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Rachel Nichols has worked at some of the biggest mainstays in sports media. Now she’s growing her presence at one of them.
Nichols, who is a regular at Fox Sports and Monumental Sports Network, will host a new weekday
show for Sports Illustrated. “The Story with Rachel Nichols” will stream weekdays at 9 a.m. on the FAST channel SI TV, starting Monday, October 19, and run again several times during the day.
The sports journalist hopes to inject perspective and expertise into a quick-hit show that aims to offer fans a broader lens. “We see scores, we see highlights. They’re in our face more than they’ve ever been. You can literally access them 24/7 in your pocket. And what we lose in that a little bit is, what does it all mean? What is it really about? Why is this important?” says Nichols during a recent interview. “When I cover sports, it hasn’t just been an X’s and O’s kind of things. There are a lot of societal issues and a lot of big picture things. And even within a game, there are heroes and there are villains, and there’s conflict. It’s not just about one basket., What I’m really looking forward to in this show is to be able to say here are some quick hits about what stories are about over a variety of sports.”
The new show adds to a growing lineup of original programming from Sports Illustrated, now part of Authentic Brands Group, with its publishing operations overseen by Minute. The goal, says Stephen Cannella, Sports Illustrated’s editor in chief, is not “trying to be what Sports Center was” on ESPN, but rather offering broader “perspective on sports, to discuss what it all means.” The company also hopes to use the new program to generate interest in sponsorships and potential ad integrations, the executive says.
SI TV, which launched in January, is available across a range of streaming venues, including Xumo Play, Amazon Fire TV, The Roku Channel, DIRECTV and others. The outlet offers a range of live events, including college football games and table tennis, and original programs. Nichols’ new series will also stream on SI.com and the Sports Illustrated’s YouTube channel.
She will continue her work as co-host of SI’s “Open Floor” podcast with SI senior writer Chris Mannix; as a host and analyst at Fox Sports; and as a host at Monumental Sports Network.
“I feel like I’ve been in so many different situations, whether it’s football, I’ve been a dugout reporter for baseball, Stanley Cup hockey. I’ve covered 9 Olympics,” says Nichols. “There are many different things that I can bring.”
Executives believe SI TV can reach across many different sports fandoms by offering some live telecasts, original programming, and even material from the Sports Illustrated archives to weigh in on events and developments, says Cannella.
This is not the first time Sports Illustrated has tested working in TV. Longtime fans of the magazine may recall a cable network that was a joint product of both CNN and SI when they were both part of the Time Warner entertainment conglomerate., CNN/SI launched in 1996 and lasted through 2002, closing after it failed to make inroads with cable systems while competing with ESPN and other sports networks.
In 2026, a Sports Illustrated video product doesn’t necessarily have to reach every person – just the right niche. Sports audiences happen to be growing, as more media outlets crave better reach among audiences watching video in simultaneous fashion.
“People are into more sports, a wider variety of sports. Even people who weren’t sports fans now have some hook into it, you know?” says Nichols. “I think that sports is sort of the big tent we all have left.”
