Some of ESPN’s talent who spoke during the sports giant’s media day got their dander up around the subject of Fox Sports 1.
It’s no secret that ESPN’s studio shows trounce their counterparts at FS1 in the ratings. Still, ESPN’s talking heads at Wednesday’s event at company headquarters in Bristol, Conn. wanted to make the point that there never was a comparison.
Asked by the assembled media what led to ESPN winning the war with FS1, Stephen A. Smith said, “One of the biggest misnomers that was ever made is that there was competition in 10 o’clock, at 10 a.m. when Shannon Sharpe was with Skip Bayless (at FS1) for six and a half years (in the same time slot as Smith). We did over 1,600 shows against them, they came within half of our ratings, twice, two times. So this notion that suddenly we’ve won and competition has finally been defeated, and wow, it was such a long, arduous battle. Oh. It’s just not true.”
Sharpe is now Smith’s counterpart on First Take while Bayless recently walked out the door at FS1.
“There is, I think, sometimes a big frustration, at least here at this company…when sometimes you guys will write things and it’ll be, ‘Oh, FS1 is up 20%.’ I’m like, but put the numbers like…give them perspective, because if you go from 80,000 to 100,000. Right? That’s very different than just acting like we are losing some kind of grip,” added SportsCenter anchor Elle Duncan.
SportsCenter anchor and Monday Night Countdown host Scott Van Pelt joined the discussion.
“They put a billboard up in our neighborhood, basically said they were coming for us. So it’s like, all right,” he said.
“Never arrived,” Smith interjected.
“Waiting,” added Duncan.
“And y’all never said anything,” Smith said to media members in the audience.
“Waiting,” Duncan interjected once more.
“I mean, they were, they were, it never happened,” said Smith.
“There was going to be this competition, and then it was never, it’s basically been a blowout,” said Van Pelt. “They quit even doing anything at night, I mean, and it was you guys breathlessly reporting that SportsCenter ratings head to head with what they were doing at night. And then they quit doing night shows.”
Smith, the face of ESPN, described his goal as “annihilation” of his competitors. He even linked that approach to why he has an aggressive workout routine, which he assumed after a health scare. He said he lost 40 pounds, reduced his cholesterol level from over 300 to 175, and reduced body fat from 29.8 to 10.
“I’m in the best shape that I’ve been in since I was 30,” Smith, 56, said. “It’s because I intend to annihilate.
“Who am I going against? And whoever that is, knock on wood, and tomorrow, my objective is annihilation. Whoever goes up against me, I’m taking down. That’s what I’m trying to do every day.”
About Daniel Kaplan
Daniel Kaplan has been covering the business of sports for more than two decades. A proud founding reporter of SportsBusiness Journal, he spent the last four years at The Athletic.