# Rich Eisen returns to ESPN, betting on '90s nostalgia

> The SportsCenter anchor who left ESPN two decades ago is back with a licensing deal, a nostalgia podcast, and a growing media company.
- Title: Rich Eisen returns to ESPN, betting on '90s nostalgia
- Summary: The SportsCenter anchor who left ESPN two decades ago is back with a licensing deal, a nostalgia podcast, and a growing media company. Rich Eisen returned to…
- Keywords: rich eisen, espn, sportscenter, nfl network, the rich eisen show, nostalgia, media business, disney+, women's sports now, Rich, Eisen, returns
- Source: Fortune — https://fortune.com/2026/10/25/rich-eisen-went-from-sportscenter-to-nfl-network-to-owning-his-own-show-now-hes-back-at-espn-betting-90s-nostalgia-still-sells
- Author: Sydney Lake
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: rich eisen, espn, sportscenter, nfl network, the rich eisen show, nostalgia, media business, disney+, women's sports now
## SportsCenter's return drew millions
When Rich Eisen anchored SportsCenter for the first time in twenty-two years last August, ESPN used old-school graphics and music.
## Fans showed how much they missed it
Eisen saw a video of a young woman crying as the familiar SportsCenter open played. He said it reflected what people felt. It was a simpler time, and people wish it was like that again.

> It was a simpler time. People kind of wish it was like that again.
## Eisen pitched a nostalgia podcast
That reaction validated an idea Eisen brought to ESPN: a nostalgia video podcast called This Was SportsCenter: Stories from the Set.He reunites with former colleagues using ESPN's full video archive.
## First season featured major names
The first season featured Dan Patrick, Chris Berman, Mike Greenberg, Linda Cohn, Chris Fowler, and Craig Kilborn.A second season with six new interviews is slated for twenty twenty-seven.
## Eisen's path from ESPN to ownership
Eisen, fifty-seven, worked for ESPN from nineteen ninety-six to two thousand three, anchoring SportsCenter during its cultural peak with Stuart Scott.In two thousand three he left to become NFL Network's first on-air hire.
## The Rich Eisen Show expanded across platforms
As the business found new homes on Peacock and then Roku, it grew.Last year Eisen reunited with ESPN in a licensing deal bringing the show to Disney+, ESPN's streaming platforms, and ESPN Radio.
## Eisen's company now produces multiple shows
Eisen's production company also makes Women's Sports Now, a weekly show his wife Suzy Shuster created and executive produces.It launched on the Roku Channel in twenty twenty-five and moved to ESPN this spring.
## Eisen sees expansion ahead
Eisen is weighing more podcasts and possibly a celebrity-driven show.He said anything's possible and that it's pretty amazing in this contracting world that his show keeps expanding.

> There is no platform quite like ESPN's. There just isn't.
## Key takeaway

Rich Eisen returned to ESPN last year with a licensing deal for his show and launched a nostalgia podcast reuniting former SportsCenter colleagues, capitalizing on viewer appetite for the network's cultural peak.