ESPN'S ERIN ANDREWS ("DANCING WITH THE STARS") RETURNS AS CORRESPONDENT FOR ABC AND ESPN BROADCASTS OF "THE 2010 SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE," JUNE 4

Sage Steele Hosts ESPN Telecast

Fresh from "Dancing with the Stars," ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews returns as correspondent for live television coverage of "The 2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee" on both the ESPN and ABC telecasts, FRIDAY, JUNE 4. "SportsCenter" update anchor/co-host Sage Steele hosts of the Semifinal rounds on ESPN, which has televised the Bee since 1994. ESPN's live telecast (simulcast on ESPN3.com) is scheduled for FRIDAY, JUNE 4, (10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., ET) from Washington, DC, as 273 spellers from around the world compete. The final championship rounds of "The 2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee," hosted by Chris Harrison ("The Bachelorette"), air FRIDAY, JUNE 4 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. ESPN3.com will provide coverage of Round Three of the preliminaries from 1:15 - 5:15 p.m., ET on Thursday, June 3.

Correspondent Erin Andrews has reported for many ESPN broadcasts since joining the network in 2004, including coverage of Major League Baseball, the Little League World Series, college football, college basketball, College World Series, NHL and others. Since 2008, Andrews has served as the reporter for ESPN and ABC's live coverage of "The Scripps National Spelling Bee." In spring 2010, she is competing on "Dancing with the Stars" and is in contention for the mirror ball trophy at press time.

Sage Steele is primarily seen providing news updates or co-hosting ESPN's live daytime "SportsCenter" editions, which debuted in August 2008. Having joined ESPN a year earlier, she hosted the sports update segments during ESPN's morning programming, "ESPN First Take" and "Mike and Mike in the Morning," and frequently would serve a substitute host on "First Take."

The Scripps National Spelling Bee, the nation's largest and longest running educational promotion, is administered on a not-for-profit basis by the E.W. Scripps Company and 268 local sponsors. The majority of local spelling bee sponsors are daily and weekly newspapers. The purpose of the Scripps National Spelling Bee is to help students improve spelling, increase vocabularies, learn concepts and develop correct English usage that will help them all of their lives.

About 273 champion spellers, ranging in age from 8 to 15, will be competing this year for the National Spelling Bee Championship. Spellers participating in the national competition qualify by winning locally sponsored spelling bees in their home communities.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee, which is held each year in Washington DC, will begin on Wednesday June 2, featuring top spellers from across the U.S. as well as competitors from Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Japan, The Bahamas, Canada, New Zealand, Ghana, South Korea, students from U.S. Defense and State Department schools in Europe and students from American and international schools in China. Real-time results for all segments of competition are provided via the Internet at the Bee's official website, www.spellingbee.com.

"The 2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee" is a production of ESPN, in association with ABC Entertainment. The executive producer is Jed Drake and senior coordinating producer is Dave Miller. The coordinating producer/producer is Tim Weinkauf and the director is Derek Mobley.

The program will be broadcast in HDTV with 5.1 channel surround sound. A TV parental guideline will be posted closer to airdate. (CLOSED CAPTIONED)