First Take (TV series)

First Take
Format	Sports, Debate, Talk
Starring	Skip Bayless Stephen A. Smith
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
Production
Running time	2 hours
Broadcast
Original channel	ESPN2 (2007-) ESPN2HD (2007-present)
Original run	May 7, 2007 – present
Chronology
Preceded by	Cold Pizza
External links
Website

First Take is an American morning sports talk program on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. Two back-to-back two-hour episodes air each weekday from Monday through Friday, with the live episode airing from 10 a.m. ET until noon, followed by a repeat.

The show is broadcast from ESPN's headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut in Studio E.

The entire show, without commercials, is available as an audio-only podcast the afternoon of the same day, following the broadcast of the recorded show.

Format

Analysts and long-time sports reporters Skip Bayless and Parker And Aleck Stephen A. Smith (along with guests) are featured, providing roundtable and often adversarial daily debate on current sports topics of interest to the United States audience.

Debate mainly focuses on the NFL, NBA, NCAA football, and baseball. Golf and boxing have also been discussed during times of major events in those sports. Ice hockey and other sports are very infrequent topics on the show but are still discussed when major events are taking place.

Cast

Skip Bayless (left), Dana Jacobson (center), and guest Jay Feely (right) at an outdoor broadcast of the show at Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2010

• Skip Bayless: (2007–present)
• Stephen A. Smith: (2012–present)

Host (full-time)

• Cari Champion: (2012–present)
• Jay Crawford: (2007-12)
• Dana Jacobson: (2007-11)

Frequent guest analysts

• Herm Edwards: NFL analyst
• Matt Light: NFL analyst
• Marcellus Wiley: NFL analyst
• Lomas Brown: NFL analyst
• Christian Fauria: College football analyst
• Danny Kanell: College football analyst
• Robert Smith: College football analyst
• Jesse Palmer: College football analyst
• Chris Broussard: Basketball analyst
• Tim Legler: Basketball analyst

Former analysts/guest hosts

• Rob Parker: Analyst/Guest Host (suspended from ESPN on December 20, 2012; did not return to network)^[1]

History

The show was originally hosted and moderated by Jay Crawford and Dana Jacobson, formerly of the show's predecessor Cold Pizza.

In August 2011, the show underwent a drastic format change. The former 1st and 10 segments were removed, Bayless' contribution to the show was greatly increased, and the show gained an increased focus on debate throughout the show. The ratings for the show have shown a drastic increase as a result, with a reported 58% increase for the first 3 months of 2012, compared to the same time in 2011.

On April 30, 2012, it was announced on-air that regular guest contributor Stephen A. Smith would be joining First Take on a permanent, five-day per week basis. On occasions he is reporting elsewhere; Rob Parker was frequently featured as his replacement until December 20, 2012, when he was suspended for comments made about Robert Griffin III;^[2][1] he would not return, as ESPN allowed his contract to expire, rather than re-sign him.^[3]

In June 2012, long-time host Crawford announced he would be leaving First Take in order to present Sportscenter.^[4]

On July 23, 2012, the show debuted a new set, a new opening song (Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's "It Takes Two"),. It now features an open slide showing *Skip Bayless: and *Stephen A. Smith: arriving at campus. They are still in Studio E but they are in the middle of it, with a new desk.

In line with these changes, First Take introduced on October 1, 2012 a new permanent moderator, Cari Champion, a reporter from the Tennis Channel.^[5]

Previously, the show had a rotation of moderators, such as Todd Grisham, Don Bell, Cindy Brunson, Jemele Hill.

Controversy

Through the show's success, it has also experienced substantial controversy and faced increasing criticism, mostly concerning perceived sensationalism.

Among claims have been that First Take has used hot button racial issues to create inflammatory debates and increase ratings. Most notably, during a discussion regarding Washington Redskins Quarterback Robert Griffin III, frequent guest Rob Parker asked whether Griffin III was a "brother" or a "cornball brother." When pressed by host Cari Champion as to what that meant, Parker mentioned that Griffin III had a white fiance and mentioned claims that Griffin III was a Republican. ^[6] In response, Bayless asked whether Griffin III's braids did anything to assuage Parker's concerns.^[7]

The show has been criticized for what is perceived by many as its excessive coverage of the career of Tim Tebow. During his tenure with the Jets, in which he did not start in a game, Tebow was nonetheless often a leading topic.^[8]

As Miami Heat forward Lebron James began a series of playoff appearances with the Cleveland Cavaliers, host Skip Bayless became well known for his belief that James had been overrated by the media and not received enough criticism for his team's playoff failures.^[9] Bayless has himself been criticized by fans as well as members of the media for exaggerating James' failures and diminishing his successes.^[10] In an exchange with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Cuban argued that Bayless had reduced his analysis of the 2011 and 2012 NBA finals series to subjective and limited assessments of player psyche, and had not even considered the offensive and defensive strategies used by the teams in each series.^[11]

References

External links

• Official website
• First Take at the Internet Movie Database