cohn, Chris Fowler, and Craig Kilborn.
Eisen said that the second season is planned to be launched in 2027, and there will be 6 new respondents. He also mentioned that he has already finalized "some quite interesting arrangements."
“This is a bit like everyone’s personal career scrapbook,” he added.
For someone who helped define that era, this project couldn’t be more suitable.
From SportsCenter star to CEO
The 57-year-old Eisen worked for ESPN from 1996 to 2003, mainly serving as a host during the period when SportsCenter was most culturally influential. Together with his partner Stuart Scott, they became a popular hosting duo in the late 1990s and even appeared together in the 2000 Disney comedy film The Kid. In 2015, when ESPN published the obituary for Scott, it was mentioned that due to their mutual understanding and the frequent rebroadcasts of their program, their late-night show SportsCenter became a topic of conversation in the office lounges the following day.
Eisen told Fortune that ESPN would replay his late-night show multiple times the next morning, as a result of which his SportsCenter show reached over 100 million households. Children used to watch it before going to school, and many of them now have their own teenage children. Eisen said that he "essentially" sent that generation "to the school bus" together with Stuart Scott.
In 2003, Eisen left ESPN to become the first on-camera contracted employee of NFL Network. More than 20 years have passed, and he is still there hosting NFL GameDay Morning, as well as being in charge of the channel's talent scouting and Super Bowl coverage. In 2014, while still working at NFL Network, he also launched The Rich Eisen Show, a three-hour program that combines sports with pop culture, which was initially broadcast on Audience Network of DirecTV.
Subsequently, in December 2019, Audience Network of DirecTV was about to cease broadcasting, and this program was also about to lose its broadcast platform. Fortune previously reported that Eisen learned of this news two days before Christmas and also got the opportunity to take over the program. In the blink of an eye, this host became the owner. At that time, he said that it was "quite daunting."
However, as the business found new footholds, it successively settled in Peacock, and then in Roku. The scale of the program continued to expand. Eisen hired a Chief Financial Officer and more employees, and used the company's revenue to build its own control room.
Throughout this entire process, he said that he has always adhered to one principle: “To create an environment free from jerks, because life is too short, and this industry is too small.”
In December of this year, it will be 7 years since Eisen took over this program. This means that his time as the owner has exceeded the period during which he served as a contracted host under the DirecTV system. Last year, the program reached its biggest milestone to date: Eisen returned to ESPN through an authorization agreement, bringing the program to Disney+, ESPN streaming platforms, and ESPN Radio. The program is also broadcast on SiriusXM and released in podcast format; his team also edits complete interviews for YouTube and produces short videos for Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.
"What we do every day is to meet with our audience, listeners, or viewers where they want to be reached," said Eisen. He did not disclose any audience data, but indicated that since migrating to the new platform, both viewership and listening numbers have "grown exponentially."
“No platform can compare with ESPN,” said Eisen, “really none.”
A family business
The production company behind Eisen also produces Women's Sports Now, a weekly show founded by his wife Suzy Shuster. She serves as the executive producer and co-hosts the show with Renee Montgomery, Sarah Tiana, and Colleen Wolfe. The program launched on Roku Channel in 2025 and moved to ESPN this spring. Part of its inspiration comes from the couple's daughter, Taylor, who is a basketball player.
"The focus of this program is to allow women to talk about women's sports," said Eisen, and added that the third season is expected to be launched next year. Meanwhile, "The Rich Eisen Show" celebrated its 12th anniversary of broadcasting earlier this month.
He is still considering more podcasts, as well as a show that could be hosted by celebrities. He said these ideas are within the scope of consideration because “anything is possible.” For now, he said that in this constantly shrinking world, it’s “quite remarkable” that this show is still able to continue to expand.
