“As a stand-up comedian, I know that sports and comedy work so well together,” said host Yannis Pappas in a statement. “Sports fans have been waiting for something like 2 Point Lead, and I’m excited to bring them a totally new type of sports experience — one that will surprise and entertain them every single day.”
Expect comedy sketches, interviews and person-on-the-street clips on the show, which hopes to satirize sports culture instead of typical sports news and analysis. The daily show, airing on AOL.com at 2 p.m. ET each weekday, will be short-form (60 seconds to 3 minutes) to promote viewing and sharing.
“We want to capitalize on the die-hard sports fan and even the casual sports fan who checks out their smartphone for a few minutes in the afternoon,” said AOL’s sports editor Brian Fitzsimmons to Mediapost.
2 Point Lead is part of a push for shareable programming on AOL, which launched morning news show Rise earlier this year. “2 Point Lead gives us the opportunity to engage with our social media base and the robust conversations that are happening around sports and create a show that is uniquely our own,” said President of AOL Video and AOL Studios Dermot McCormack.
Joining Pappas will be Nick Creegan, the winner of an AOL SportsSearch contest last year, as the show’s primary reporter.
The debut episode today features Pappas chatting with Angela, a New York fortuneteller, on her baseball predictions for Madison Bumgarner, Justin Verlander, the World Series matchup and more.
