There is no denying that ESPN is the 800 pound gorilla of sports TV networks. Executives at Fox Sports know this.

“ESPN, quite frankly, is a machine,” says Billy Wanger, the head of programming for Fox Sports. “We are coming in trying to take on the establishment; it is no different than what happened with Fox News, or Fox Broadcasting back in the 80s. We are going to have to scratch and claw our way all the way to the top.”

Shanks was talking about Fox Sports 1, the upcoming national cable sports channel that News Corp. is launching in August. News Corp. COO Chase Carey called it “the worst kept secret in TV,” but it is no longer a secret. At a lavish upfront for media buyers in midtown yesterday afternoon and evening, executives at News Corp. formally unveiled the channel.

The beating heart of sports TV is live games, and FS1 will be coming out of the gate with the strongest lineup outside of Bristol, CT. Major League Baseball games–including playoff games–will be available on the channel, as will NASCAR races, UFC fights, college football and basketball and UEFA and World Cup soccer.

“We believe that right now the market for sports is–I don’t want to say vast–but it is,” News Corp. senior VP and Fox Sports founding president David Hill says. “There is a huge percentage of the population for whom sports is vitally important, for whom sports is the best entertainment there is.”

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ABC’s Barbara Walters made her triumphant return to TV on “The View” this morning. Walters has been out since late January, when she fell down some stairs at the British Ambassadors residence in Washington. In the hospital, it was discovered the she had contracted chicken pox.

Returning to the daytime show, Walters revealed that she actually picked up the chicken pox from a well-known actor:

It all began in January when I was visiting a friend in Miami and she had as another guest a well-known actor who shall be nameless and I gave him a new year’s hug and a kiss on the cheek. The next day he left, what he didn’t know then and I didn’t know at all was that he was about to develop a bad case of shingles…

Walters also shared a very funny story involving ABC News president Ben Sherwood:
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• FishbowlDC has more on the goings-on at CNN. It looks as though John King will be staying with the network, but will Candy Crowley? Read the rest at FishbowlDC.

• Former Bloomberg and CNN corespondent Lizzie O’Leary talks to Cosmopolitan about her battle with endometriosis, and how it affected her work and home life.

• It looks like Regis Philbin may be coming back to TV. SportsBusinessDaily reports that Philbin is in talks to host a panel show on Fox Sports 1 the yet-to-launch sports cable channel.

Former NFL star Michael Strahan will be the new co-host of the syndicated talker “Live! with Kelly” come September 4. B&C’s Ben Grossman first reported the news.

Strahan effectively replaces Regis Philbin, who left the show in November of last year. Since that time “Live!” has experimented with a slew of guest hosts who took over the chair next to Kelly Ripa, including Strahan, “SNL” performer Seth Meyers and singer Josh Groban. The LA Times‘ Joe Flint reports that Strahan will remain as a contributor to Fox’s NFL coverage on the weekends, even as he hosts “Live!.”

THR‘s Marisa Guthrie reports that Ann Curry will likely remain at NBC News in a “substantial” role if and when she moves off of the morning program.

The New York Times’ Brian Stelter reports that Savannah Guthrie is no longer just the favorite to replace Curry, she has been offered the gig formally.

In a suspicious article (given what we know now about Curry and Guthrie), Radar Online reports that Regis Philbin could be tapped to replace Hoda Kotb if Kotb gets promoted to a new gig at the NBC morning show. Philbin filled in for Kotb last week, rejoining his old TV co-host Kathie Lee Gifford.

This morning Regis Philbin guest-hosted the fourth hour of NBC’s “Today” with his old partner in crime, Kathie Lee Gifford. It was the first time in 12 years (the end of “Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee”) that the pair co-hosted a TV show together.

Before the 10 PM hour, Matt Lauer interviewed the pair about the reunion.

“Do you think it will be the human equivalent of riding a bike, even though you haven’t ridden him for 12 years?” Lauer asked Gifford.

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For the fourth hour itself, the team brought in a small studio audience to try and replicate some of that “Live!” magic, and let Philbin and Gifford do what they do best.

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Before there was “Live! with Kelly,” there was “Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee.”

On Wednesday, for the first time in 12 years, Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford will be co-hosts once again, as Philbin fills in for Hoda Kotb during the fourth hour of NBC’s “Today.”

“He is in rare form,” Gifford said this morning. “We are just going to let him show up and let the sparks fly.”

“He is going to be out of control,” Kotb added.

Gifford and Philbin have made TV appearances together since they parted ways on their syndicated talk show, though they have not hosted together on TV since 2000.

• The Wall Street Journal is expanding its online video service in the coming weeks, adding a political talk show based in Washington, according to a memo obtained by Jim Romenesko. “WSJ Live” has had production quality comparable to many cable news programs. “There’s much more to come,” writes Alan Murray in the memo.

• Fox News contributor Dana Perino is profiled by Woman Around Town. Her favorite New York City moment? “Memorial Day weekend as we walked by Times Square, the United States Marine Band was there jammin’ with songs from the Rolling Stones and Soft Cell. They performed right in front of the Armed Services recruiting station, and I will never forget the tears of joy and pride that spilled over as we cheered them on.”

• “Live with Kelly” is still looking for a replacement for Regis Philbin, and it could be… you? Yes, the show is looking for normal people to serve as guest co-hosts for a day in the “Coast to Coast Co-Host Search.” You can read the rules and enter here.

When “Good Morning America” recently snapped “Today’s” 16-year winning streak, former “Today” star Bryant Gumbel was underwhelmed.

“I didn’t really have much of a reaction,” says Gumbel, 63, “Today” co-anchor from 1982 to ’97. “[The streak] is a long time, but nothing lasts forever. It’s the nature of the business. I’ve been gone a long time now – 15 years. It’s frightening.”

Gumbel returns to mornings today and tomorrow as guest host on “Live! with Kelly.” Today marks his 24th gig; his second since Regis Philbin stepped down in November. No permanent partner yet for Kelly Ripa.

Why does Gumbel do “Live!” so frequently? “[Executive producer] Michael Gelman is a friend of mine,” he says. “Kelly is a friend of mine. The studio is very close to my house. When they ask, if my schedule allows and I’m not in one of my moods, I say yes.”

Gumbel’s moods are no joke, as many can attest. He describes the above-referenced one as: “Screw the business; I’d rather be in a cave and have nobody see me the rest of my life.” Even when he’s not in a mood, Gumbel characterizes himself as “somewhere between a hermit and a recluse.”

These days, he’s a happy hermit. He’s quietly beaten lung cancer, twice, and prostate cancer. He and his wife, Hilary, are about to celebrate their 10th anniversary. He just became a

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Regis Philbin is sitting in for Piers Morgan tonight on his CNN show. And Reeg called in the big gun, David Letterman, who rarely does TV outside of his own show. Regis asked Dave who his favorite guests have been over the years.

“We have several – you, Brian Williams, Tom Brokaw, Bill Murray, Tom Hanks, people who really come and do a great job for us.”

“You know that Brian Williams wants your job,” said Regis. “Brian Williams can have my job,” Letterman shot back.

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