ESPN's Cari Champion Announces Departure After 7 Years With Net

ESPN's Cari Champion announced she will leave the net during the "last week of January" after seven years there. Champion on Twitter wrote, "I've grown from hosting First Take to having my own show on SportsCenter, and experiencing so much more in between." Champion: "ESPN will always be a part of my legacy and I am proud to have been a part of theirs. I'm excited about the next chapter and will share soon!" (TWITTER.com, 1/9). THESOURCE.com's Jason Cordner noted Champion joined ESPN in '12 as the host of "First Take." It is "not yet clear" what her future plans are, or "if she has a new role lined up." Shake-ups at ESPN are "pretty common, but there wasn't any real warning for this departure" (THESOURCE.com, 1/9). Meanwhile, ESPN announced the daytime editions of "SportsCenter" will see some new anchor pairings and familiar duos in different timeslots beginning the second week in February. With Champion's pending departure, the noon ET "SportsCenter" will no longer be a bicoastal show and instead will originate completely from Bristol, with Elle Duncan and Matt Barrie hosting the newly-expanded 90-minute Monday-Thursday episodes (ESPN).

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KEEP IT UP: In Philadelphia, Rob Tornoe reports ESPN has "locked down" "SportsCenter" host Kevin Negandhi with a "new multi-year contract extension." Terms of the deal are "unknown." As the anchor of the 6:00pm ET edition of "SportsCenter" since '18, Negandhi and co-host Sage Steele have been "instrumental in stabilizing the flagship show's TV ratings." Negandhi first joined ESPN in '06 (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 1/9).

EXPANDING HORIZONS: ESPN's Jorge Sedano has "signed a multi-year extension" to continue hosting "The Sedano Show" on ESPN Radio 710 L.A. He also will "appear on multiple TV outlets," including "SportsCenter," "The Jump," "Around the Horn" and NBA sidelines (TWITTER.com, 1/9).