The worst kept secret in sports media has been confirmed by ESPN. The network will be adding rotating guests to its struggling morning show Get Up! for football season. The lineup of both NFL and college football guests was announced yesterday in a series of tweets from @ESPNPR
And…. that is just the beginning. NFL analysts will be on @GetUpESPN each day as well! pic.twitter.com/IDJPFWrryV
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) August 22, 2018
The ratings struggles of Get Up! have been well documented, so there is no sense in delving into that again. What is notable about this move is that it is a clear sign that the network is counting on football season to bring a new surge in viewership. ESPN is clearly ready to give new viewers more of what it wants, and that is football talk.
On the Thursday edition of Get Up! co-host Michelle Beadle announced that she wouldn’t be watching any college or pro football, saying that Ohio State’s decision to suspend Urban Meyer instead of firing him is another instance of the sport marginalizing women. Andrew Marchand of the New York Post says he doesn’t disagree with Beadle’s reasoning, but it still creates a big problem for the show.
Why ex-president John Skipper didn’t take this into consideration when putting Beadle on the show is another mystery of Skipper’s disappointing tenure.
If you are a panelist on a sports talk show that is pivoting fully to football — “Get Up!” announced its college and NFL analysts Wednesday — it is hard to see how you can be a regular part of the conversation. At a reported $5 million a year, Beadle maybe doesn’t care.
Joe Lucia of Awful Announcing is not impressed by the guest analyst lineup and wonders if Get Up! will enjoy the uptick in viewership ESPN is hoping this move provides.
This is all well and good, but the question still remains: why should I watch this show? All of these analysts pop up on ESPN’s airwaves all week (especially Finebaum, who hosts a daily radio simulcast, and Schefter, the network’s top NFL reporter). If I’m a huge Finebaum guy, am I really going to make sure to watch Get Up on Wednesday in addition to watching/listening to his radio show?
Furthermore, the only one of these analysts that people seem to have strong feelings for (either positive or negative) is Finebaum. I’m curious if ESPN really thinks that people are going to suddenly start tuning in to Get Up because they know Ryan Clark, or Jesse Palmer, or Marcus Spears is going to be on the show that day.
It is interesting to note that ESPN seems to be trying everything to make football work wonders for Get Up! In addition to headliners like Paul Finebaum, Rex Ryan, and Adam Schefter, Get Up! will also make room for new additions to the ESPN family like Dan Orlovsky and Victor Cruz. A number of the announced regulars have already spent time this summer filling in as a guest host of the show.
Perhaps Beadle would like to give back some of her $5 Million per year salary as a result of her decision to ‘cut back on her work’ by not watching college or pro football.
By the way, who is running things at espn – management or employees like Beadle?