ESPN has named Mike Greenberg host of its NBA Countdown pregame and halftime shows, three months after the departure of former show host Maria Taylor.

Greenberg, who hosts ESPN’s Get Up! morning show, will take over for Taylor, who left ESPN for NBC Sports this past July. Taylor’s departure came weeks after she was embroiled in a controversy surrounding disparaging comments made against her by ESPN personality and former NBA Countdown host Rachel Nichols in a leaked 2020 phone call stating that Taylor was chosen as NBA Countdown host to cover up the network’s “crappy” record on diversity. 

Joining Greenberg on the NBA Countdown show will be ESPN personalities Stephen A. Smith, Michael Wilbon and Jalen Rose. The new team will debut Oct. 20 prior to ESPN’s season-opening NBA doubleheader telecast, said the network. 

In addition, NBA Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson will frequently appear as an analyst throughout the National Basketball Association regular season and playoffs. ESPN senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski and The Undefeated’s Marc Spears will regularly contribute to all editions of NBA Countdown, the network said. 

“This incredible collection of NBA Countdown commentators are among the most respected and recognized in sports broadcasting and their accomplishments are well-documented,” NBA and studio production senior VP David Roberts said in a statement. 

Pasadena, Calif. -- ESPN came to Television Critics Association winter press tour Friday to showcase its new morning talk show Get Up, but network executives and talent could not dodge questions from TCA critics about the network’s recent struggles.

The daily series, which launches April 2 and hosted by network personalities Mike Greenberg, Jalen Rose and Michelle Beadle, will look to balance traditional sports news coverage with sports talk elements, according to Bill Wolff, ESPN vice president.

“We’ll do the sports and the news and the information, but I think we’ll also try to be the table setter for a whole day of talking about sports,” Wolff said.

Read More: MCN's Complete Coverage of #TCA18

Wolff defended questions about whether the network needs a new morning show by saying that people still watch television prior to starting their day, so it’s a great time to aggregate an audience for the show.

“Mornings, we believe, are still at a moment … where part of people’s routines still includes television,” he said. “It’s one part of the day when television I think is more common in any American household than it might be at other times of the day.”

Rose added that the show will look to cover all major stories and events relevant to its audience. "I think we really take pride in not forcing topics, so if there is something in any genre of sports, politics, entertainment, pop culture -- and we think the fans want to hear about it -- we will discuss it, regardless to whether ESPN owns the property or not," he said.

The panelists also addressed the surprise departure of ESPN president John Skipper last month, with Greenberg saying he was “stunned and saddened” to hear of Skipper’s decision to resign to seek treatment for a “substance addiction.” He also said that recent employee layoffs at ESPN were “very difficult” for those still working at the network. 

“Certainly seeing people laid off is something no one wants to see,” Greenberg said. “It’s very difficult, whether they’re people you’ve known for years or someone you’ve never met --wherever it happens, it’s a reality of life in corporate America right now. It is certainly terrible to see.”

This morning (Nov. 17) ESPN morning sports talk show Mike & Mike ended its run after nearly 18 years on the air. The weekday morning show hosted by Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic debuted on ESPN Radio in 2000 and has been simulcasted on ESPN2 since 2006.

Both Greenberg and Golic will remain at ESPN; Golic will team with sports personality Trey Wingo on a new ESPN Radio morning sports talk show, Golic and Wingo, debuting Nov. 27, while Greenberg will launch a new monring sports talk series beginning April 3 with co-hosts Michelle Beadle and Jalen Rose.

In the months leading up to the show's finale, I had a chance to speak to Mike Greenberg (pictured left) about Mike & Mike’s long run and how the sports talk genre has evolved since the series first debuted.  

TU: Is the end of Mike & Mike bittersweet for you?

Mike Greenberg: Absolutely, my relationship and partnership with Mike Golic was the best thing that ever happened to me in my professional life by far. At the same time I’m excited about new opportunities. [ESPN] came to me and said we have a vision for something new we want to do in the morning, and the more I listened to it the more I thought that it sounded like something that could be spectacular.

One final sign-off. pic.twitter.com/Y6p0RTmZWR

— ESPN (@espn) November 17, 2017

TU: How has the sports talk genre evolved over the years since Mike & Mike launched?

MG: What has happened is the Greek chorus that is our conversation has become very engrained into the process. Certainly since we started at Mike & Mike I’ve seen that grow and become more cemented. I think [sports talk] is part of the big sports picture, but clearly at that heart of it all are the games and the athletes. Our job is just to try and be the most interesting decoration around them that we can.

TU: What is your most memorable moment on Mike & Mike?

MG: It’s so hard to say. If I had to pick one its when I danced with Anna Trebunskaya from Dancing With the Stars coming off a wager, because that was really nerve-racking. I thought it turned out well … I’m not a dancer by any means, but I thought that I had acquitted myself well. There are really too many [moments] to count, but that’s one that jumps to mind.

TU: What will viewers expect to see from your new show?

MG: We’re still in the process of putting that together, but the key word is that it has to be flexible, so on days where there are big stories, we have to cover the news the way SportsCenter always has. At all times we have to bring the analysis, insight, debate and hopefully the humor that we have had on Mike & Mike and some of the studio shows at ESPN for years.

ESPN will shake up its weekday schedule beginning next year, highlighted by a new series featuring Mike Greenberg, the network announced at its upfront presentation Thursday.

Greenberg will lead a New York-based morning show beginning Jan. 1, 2018 that will run from 7 am to 10 am and will feature a mix of news, opinion and analysis, according to network officials.

Greenberg currently hosts the long-running Mike & Mike radio sports talk show with Mike Golic, who later this fall will team with ESPN personality Trey Wingo on a new sports talk show. The daily show will air from 6 am to 10 a.m. ET and will initially be simulcast on ESPN2 before moving to its permanent simulcast home on ESPNU.

“Mike Greenberg fronting a television show in the morning gives us a chance to set the conversation for the whole day, and he is uniquely gifted in taking those fans through that conversation," Connor Schell, senior vice president of original content told Multichannel News. “We feel like we’re getting the best of both worlds – we have incredible strength on the radio that we feel can continue with Mike Golic and Trey Wingo, and we get to launch another show on television with Mike Greenberg.”

The network also announced it will launch an afternoon talk series featuring ESPN Radio’s Bomani Jones and ESPN Magazine’s Pablo Torre. The one-hour live program will air from noon to 1 p.m. on ESPN as well as streamed on the ESPN app and WatchESPN across all devices and platforms, said the network 

In addition, ESPN has signed Torre to a multi-year extension that will allow him to make appearances on a variety of shows and platforms including Around The Horn, Pardon The Interruption, and SportsNation. The deal follows a similar multi-year extension Jones signed with ESPN last December, said the network.