Elle Duncan is set to become the face of Netflix’s sports coverage: Sources – The Athletic
ESPN’s Elle Duncan is set to become the new face of Netflix’s sports division, sources briefed on the agreement told The Athletic on Monday.
Adding Duncan as its first high-profile, full-time on-air personality shows that the streaming service is becoming increasingly serious about adding more live sports to its lineup.
While Duncan’s Netflix contract is not signed yet, it is expected to allow her to appear on other networks. Netflix will be her top priority, however, and she may have some non-sports opportunities with the service, as well.
Netflix, ESPN and Duncan’s agent, Matt Olson, declined to comment.
Earlier this fall, Netflix showed some interest in Malika Andrews before she re-signed with ESPN, according to sources briefed on the talks.
Still, Netflix does not yet have a full-fledged sports calendar, and Duncan and ESPN have discussed ways she could continue to work on women’s basketball for the network, where she has been the host of the Women’s Final Four and the WNBA Finals. There has not been a final decision about whether that will happen, according to the sources briefed on the agreement, who spoke on condition of anonymity because no formal announcement has been made.
With Netflix becoming her priority, there is pessimism that Duncan continues with ESPN, according to the sources.
ESPN has been hesitant to share its on-air personalities with Netflix. This year, it has balked at letting any of its NFL personalities be involved in the Netflix Christmas NFL games.
In recent years, Netflix has added Christmas Day NFL games, the Women’s World Cup, and MLB games, and it will be on the hunt for more. While it had borrowed on-air personalities for those games, networks have balked at continuing to help what is increasingly a rival for big-time events.
Duncan, 42, has been with ESPN for almost a decade. She has been a co-host on the 6 p.m. “SportsCenter” for nearly five years. She also has been the host for “WNBA Countdown,” which runs all year and precedes the league’s Finals. On women’s college basketball, she has a similar role as the “College GameDay” host and the lead presenter on the Final Four.
Duncan figures to work less frequently for Netflix, even if its adds more sports to its lineup, as opposed to her daily schedule for ESPN.
At the moment, Netflix’s first marquee sports event could be in March when it will have the Opening Day stream of the New York Yankees at the San Francisco Giants. The service has been looking for other events, so there will be other shows that Duncan could appear on. Netflix is involved in traditional sports, but also has created events, like Mike Tyson fighting Jake Paul, which in the future would be hosted by Duncan.
