If you thought First Things First was bumped to afternoons against their will by FS1’s addition of Craig Carton, Nick Wright is here to assure you that’s not the case.
After three weeks off, First Things First made its triumphant return to the FS1 lineup on Tuesday, and they did so with a new timeslot and look. Part of that new look for First Things First is having its full cast together in studio for the first time since the pre-pandemic days.
Not only did Wright move his FS1 show to afternoons willingly, but the veteran sports host is “thrilled” over the new 3pm EST start time for several reasons. And not to be ignored is a better sleep schedule.
“For 10 years in a row, I’ve had pre-5am wakeup calls,” the FS1 host said on his podcast What’s Wright? with Nick Wright. “That’s now gone. I have not been able to take my kids to school for a single day…I now can take them to school and because of the schedule, I get to pick them up from school, every day.”
Now that I can (finally) discuss the changes coming to @ftfonfs1 and our new lineup, here’s why moving to the afternoons (on the show’s 5-year anniversary!) means so much to me. pic.twitter.com/6sEMDcsIos
— nick wright (@getnickwright) August 31, 2022
While the move to afternoons might be better for Wright from a personal standpoint following years as a morning host dating back to his time doing radio in Houston, he also said the 3pm start time is an honor professionally.
“It means Colin Cowherd, who was once upon a time my professional idol, then became my professional mentor, and now has become one of my dearest friends in the world, he gets to hand it off to us every single day,” said Wright. “The honor and the privilege of being able to take the baton from Colin to keep the day on FS1 going is honestly unlike anything I have ever experienced in my career.”
Wright sounds excited about the move, but the reality is, FS1 could not have added Carton unless there was a morning opening. Carton has helped to rebuild WFAN’s afternoon show into a ratings powerhouse and he wasn’t going to give that up, even for a national TV show. While Wright might not consider Carton an idol like Cowherd, he did offer some words to ensure there’s no animosity regarding FS1’s new morning host.
“Craig Carton is as talented a broadcaster as exists in the nation on the sports side of things,” Wright said on his podcast. “He’s a Syracuse guy like I am, so I’m also partial to him. He also used to have me on his radio show so I go a long way back with Craig. I could not be happier that he is the one taking over mornings on FS1.”
Wright relaunched First Things First Tuesday afternoon with Chris Broussard and Kevin Wildes continuing as his co-hosts. The Carton Show was promoted by FS1 as having a rotating cast of co-hosts, but in its first week, Carton is joined by Geoff Schwartz and Cody Decker.