The gripping story of a University of Michigan basketball player who has survived two plane crashes leads off the new season of ESPN SportsCenter’s award-winning storytelling brand SC Featured on Sunday, Feb. 8.
Bringing unique and compelling feature material to viewers of ESPN’s flagship news and information program, the SC Featured brand premiered in 2013 and airs on SportsCenter during the months of the NFL offseason. The stories debut on Sundays in the 10 a.m. ET edition and re-air at various times throughout the day, including the 11 p.m. program.
SC Featured is produced by the ESPN Features Unit, which, since its creation 12 years ago, has received 56 Sports Emmy Award nominations resulting in 12 Emmys, including one for SC Featured last year for “Richie Parker: Drive.”
One of SC Featured’s most popular segments of 2014 was “Pete’s Challenge,” which told the story of former Boston College captain Pete Frates, the inspiration for the Ice Bucket Challenge phenomenon that raised awareness — and millions — for ALS. The feature had a strong presence on social media, including more than 37,000 re-tweets of two Tweets (#SCFeatured), the most-ever re-tweets for a long-form ESPN feature (more than 27,000) and 8.9 million total video starts across all platforms.
Some other popular SC Featured pieces from 2014 included:
- “Mendota” — The Mendota (Calif.) High School football team’s players work all day in the agricultural fields to help support their families yet became a powerhouse with the help of their coach and star running back.
- “Spirit to Soar – Charlotte Brown” – Despite being blind, Charlotte Brown is one of the best high school pole vaulters in Texas and qualified for the state championship.
- “Experiencing the Beautiful Game” – The story of 27-year-old Brazilian Carlos Alberto Jr., who was born without hearing and lost his eyesight, and the two friends who helped him experience the 2014 FIFA World Cup as it was played in his home country.
The first SC Featured of the 2015 season on Feb. 8 is “Miraculous: The Story of Austin Hatch.” A survivor of two separate plane crashes that killed family members and his pilot father, Hatch realized his dream to play basketball for the University of Michigan this season. A half-hour special on Hatch airs Monday, Feb. 9, at 6 p.m. on ESPNU. A radio version will air on ESPN Radio’s “The Sporting Life with Jeremy Schaap” on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 7 a.m. and also will be available as a podcast.
As part of ESPN’s Black History Month observance, the Sunday, Feb. 15, SC Featured segment examines the importance of football at an underprivileged high school in Tuscaloosa, Ala., that through re-zoning became economically and racially segregated. An extended half-hour “Central High” special airs on ESPNU on Monday, Feb. 16, at 5:30 p.m.
Other SC Featured stories airing in coming weeks include a look at how the people of Nepal are trying to balance their lucrative livelihood catering to adventure-seeking tourists with the inherent dangers of the job one year after the avalanche tragedy that killed more than a dozen Sherpas on Mount Everest; the Vatican’s own cricket club, which has the goal of engaging in the sport with other religions; and a profile of a competitor running seven marathons in seven days on seven continents.
“We have moving and surprising stories planned that we are confident will captivate SportsCenter viewers,” said Craig Lazarus, vice president, SportsCenter and news, storytelling units. “We get story ideas from many different places and the SC Featured team will travel the globe more than ever to bring those stories to life.”
Click HERE for a video preview of the 2015 SC Featured season.
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Media Contact: Andy Hall, [email protected]
