As Emmanuel Acho took part in rehearsals for the new FS1 morning program, The Facility, he could discern that the rapport and chemistry on the show was palpable and that its format would resonate to viewers looking for something new. Deviating from debate and embracing discussion, the program brings viewers an insightful breakdown of the recondite aspects of professional football, providing an outlet for consumers to discover and better understand the labyrinth of information pertaining to what has become a cultural zeitgeist.
Acho, a former linebacker in the NFL, hosts the show with three alumni of professional football that seek to offer a shrewd blend of education and humor, carving a niche that it hopes sets a template for a new branch of programs. Before analyzing routes, defensive schemes and various offensive playbooks, members of the show were trapped inside of an escape room with a clock counting down from 60 minutes.
In an attempt to establish chemistry with the new venture, Acho and his colleagues, including talent and producers, worked together to uncover the mystery of how to conquer the elusive complexities therein. After the first rehearsal, Acho and other on-air personalities went to the Waldorf Rooftop where he told them his expectations and invited them to talk about what they expected from him. These endeavors, along with shared expertise and passion for football, have facilitated the successful launch of the program in a timeslot previously rooted in the debate format.
“It simply takes a mouth to debate, but we have the ability to debate,” Acho said. “We just also have the ability to discuss, dissect and dialogue because it takes the mind to do that as well, so debating is a low-hanging fruit. We can do that. Debating, all it takes is a mouth, but not anybody can break down a hybrid Cover 2-Cover 4 defense, which we call a Cover 6.”
As the de facto leader of the program, Acho works with the team to put he and his colleagues in positions to demonstrate their strengths. During the second segment of a recent program, LeSean McCoy listed the top five running backs in the NFL and contextualized rankings through his own experience playing the position. Shortly thereafter, the show went on the football field at the FOX studios and broke down a play, possessing a quarterback, running back, wide receiver and linebacker to give their opinions and viewpoints.
Chase Daniel followed up that demonstration by breaking down film and explaining why he believes Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love is going to have a stellar upcoming season. Moreover, James Jones, a former wide receiver and Super Bowl champion, is granted opportunities to exhibit his knowledge and articulate the perspectives gleaned from a nine-year NFL career. The show has found ways to thrive without a traditional host, existing as thought-provoking, intellectual discourse available in which the audience can immerse itself over the two-hour runtime.
“We’re literally allowing viewers to eavesdrop in on a conversation they would never otherwise have access to,” Acho surmised. “In what world can you, as a fan, listen to four athletes with 39 years of NFL experience have a conversation about your favorite team, your favorite quarterback, your favorite coach, your favorite defense? In what world?”
Acho perceives social media platforms causing people to feel numb to the ability to hear from proficient, adept individuals, something that makes The Facility unique. For the previous eight years, Skip Bayless provided his opinions in the debate format on Undisputed, sitting opposite former NFL tight end Shannon Sharpe for a majority of the time. Last September, the program introduced a new panel format featuring Keyshawn Johnson, Michael Irvin, Richard Sherman and a variety of other analysts and contributors. Bayless left FS1 this past August, and the network decided to retire the franchise and introduce a new offering in the timeslot.
In the last year, there was a maelstrom of discussion surrounding the difference in viewership between Undisputed on FS1 and First Take on ESPN. Bayless used to work with Stephen A. Smith on the program and departed the company in 2015 to join FOX Sports and start his own show in the same format. While the shows have aired simultaneously against one another in the last year, reports indicated that First Take finished ahead of Undisputed by a large margin, resulting in further illumination of the competition. Before The Facility launched, Acho posted a video to social media and made it clear that there is no competition.
“I actually view it as collaboration,” Acho said. “If First Take is challenging The Facility to be better, then we’re actually collaborating to improve the sports media landscape for the sake of the viewer, so while different thinking might say it’s competition, it’s actually collaboration if you reframe your mind.”
Ratings will play a factor in determining the success of this new enterprise, but there are also a variety of other factors expected to encompass its evaluation. Acho believes it is essential that everyone enjoys working together and that they are offering a product that appeals to the viewing audience.
“I heard once, ‘If you want to have marginal growth, get better, and if you want to have exponential growth, get different,’ and I wanted to help curate a show that’s different than anything you see on sports television,” Acho said. “I also listened to the fans, and the fans say they wanted less debate and more discussion.”
Making the adjustment from appearing in the afternoons to mornings has required a lifestyle alteration. Acho used to wake up at 7 a.m. every day, but he is now rising two hours earlier and is quickly en route to the studios. The program has a full production meeting at 6 a.m., and everyone stays attuned to the latest news and developments before taking the air an hour later.
Outside of hosting the FS1 morning program, Acho also appears on college football coverage as a studio analyst on Saturdays during the season. Before his four-year NFL career, Acho played for the Texas Longhorns and graduated the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in sports management. The award-winning linebacker closely follows the game of football and postulates his observations interspersed with live game broadcasts.
“I don’t have balance during football season,” Acho explained. “I work six days a week, and my off day is actually my hardest work day because that’s NFL Sunday, so I live an imbalanced life during the season. It is a labor of love, my NFL season. I would be hard pressed to find individuals that spend more time in the studio than I do, and I’d be hard pressed to find more individuals that work more than I do, but yeah, I’m in the studio six days a week during the NFL [season].”
As The Facility commences early episodes of the program with the start of the NFL season, Acho aspires to serve as inspiration for other programming within the dynamic, multiplatform sports media ecosystem. Acting as a warrior in a garden rather than a gardener in a war, he and his colleagues are planting the seeds to harvest a new era of sports television predicated on showcasing nuance and intricacies embedded behind the win-loss column and other peripheral metrics. In the end, he hopes this viable alternative to debate television becomes more commonplace and transfixed in the daily viewing habits of consumers.
“I want to see other shows follow this model,” Acho said. “Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, so when we see another show on TV called The Locker Room, or when we see another show on TV called Players Only or Athletes Only – imitation is the greatest form of flattery. So truly, it’s kind of like how a coach has a coaching tree. If this show can have a show tree, then I think we did our job best.”
