ESPN has made major changes to it’s schedule to begin Christmas week.
The network has turned into a haven of live sport over the holiday season.
Stephen A. Smith at the Emirates NBA Cup finals in Las Vegas earlier this week[/caption]
Pat McAfee on the ESPN College Gameday set with golf champion Scottie Scheffler[/caption]
And that means some of their most popular studio shows have taken a hit.
Monday’s edition of First Take will be cut in half and end at 11 am ET.
Molly Qerim, Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe will only have one hour to debate all the fall out from NFL Sunday in Week 16.
ESPN will switch to live college football instead of showing a second hour of First Take.
They will show the USTA Roadrunners take on the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.
The game at Brooks Stadium in Conway, South Carolina will kick off at 11 am ET.
ESPN will also show the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl live from 2.30 pm ET.
That game will feature the Fresno State Bulldogs against the Northern Illinois Huskies.
And ESPN’s live college football coverage on Monday means no room for Pat McAfee on the main network.
Instead, it will air on ESPN2 from midday to 2 pm ET.
A two-hour edition of NFL Live will also be on the same channel from 5 pm ET.
ESPN will round out a live football Monday with an NFL clash in the evening.
They will show the New Orleans Saints visit the Green Bay Packers in the final game before Christmas.
Monday Night Countdown begins at 6 pm ET in it’s usual slot on ESPN.
And the game itself will be live on both ABC and ESPN from 8 pm ET.
NBA on Christmas Day schedule
12 pm ET – San Antonio Spurs vs New York Knicks
2.30 pm ET – Minnesota Timberwolves vs Dallas Mavericks
5 pm ET – Philadelphia 76ers vs Boston Celtics
8 pm ET – Los Angeles Lakers vs Golden State Warriors
10.30 pm ET – Denver Nuggets vs Phoenix Suns
First Take will air as normal from 10am to midday ET on Christmas Eve.
There will also be a one-hour edition of the show on Christmas Day.
It will end at 11 am ET, when the NBA Countdown coverage ahead of the first of five basketball games kicks in.
Pat McAfee, meanwhile, is absent from the schedule entirely on both days.
He is a big part of ESPN’s College Football coverage during the playoffs.
