ESPYs going hostless for first time

For the first time in its 31-year history, the ESPYs will not have a host. Stephen Douglas of The Big Lead reports that ESPN's award show made the decision in light of the ongoing strike by the Writer's Guild of America that has put Hollywood at a standstill.

The ESPYs may not be the exact equivalent of winning a championship or even an individual honor in a sport, but it is one of the rare events where athletes from multiple sports come together in celebration of the entire industry. The show takes place in Los Angeles on July 12th, one night after Major League Baseball's All-Star Game in Seattle.

Though the event will go on without a host, ESPN has already announced candidates and honorees for several awards that will be given out. The Kansas City Chiefs will be in the running for three awards, including team honors for Best Team and individual honors for quarterback Patrick Mahomes. LeBron James will once again be nominated for an award, something that has happened every year of his 20-year NBA career. The entire Buffalo Bills's athletic training staff will receive its Pat Tillman Courage Award for Service after its lifesaving efforts for safety Damar Hamlin.

The strike began on May 2nd after the WGA could not come to an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) over labor conditions, streaming residuals and other issues that have an impact on screenwriters.

Since live sports don't have writers, there has been no direct impact from the strike on most sports broadcasters' content. Yet the ESPYs are the first sports-related program that has been directly affected.

As the strike continues, though, media companies that were already heavily dependent on sports for live viewership may lean on games even more as we approach the new TV season in late September. Most scripted shows that were halted won't resume production until a new deal is reached between the writers and the studios which own the scripted shows.

The ESPYs are not the only award show that has been impacted by the strike since the labor action was taken in May. Though the Tony Awards honoring Broadway's best performers went on mostly as planned, it was unscripted without writers. MTV's Movie and Music Awards in May became a compilation program after actress and talk show host Drew Barrymore pulled out of host duties in solidarity with the writers. The BET Awards went without a host in June. AFI's Lifetime Achievement ceremony and the Daytime Emmys were postponed indefinitely.

An ongoing list of impacted programs can be found here.