ESPN appeared to swing the deal of 2023 when they added Shannon Sharpe to the rotating cast of analysts on First Take. It was a move made seemingly at the request of Stephen A. Smith following Sharpe's departure from Undisputed. However, six months in, how are things looking for sports media's newest power couple?
Smith & Sharpe Have Business Booming At ESPN
2023 was First Take's most successful year to date. Anchored by Smith and Molly Qerim along with their rotating cast of guests, the show averaged 496,000 viewers per episode and extended its year-on-year growth streak to 17 months. Viewership only seemed to get better later in the year, with Sharpe debuting in early September. Over 700,000 people were tuning in to Sharpe's first week on the show. Furthermore, December 2023 was the show's second most-watched month on record.
Additionally, when paired with a smooth transition for The Pat McAfee Show, which airs directly after First Take, ESPN has created an unstoppable four-hour programming block. Furthermore, the massive talent cuts ESPN seemingly undertook to acquire Sharpe were completely negated by a $2 billion gaming partnership late in the year. In terms of money and viewership, things are great at ESPN. However, there is a catch.
Does Stephen A. Respect Shannon Too Much On First Take?
The First Take era of ESPN has been defined by yelling. A lot of yelling. In fact, First Take would likely be a much less successful show if people weren't yelling. However, the dynamic was always Stephen A. yelling at someone. Originally it was Skip Bayless. Then it was Max Kellerman. Now...Smith just sort of yells at everyone. He can't yell at Qerim directly because that's terrible optics. Nor can he yell at Mad Dog directly because that devolves into a screaming match. However, Smith also doesn't want to yell at Sharpe because he literally pushed ESPN to sign the Hall of Famer and clearly respects him too much. Hell, one of Mad Dog's viral rants in 2023 was about the bromance between Smith and Sharpe!
While the Smith-Sharpe pairing is clearly working, the show has fundamentally changed. Smith's debates are now typically with lesser-known ESPN personalities, rather than his mainstay foil. However, this might just speak to an overall shift in Smith's brand as "directionless yelling" is essentially the crux of his podcast, The Stephen A. Smith Show. Fans were hoping for all-out brawls between Smith and Sharpe but that just doesn't happen. Smith has one voice for rants and another for Shannon Sharpe.
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Can Shannon Sharpe Prevent A Divorce Between Stephen A. Smith & ESPN?
There is one other issue looming - Stephen A. Smith. Smith's contract expires this year and he has made it very clear that he owes no loyalty to ESPN. Last December, Smith told Outkick's Clay Travis that he wanted to be the broadcaster's highest-paid talent and that he wanted $20 million in his new contract. That would be an $8 million raise from the $12M per year that he earns now. Furthermore, Smith told Travis that he has no qualms about leaving ESPN if they don't meet his demands.
Smith likely wouldn't net $20M a year if he went fully independent but he'd likely come pretty close. His podcast already gets free advertising on First Take despite not being an ESPN product. With sponsors and more freedom around his content and conduct, there is definitely an appeal to independent broadcasting for Smith. Additionally, it's clear at this point that ESPN needs Smith more than Smith needs ESPN.
So where do things go from here? After investing heavily in Sharpe, they aren't going to want to lose Smith. However, can ESPN justify Smith's asking price? How is it going to look down the line if they lay off staff writers but still have Smith's $20M salary on the books? And what is the ceiling for First Take? Just how many more viewers can they actually attract, especially when young people are less likely to buy an ESPN package?
Are you a fan of First Take's newest era? Do you wish that there was more drama? And where do you think the show goes from here? Let us know in the comments.
