Stephen A. Smith decided it was time to shake up the structure on First Take towards the end of the summer, and that plan is paying off.
First Take’s October viewership was up 10% in October compared to the year prior–averaging 431,000 viewers per episode for the month. October represents the show’s best month since Jan. 2020. These numbers are exactly what Smith envisioned when he noticed slipping numbers and a lack of fire between him and Max Kellerman.
“The rumors are accurate in terms of me wanting him off the show. Let’s get that out the way. Yes, I did [want him off the show],” Smith told radio hosts Ebro Darden and Peter Rosenberg on Hot 97 in September.
“It wasn’t really about asking him to be off the show; it was about the fact that I knew that we, together, as far as I was concerned, was not a great partnership anymore, and that was something that needed to change.
“The reason why I’m unapologetic about my position, No. 1, is that it’s no knock against him professionally, his work ethic, and all of that other stuff, his talent. It’s not like I wanted the guy to be fired. I knew there were landing spots for him available at this network that would generate just as much, if not more revenue for him and all of that other stuff.”
Smith confirmed that he and Kellerman lost their chemistry together, as the rolling slate of debaters brings the juice back to First Take.
“The fact that it’s a chemistry you have and sometimes it just stalls, and the audience lets you know that it is what it is and you feel the need for something fresh, you feel the need to retool,” Smith said.
First Take’s audience has grown in five of the last six months as Smith and Kellerman roll along their ESPN tenure’s on separate roads.