Earlier this month, Stephen A. Smith confirmed he pushed his debate partner Max Kellerman off of First Take, giving this rationale.
"Well the rumor is accurate in terms of me wanting him off the show. We don't have a bad relationship. I think he's a good guy. I appreciate what he did for the show. We were number one for five years. We stayed number one and I appreciate that. But what a lot of people don't realize is the amount of work that goes into the show every single day. And the reality is we have 15 segments a day. 75 segments a week. Over 3000 takes a year. In the nine years I've been on First Take I've given over 33,000 takes ... it's a chemistry that you have and sometimes it just stalls. The audience lets you know it is what it is and you need something fresh and you need to retool," Smith said.
While Smith's honesty was refreshing, the strategy behind his decision to get rid of Max is starting to look bad.
It's still early, but so far the ratings suggest Stephen A. and his revolving door of non-Kellerman co-hosts is one of the lowest-rated shows on ESPN.
Stephen A. said on radio he saw numbers that suggested @FirstTake's viewers wanted Max Kellerman off. The early ratings say otherwise.
— Bobby Burack (@burackbobby_) September 24, 2021
This week, First Take is losing to Get Up and NFL Live, in addition to PTI and ATH:
FT: 398k
Get Up: 408k
NFL Live: 413k
ATH: 469k
PTI: 652k
Do you think First Take will find its post-Kellerman stride, or did Stephen A. goof big time?