She’s already one of the most recognized personalities on ESPN, but look for Erin Andrews to be on screen even more in the coming years. The network announced that she has signed a new multi-year contract with expanded responsibilities on both ESPN and ABC beyond her sideline reporting.
Andrews had previously acknowledged that her agent, Babette Perry at IMG, had been contacted by numerous other companies as her contract with ESPN was running out. In the end, though, she got a deal that kept her in the Disney/ESPN family.
ESPN announced that its two-time Emmy Award winning “College GameDay” (“Built by The Home Depot”) will expand to a three-hour format and now be aired from 9:00 am to noon ET, providing an extra hour of college football analysis, news and features every Saturday during the season beginning September 4, 2010. ESPNU will televise the new first hour of the show – originating from the site of the day’s best game or the game with the most compelling storyline – from 9:00 to 10:00 am. From 10:00 am to noon, GameDay will continue to air on ESPN.
In her new role Andrews will join the prominent new College GameDay lineup, anchoring several segments during the first hour on ESPNU, and contributing reports, interviews and features during the ESPN portion of the show. Andrews will also work as the sideline reporter on the game from which “College GameDay” originates, if the game is on an ESPN network (ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPNU, etc.).
The new deal also includes a prominent role on ABC, where Andrews previously got lots of primetime exposure as a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars.” She will become a regular contributing reporter on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” providing select reports throughout the year.
“I am very pleased and excited about my new role with the network and I’m especially looking forward to the new opportunities presented with ‘College GameDay’ and ‘Good Morning America,'” Andrews said in a statement.
Andrews started her career with ESPN in 2004, covering the NHL’s Stanley Cup Finals, having previously worked for FSN, Sunshine and Turner Sports. Since then she has built her celebrity with millions of fans while roaming the sidelines as a reporter for ESPN’s college football Saturday telecast, as well as their Saturday Primetime and Big Ten college basketball coverage. In 2005 her job expanded to include Major League Baseball sideline reporting. Andrews has also worked as the Thursday night college football sideline reporter and is currently the reporter for Saturday Night Prime time College Basketball. In addition, she has also covered a myriad of high profile events for ESPN including MLB’s Homerun Derby, the NFL Draft and the ESPYs.
RBR-TVBR observation: It’s worth noting that Erin grew up in the business. Her dad, Steve Andrews, is a six-time Emmy Award-winning Senior Investigative Reporter and Executive Producer of Investigations at WFLA-TV (NBC) Tampa, having been at the Media General station since 1985. His broadcast resume goes all the way back to DJing and doing sports and news at WLAM-AM Lewiston-Auburn, ME (where Erin was born), leading him to WGME-TV (CBS) Portland and KSAT-TV (ABC) San Antonio before settling in Tampa.
