Each nightly show will begin with Mr. Olbermann alone at the anchor desk for 10 to 15 minutes, reviewing as few as one or as many as 10 sports events making news. “Essentially, it will be an attempt to provide context and information and perspective that looks forward to the next day’s interpretations,” Mr. Olbermann, 54, said.

A short interview with a notable subject that plays off an aspect of one of those stories will follow, then videotaped highlights of the day’s events. “Just because I like doing highlights,” he said.

“Highlights” will be followed by a playful interlude tentatively titled “This Week in Keith History,” with clips of Mr. Olbermann from “SportsCenter,” from 1992 to 1997, that he has not seen in advance. His job will be to react amusingly.

Producers have shown five clips of “Keith History” in rehearsals, and Mr. Olbermann said he had remembered only two of them. “Reactions I’ve shown are disgust and amazement,” he said, “and I’ve had the bad taste to laugh at my old jokes.”

Among other recurring segments will be a bit introduced by Mr. Olbermann on “Countdown” on MSNBC, adapted for ESPN2 viewers. “The Worst Person in the World,” in which Mr. Olbermann held a prominent newsmaker up for ridicule, will now be “The Worst Person in the Sports World,” which Mr. Olbermann described as the same idea, but “more gentle and sarcastic.”