SPORTSCASTER Rich Eisen has made a surprise decision regarding his future.
The NFL Network star will be returning to a network he left two decades ago, and he’ll bring his hit daily show along.
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It was revealed on Monday that Eisen will bring The Rich Eisen Show to ESPN this fall, per The Athletic.
The 55-year-old had worked at ESPN from 1996 to 2003 when he departed from the network.
Eisen’s show currently runs from noon to noon to 3:00 pm EST on The Roku Channel.
The Athletic added in its report that the self-titled program will be live on ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer service.
The show reportedly will be licensed by ESPN, and Eisen is expected to continue his ownership and editorial control.
The contract is similar to the network’s deal with Pat McAfee, who has overwhelming control of his self-titled program.
The report added that Eisen’s show could also air on ESPN Radio.
The program’s believed to be a complement to McAfee’s show, which airs daily at the same time.
Eisen’s program will also be shown on ESPN+, the network’s streaming platform, and Disney+.
The show will not be on ESPN’s other networks, which include ESPN 2 and ESPNews.
Fans shared their reactions to Eisen’s return to ESPN.
“Good for Rich as he seems like one of the true good guys in the sport,” one wrote.
“Rich Eisen gonna single-handedly bring back ESPN,” another commented.
“In the 30+ years that I’ve been watching ESPN, @richeisen is still my all time favorite personality from that network. I look forward to seeing him back on the flagship,” a third stated.
“Huge news,” a fourth added.
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The veteran sports personality was best known at ESPN for his work as a co-host for SportsCenter.
Eisen was the first person the NFL Network hired to be on air when it first launched in 2003.
He began The Rich Eisen Show in 2014 with DirecTV.
Eisen has since moved the program to numerous networks, including NBC Sports Network and Fox Sports Radio.
He still works with NFL Network and was part of the network’s NFL Draft coverage last month.
Eisen will continue to be the feature host on NFL Network’s GameDay and its draft coverage, per The Athletic, which said he will remain as a broadcaster for select regular-season games for the network.
