ESPN NEXT 2026–2027 Early Career Program
ESPN NEXT provides a structured early-career development program for aspiring sports media professionals, featuring production roles, seasonal opportunities, internships, and leadership pathways.
Overview
ESPN NEXT is a comprehensive talent-development initiative designed for individuals seeking careers behind the scenes in sports media, content production, live events, digital storytelling, social media, and emerging platforms. Rather than offering a single short-term placement, the program combines hands-on production experience, structured training, cross-platform exposure, professional development, and opportunities for increasing responsibility.
Participants typically enter the full-time pathway as Production Assistants before potentially advancing into Content Associate positions. Additional opportunities include seasonal roles, internships across multiple seasons, and selective leadership pathways such as Peer Mentor, NEXT Trainer, and the NEXT Accelerator.
Eligibility
The program does not feature universal degree, age, citizenship, major, work-authorization, or experience requirements that apply to every single opening. Because these criteria may vary depending on the specific vacancy, candidates should review individual job postings carefully.
How to Apply
Because ESPN NEXT does not operate a single overall application deadline, recruitment takes place through multiple hiring cycles throughout the year. Candidates should monitor expected recruitment windows and apply promptly when postings become available:
- Spring Internship: Expected posting in late September.
- January Production Assistant: Expected posting in mid-October.
- July Production Assistant: Expected posting in mid-March.
- Seasonal Production Assistant: Expected posting in mid-May.
- Fall Internship: Expected posting in mid-June.
- Summer Internship: Expected posting in January or early February.
Interested individuals should prepare their resumes and portfolios in advance and track openings via the official recruitment platforms.
Deadline
There is no single annual application deadline for ESPN NEXT, as vacancies open across multiple hiring cycles throughout the year.