Netflix has reportedly tapped an ESPN host to become the new face of its sports streaming content.
According to a report published by The Athletic on Monday, November 24, Elle Duncan is set to become Netflix’s first full-time sportscaster. Duncan reportedly has not yet signed a contract with Netflix, but the contract will supposedly allow her to continue to appear on other networks, including ESPN. (Netflix, ESPN, and Duncan’s agent declined to comment to the outlet.)
Per the report, Netflix had initially eyed Malika Andrews to take on the role before she re-signed with ESPN. Netflix has reportedly been in talks with ESPN regarding ways in which Duncan will continue to host the Women’s Final Four and the WNBA Finals for ESPN, and a final decision has not been made.
While Duncan is expected to continue her work with ESPN, her main priority would shift to Netflix’s sports programming. The streamer has upped its sports content in recent years with airing Christmas Day NFL games, MLB games, wrestling matches, and the Women’s World Cup.
Scroll down to get to know Duncan ahead of her Netflix debut.
How did Elle Duncan get her career start?
The Georgia native began her broadcasting career as an entertainment reporter for the Atlanta radio station 790 the Zone in 2003, per Duncan’s ESPN bio. In 2005, she began her seven-year role as an on-air personality with the Atlanta hip-hop station V10, in addition to cohosting football shows for the Atlanta Falcons Radio Network from 2010 to 2011.
Duncan followed up her work with the Falcons by serving as an anchor and reporter for the New England Sports Network in Boston for two years. Her other career credits include working as an on-air and radio personality for the Atlanta NBC affiliate WXIA-TV, working as a sideline reporter for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, and working as a field reporter for Comcast Sports South on SEC and ACC football.
Omar Abdul Ali and Elle Duncan (Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Connecticut Children’s Hospital Foundation)
How long has Elle Duncan worked for ESPN?
Duncan joined ESPN as an anchor for SportsCenter in 2016 and moved to the show’s 6 p.m. time slot with Kevin Negandhi in 2021. She also hosts her own self-titled YouTube series, The Elle Duncan Show, on which she discusses the biggest sports and pop culture news.
Duncan is also known as one of ESPN’s most prominent WNBA hosting personalities, along with Andrews, Chiney Ogwumike, Andraya Carter, Monica McNutt, Carolyn Peck, Christine Williamson, and more.
What other TV shows has Elle Duncan appeared on?
Duncan has shown up on a handful of non-ESPN shows over the years, including appearing on Good Morning America and filling in for Kelly Ripa as Mark Consuelos‘ cohost on an August episode of Live With Kelly and Mark.
Is Elle Duncan in a relationship?
Duncan is in a relationship, as she has been married to her husband, Omar Abdul Ali, since 2016. The couple welcomed their daughter, Eva, in 2018, and their son, Xander, in 2020.
“I believe that the most important decision you’ll make in your life is who you have children with. Marriages end every day but who you go half on a kid with is permanent. It’s foundational,” Duncan wrote in an Instagram Father’s Day tribute to Ali in June.
She continued, “The father of your children isn’t just your partner—he’s their first example. Of how to lead, how to listen, how to love. Kids mirror what they see. Their worldview, their sense of safety, their moral compass—it all starts at home. A good dad sets the baseline for how they’ll navigate life, how they’ll treat others, and how they’ll expect to be treated in return.”
Duncan concluded her post by thanking her mother for setting the “blueprint” of what she should look for in her partner. “When it came time for me to build my own life and family, I knew exactly what to look for,” she gushed.