As a featured commentator and executive producer of First Take on ESPN and commentator on NBA Countdown, Stephen A. Smith has a slate of high-profile television jobs and responsibilities. Outside of that, he makes occasional guest appearances on General Hospital, appears on talk shows and participates in speaking engagements around the country.
Smith has also built his brand outside of his ESPN obligations through his production company – Mr. SAS Productions – and is hosting a video podcast at least three times per week that he owns called The Stephen A. Smith Show. Smith’s production company also worked with ESPN and Omaha Productions to create an alternate NBA broadcast last season – NBA in Stephen A’s World – which ended last season live from Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Last year, Smith also released a best-selling memoir, “Straight Shooter,” a first-hand account of his life and career in sports media.
Having ownership over the latter properties impacts him in a different way, Smith recently said in an interview with Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo on SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio. Smith mentioned how Russo previously worked for a broadcast entity in WFAN on Mike and the Mad Dog before joining SiriusXM and gaining his own channel. Smith has invested into his podcast, spending his own money to create a television studio tailored for the show.
Additionally, Smith continues to invest his time in building out his production company, revealing that he has been greenlit for a sports docuseries, which will be called Up for Debate. More details surrounding the docuseries are unknown at this time, including a premiere date and means of consumption.
Meadowlark Media host and former ESPN employee Dan Le Batard insinuated that a docuseries could be coming in a previous interview with Smith from last summer. While it remains unknown if Le Batard has or plans to sit for an interview within the series, Russo seemingly confirmed that he will be a part of it. Stephen A. Smith first began hosting First Take in 2007 alongside Skip Bayless, who now works for FOX Sports 1 on Undisputed.
Frequent contributors to First Take since the departure of Max Kellerman as a daily commentator include the aforementioned Russo, Shannon Sharpe, Kimberley A. Martin and Marcus Spears among others. The show has been hosted by Molly Qerim since 2015 since rejoining the company after a stint with NFL Network.
“I’ve been greenlit on a drama series that I’ve created that I’m not at liberty to discuss at this particular moment in time that has nothing to do with ESPN or Disney,” Smith added, “so I have my aspirations.”
Stephen A. Smith continued in the interview by explaining how he is grateful to balance the schedule he has and divulged why he joined NBA Countdown last season. In his answer, Smith revealed that the boss called him and told him that he needed him to join the show, conveying how people watch when he talks about the Association.
“That’s one of the biggest reasons First Take is No. 1 because everybody’s watching folks talk about football,” Smith said, “but you’re watching me talk about basketball, and when that happens, that resonates and that’s a big thing.”
Although he is not fond of having to watch the games for five hours and then come on at halftime, he feels that the payoff comes during the NBA Playoffs. Being on ESPN and ABC surrounding the NBA Finals grants Smith and the program additional exposure during the pivotal moments of the year. Smith was in Los Angeles on Saturday night to work on the program after appearing on Media Row later in the week ahead of Super Bowl LVIII.
