The subject matter discussed on First Take compared to The Stephen A. Smith Show podcast is vastly different, and it has caught the attention of many sports media professionals. As time has progressed, Smith has talked about topics that would likely be frowned upon if he were to do it on ESPN – which was one of the reasons for starting the podcast in the first place.
On Friday, WFAN’s Boomer Esiason and Gregg Giannotti examined Smith’s contrasting hosting style on both shows after listening to comments made by Stephen Jackson pertaining to ESPN layoffs. In the “Moment of the Day,” Jerry Recco explained that Jackson recently made an appearance on Way Up with Angela Yee, on which he explained his theory as to why ESPN recently laid off several prominent members of its on-air talent roster.
“There are so many shows in our country that are more entertaining than what they’re talking about,” Jackson said of ESPN. “Perfect example – when Stephen A. gets off his show, he goes straight to his podcast to say things that he couldn’t say on ESPN because [that] is what’s hot right now. They’re firing people because nobody’s watching.”
On Wednesday’s episode of his eponymous podcast, Smith spoke about the exorbitant prices barbers in Los Angeles charge to make house visits. Smith was describing how someone charges $350 per hour plus a $100 travel fee to cut someone’s hair, but then his mind went elsewhere.
“When you use those kind of numbers and you utter the word ‘trim’ in the same sentence, haircuts are not what people think about,” Smith said, “and I’ll leave it at that.”
Upon playing back the audio, the entire studio erupted in laughter at the statement Smith made, leading Giannotti to do his best impression of the famed sports commentator.
“Stephen Jackson is right because if you turn on ESPN, [Stephen A. Smith] is like, ‘Damian Lillard is not going to go to another team but the Miami Heat,’ and then you turn on his podcast and [he goes], ‘I love boobies. I love them with all my heart.’”
Smith began podcasting with Audacy’s Cadence13 under the title Know Mercy, but decided to change the name so it would be more identifiable with him. Since the name change, the popularity of his podcast has rapidly grown and has begun live streaming and taking questions from consumers. In fact, the podcast introduced its own dedicated call-in line a few weeks ago, granting listeners the chance to make their voices heard.
