ESPN’s Get Up posted record viewership in 2024, good news in an era when sports TV ratings are trending down. Host Mike Greenberg thinks there’s a reason the show continues to build an audience, and it has to do with bringing “joy” to viewers who are seeking an escape.
According to Front Office Sports, Get Up averaged a record 387,000 viewers in 2024, up 2.4% over the previous year and 27% since its 2018 debut. Greenberg shared his thoughts on those ratings with FOS’ Michael McCarthy, who pointed out that the show seems to have taken a lighter, more humorous tone over time, which might be appealing to more viewers.
“The operative word that we have been going for since the very beginning, literally since the inception of the show, is joy. The joy of sports,” Greenberg said. “The coverage, in my opinion, is sometimes so serious. And there are certainly instances where serious coverage of certain stories is warranted and appropriate. But by and large, people view sports as their escape.
“They view sports as their ability to remove themselves from the serious and important and frightening and anxiety-ridden elements of their lives, whatever they may be. I think it is our job to provide them that. Those have been my mantras from the day we started this thing. We are going to lean in to the joy of sports. The reason people are watching these games in the first place is to be made happy. To enjoy them, to be excited, to invest so much of themselves emotionally into these games that don’t actually have any meaning in their lives — but somehow still mean everything.”
Greenberg told McCarthy that the rotating cast of analysts, including Rex Ryan, Domonique Foxworth, Dan Orlovsky and Monica McNutt, deserve much of the credit for the show’s success. A chemistry has developed on the set, and that’s led to some very fun moments. When the New York Jets lost their season opener to the San Francisco 49ers, the cast pranked Greenberg, who is a huge Jets fan. They replaced a framed Aaron Rodgers jersey in the studio with a jersey from 49ers QB Brock Purdy. Greenberg’s reaction was priceless.
Greeny: “When the hell did this just happen? Who replaced the Aaron Rodgers jersey with a Brock Purdy jersey?”
Domonique Foxworth: “I mean, Purdy replaced it, that’s who replaced it. Kyle Shanahan replaced it, that’s who replaced it.”pic.twitter.com/Z8XJRSiWGS
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 10, 2024
To Greenberg’s point, lighter moments like that can be a welcome break from more serious discussions that can be found on many other TV and radio shows.
“We try very hard to lean into that. And lean as far away as we can from the more serious stuff,” Greenberg told McCarthy. “I just don’t feel like it’s what people want to wake up to. There’s plenty of space for that, and there’s plenty of places on ESPN where that stuff is being covered really well, but I always say to our audience, if we start your day with a smile, then we have accomplished our goal.”
