ESPN morning program First Take continues its streak of year-over-year viewership growth, recording the 15th consecutive month of growth.
With an average of 544,000 viewers, October marked the second most-watched month of the program in its 16-year history. Throughout the month, the show included various appearances by Shannon Sharpe, Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo, and Kimberley A. Martin, along with a variety of rotating analysts. The show is hosted by Molly Qerim and features Stephen A. Smith daily.
The program added Sharpe after his departure from Undisputed on FS1, which continues to feature Skip Bayless and a rotating lineup of analysts. ESPN senior coordinating producer, Antoine Lewis, was part of the network’s recent round of employee layoffs and a longtime leader of the program.
Coordinating producer James Dunn currently oversees the program and helped with Sharpe’s immersion into the lineup, along with other aspects of First Take. The program began adopting the “Stephen A. vs. the World” debate format after Max Kellerman departed the show in September 2021.
