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ESPN Announces Special Coverage For ABC's Oscars Broadcast

Originally posted on The Spun | By Andrew Gould | Last updated Mar 10, 2026 1:35 PM ET

Disney will attempt to draw sports fans to the red carpet for the Oscars this weekend.

ABC will broadcast an NBA matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. The network then shifts to its pre-show coverage of the 98th Academy Awards, scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET.

ESPN confirmed an additional sports layer to the Oscars rollout. As announced on Tuesday, social media content creator Omar Raja will join ABC's On the Red Carpet at the Oscars show and appear across ESPN's social media platforms.

Raja returns for the second straight year to an event hosted by Linsey Davis, Whit Johnson, Lara Spencer, and ESPN reporter Chris Connelly.

"Having Omar return as a contributor to this year’s pre-show is a natural fit," Adrianne Anderson, ABC's senior vice president of content development, told Variety's Brian Steinberg. "As one of ESPN's leading digital strategists and social media voices, his distinctive perspective makes him the ideal bridge from ESPN’s NBA coverage on ABC to an evening of Oscars red carpet coverage."

Sports at the Oscars

CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 20: A detail view of a microphone is seen with an ESPN logo on it during a game between the Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings on December 20, 2021, at Soldier Field in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

Raja rose to notoriety running Bleacher Report's viral House of Highlights account before joining ESPN in 2020. According to Variety, he'll appear on ABC's red carpet show for a half hour before shifting his focus to social media.

There's plenty of sports-related material for Raja and Co. to cover at the Oscars. F1 and Marty Supreme, Josh Sadfie's ping-pong film, are among the 10 nominees for best picture.

Marty Supreme piled up nine total nominations, including a best leading actor nod for Timothée Chalamet. The Smashing Machine , a boxing movie starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, is also nominated for makeup and hairstyling.

"We are trying to keep some of that sports audience," Raja told Variety, "and make it into a combination of sports and culture."

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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