{"id":155027,"date":"2025-11-26T18:02:06","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T18:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/155027\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T18:02:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T18:02:06","slug":"espn-cuts-ties-with-elle-duncan-after-surprise-netflix-pivot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/155027\/","title":{"rendered":"ESPN cuts ties with Elle Duncan after surprise Netflix pivot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elle Duncan will not remain at ESPN as she moves to Netflix to become the new face of the streaming service\u2019s sports programming, according to The Athletic<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Duncan \u2014 who co-hosts \u201cSportsCenter\u201d at 6 p.m. with Kevin Negandhi and is the lead host for women\u2019s basketball at the Worldwide Leader \u2014 will fully part ways with the network after The Athletic initially reported Monday it was still possible she could double dip<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Duncan\u2019s ESPN contract runs through the end of the year. <\/p>\n

Elle Duncan attends Broadcasting + Cable Hall Of Fame Awards 33rd Anniversary Gala at The Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 30, 2025 in New York City. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Netflix reportedly could try and get Duncan out of her ESPN deal early to put her on the streaming service\u2019s slate of NFL games on Christmas Day. <\/p>\n

There is no bad blood between Duncan and ESPN, according to The Athletic, which said she is a favorite of the network\u2019s chairman, Jimmy Pitaro.<\/p>\n

Elle Duncan talks during the game between the Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury during Game 3 of the 2025 WNBA Finals on October 8, 2025 at PHX Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Duncan\u2019s deal with Netflix will include a \u201csubstantial raise\u201d from her ESPN salary, and it will allow her to \u201cwork much less,\u201d according to The Athletic. She may also work some non-sports events.<\/p>\n

As part of the deal, Duncan reportedly could still appear on other networks or platforms \u2014 but Netflix will have priority over her services, should there be any scheduling conflicts.<\/p>\n

Netflix also has the rights to MLB Opening Day in March between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants, and the Women\u2019s World Cup in 2027.<\/p>\n

The news of Duncan\u2019s jump to Netflix set off a \u201cstampede\u201d of other on-air talents eyeing her prestigious roles within ESPN, according to Front Office Sports.<\/a><\/p>\n

(L-R) Elle Duncan, Chiney Ogwumike, Andraya Carter and Paige Bueckers, the Dallas Wings No. 1 overall pick, speak during the 2025 WNBA Draft on April 14, 2025 at the Shed in New York City, New York. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cThe resumes are flying. There\u2019s going to be a lot of people fighting for these jobs. Burke\u2019s phone is going to be lighting up,\u201d one source told the outlet, referring to ESPN president of content Burke Magnus.<\/p>\n

Duncan is the women\u2019s college basketball host for \u201cCollege GameDay\u201d and host of \u201cWNBA Countdown,\u201d which covers the WNBA Draft, WNBA All-Star and the WNBA playoffs. <\/p>\n

Duncan was a part of the countdown crew with Chiney Ogwumike and Andraya Carter, who garnered the nickname the \u201cBig 3\u201d as ESPN centered the expansion of its women\u2019s sports coverage around them.<\/p>\n

ESPN will likely take a few months to audition people inside and outside the network for Duncan\u2019s roles \u2014 and they won\u2019t rush into hiring Duncan\u2019s replacements, as the network did when Molly Qerim left \u201cFirst Take\u201d in September.<\/p>\n

ESPN announced\u00a0<\/a>Shae Cornette, a former \u201cSportsCenter\u201d host, as Qerim\u2019s successor a month later. <\/p>\n

Last year, ESPN shared talent with Netflix when NFL analyst Mina Kimes and NFL host and sideline reporter Laura Rutledge during the 2024 Christmas Day NFL games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Elle Duncan will not remain at ESPN as she moves to Netflix to become the new face of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":155028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,12484,1094,111,139,69,213,29378,29379,437],"class_list":{"0":"post-155027","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-espn","10":"tag-netflix","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-sports-entertainment","16":"tag-sports-media","17":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}