Since the departure of Skip Bayless the numbers for First Take have decreased.
The easiest way to get those numbers back up is to simply move First Take from ESPN 2 to ESPN, so that is what they are planning to do at the beginning of the year.
First Take, ESPN’s lively weekday morning studio debate show featuring Stephen A. Smith, Max Kellerman and host Molly Qerim, will move to ESPN at 10 a.m. ET beginning Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017. The live two-hour program will continue to focus on the most compelling and entertaining topics of the day from the world of sports.
The two hours of SportsCenter currently airing on ESPN from 10 a.m. – noon will move to ESPN2, also on January 3. SportsCenter Face to Face, an interview-based program hosted by Hannah Storm, will air from 10 – 11 a.m.
The two-hour SportsCenter Coast to Coast, hosted by David Lloyd in Bristol and Cari Champion in Los Angeles, will air from 11 a.m. – noon on ESPN2. The second hour of SportsCenter Coast to Coast will remain on ESPN.
Stephen A. Smith is one of ESPN’s flagship personalities, so it makes sense to get him on the main channel because there are only so many Sportscenters you can have in a day.
Look for the ESPN 2 slot to be filled by programming similar to Jemele Hill & Michael Smith’s “His and Hers”. Hill and Smith will be leaving that show to do the 6pm Sportscenter in February.