Michelle Beadle Off Get Up; NBA Countdown Returning to LA
By Bobby Burack
Michelle Beadle will leave ESPN’s morning show Get Up at the end of the month; she and NBA Countdown are returning to Los Angeles. She will be replaced on Get Up by a rotating cast of Maria Taylor, Laura Rutledge, Jen Lada, Mina Kimes, and Dianna Russini, The Big Lead has learned from a person with knowledge of the news. Unauthorized to speak publicly on the matter, the person requested anonymity.
Beadle will also be a part of a new NBA post-game show launching this fall. The new show will be called After The Buzzer, and will air after Wednesday and Friday doubleheaders on ESPN. ESPN is also launching a new pregame show called NBA Courtside, airing between Countdown and games for 15 minutes live from the arenas.
Jalen Rose will be splitting duties between Get Up and NBA studio shows. Furthermore, Get Up will be changing from three hours to two hours; beginning September 3rd, SportsCenter will air from 7-8 am ET.
The website The Spun reported earlier today that unspecified changes at Get Up were afoot.
While this comes just one day after Beadle made controversial comments on the show stating she no longer watches football, the amount of moving parts here indicates that this shift has been in the works for weeks.
Earlier this week, ESPN announced they will be adding 11 NFL and college football voices to the show in recurring roles for football season.