ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes has been named host of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, as organisers aim to inject a 'big-game feel' into the century-old competition. The 40-year-old Yale-educated journalist, known for her meticulous analysis of American football, will be the first celebrity host since LeVar Burton in 2022.
The appointment comes as Scripps seeks to revitalise viewership, which has declined despite moving the broadcast to its own networks, ION and Bounce. Nielsen data shows the primetime finals attracted 609,000 viewers in 2022, 641,000 in 2023, 461,000 in 2024, and 488,000 last year, down from over 1 million on ESPN in 2012.
Kimes, who won school-level spelling bees in second, third, and fifth grades, said she sees parallels between spelling and football analysis. 'It honestly does feel a little bit like watching game tape,' she told the Associated Press. 'The way they get to the right answer is fascinating to me... I see a lot of similarities to what I do with football.'
Scripps has also enlisted a new production team led by Michael Davies, executive producer of 'Jeopardy!', whose credits include 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' and 'Reading Rainbow'. Davies said his objective is to 'make it bigger and make it more famous', focusing on the stakes of the competition and the winning moment.
This year's bee, featuring 247 spellers vying for a trophy and over $50,000 in prizes, will take place from 26-28 May at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. Paul Loeffler, a sports broadcaster and former speller, will return as analyst.
