Outside the Lines
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Outside the Lines | |
---|---|
Starring | Jeremy Schaap |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of seasons | 32 |
Production | |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | ESPN |
Release | May 7, 1990 August 13, 2022 | –
Outside the Lines is an American sports news and analysis program that was broadcast by ESPN from 1990 to 2022. The series featured segments with discussions and investigative journalism surrounding prominent headlines and topics within sports.
The series had aired on ESPN in some form since 1990, initially as a monthly
After Ley's retirement in June 2019, ESPN announced in October 2019 that the weekday edition of Outside the Lines would be cancelled and replaced by a new weekly edition on Saturday mornings outside the football season, hosted by Schaap. In February 2023, the weekly program was cancelled. The show's staff will continue to produce feature segments under the Outside the Lines branding for SportsCenter and ESPN.com.
History
The show premiered in 1990 as a monthly one-hour program with Bob Ley as host. After a noticeable increase in ratings, ESPN decided to expand the program for thirty minutes to their Sunday morning lineup at 9:30 am ET, where the show covered one or two of the more notable sporting news stories of the week.
After the ratings continued to grow, on May 12, 2003, ESPN premiered Outside the Lines Nightly. The Sunday morning program was still seen at 9:30 am ET, along with the nightly show that was seen during The Trifecta at midnight and noon on ESPN. On June 12, 2006, ESPN announced that Outside the Lines Nightly would be known as Outside the Lines First Report and moved to 3:30 pm ET as part of the afternoon lineup on ESPN, and eventually moved to 3:00 pm ET. Following the addition of
The program, both in the weekday and Sunday form, usually ran commercial-free from the top of the hour to 22 minutes past the hour, with the program's commercial load taking up most of the last eight minutes and ending with a note of video and audio on-demand options and promotions for primetime programming, along with Twitter and Facebook responses to that day's listed discussion hashtag.
The final Sunday morning edition of Outside the Lines aired on May 7, 2017. It was replaced in the same 9:00 a.m. ET time slot with a new hour-long weekly edition of E:60 the following Sunday (May 14, 2017), which features contributions from the OTL staff. Bob Ley and Jeremy Schaap (son of the late Dick Schaap, the original host of The Sports Reporters, which ended its 29-year run that year on May 7) would become the co-hosts of the new Sunday edition of E:60.[1][2]
On June 26, 2019, Bob Ley announced his retirement from ESPN after a 40-year tenure.[3]
On October 22, 2019, ESPN canceled the weekday edition of Outside the Lines, its final airing being December 20, 2019. The series reverted to being a weekly, Saturday-morning broadcast beginning in January 2020. In addition, it was stated that the show would contribute content for ESPN.com and segments during SportsCenter.[4] The weekly show would air during the college and NFL football offseason, running from February (following the Super Bowl) through August. In February 2023, it was reported that the weekly show had been cancelled, with Outside the Lines continuing to be used as a content brand on ESPN's digital platforms and SportsCenter.[5]
Format
All of the different versions of the show, whether OTL Sunday, OTL Nightly or OTL First Report, share the same basic format. Like the program's title, the show looks "outside the lines" at some of the most controversial and even inspirational stories in the sports world today. The program also often interviews story makers, such as members of Pat Tillman's platoon after he was killed in Afghanistan. The program also is joined by former players and sports writers to get all different opinions of the subject at hand.
Segments
Listed below are the numerous segments that appear throughout Outside the Lines'; note that for certain stories or sports news topics of heavy interest, the format is dropped and consists only of "At This Hour" followed by a debate segment with guests. They include:
- Big Story: This segment appears at the beginning of the program when the host goes over the hottest stories from around the sports world.
- The B Block: This segment usually entails a deep dive into a topic that may have flown under the radar. B Block stories range from inspirational, to lighthearted to troubling from across the entire sports spectrum.
- The Bob Ley Take or Not BLT: At the end of the show, the host shares their commentary on a topic ranging from serious (like Baylor University's handling of sexual assault) to whimsical (the Gritty).
Stories covered
Over the years, Outside the Lines has covered several
Some of the other memorable pieces the show has covered include: Two Man Band (about Patrick Hughes, a blind member of the
The program has also featured exclusive interviews with newsmakers such as: President George W. Bush, Senators John McCain, Amy Klobuchar, Heidi Heitkamp, Pete Rose, Phil Jackson (after leaving the Lakers the first time) and the Army Rangers of Pat Tillman's platoon about what really happened. More recently, former NBA player John Amaechi appeared on the February 11, 2007 edition to publicly come out as gay, and the May 11, 2008 edition reported that former USC basketball star O. J. Mayo had allegedly received thousands of dollars in cash and merchandise from a runner for a sports agent dating back to his high school career.
References
- ^ "ESPN's Bob Ley & Jeremy Schaap Get Larger Roles As 'Outside The Lines' & 'E:60' Expand; 'Sports Reporters' Ending". Deadline Hollywood. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- ^ "After layoffs, ESPN execs say journalistic ambitions remain high". Washington Post. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
- ^ "ESPN's "OTL" Moving Off Daily Schedule To Saturday Mornings". Sports Business Daily. 2019-10-22. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
- ^ "ESPN not bringing back Saturday morning "OTL" show". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
- ^ 73rd Annual Peabody Awards, May 2014.
External links
- "Outside The Lines". ESPN. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
- Outside the Lines Video on ESPN Video Archive
- Outside the Lines show on YouTube