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Former NFL punter and popular sports personality Pat McAfee is set to join ESPN’s First Take alongside Stephen A. Smith, according to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports.
Starting immediately, Pat McAfee will become a regular presence on First Take appearing every Tuesday alongside Stephen A. Smith and host Molly Qerim.
The addition of McAfee to the show’s already formidable lineup, which includes Shannon Sharpe and others, is anticipated to have a positive impact on the show’s viewership.
First Take has been in a fierce ratings battle with FOX’s ‘Undisputed,’ hosted by Skip Bayless.
Notably, First Take has been consistently outperforming its rival in terms of ratings. This week, First Take saw a substantial surge in viewership as Stephen A. Smith squared off against Shannon Sharpe, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Tight End, marking Sharpe’s debut on the show.
According to Front Office Sports, the two-day average viewership for First Take with Sharpe witnessed a remarkable 237% increase compared to Undisputed during Sharpe and Smith’s face-off.
Sharpe’s debut episode garnered an impressive 754,000 viewers, indicating a 30% rise in viewership from the previous year. This episode now stands as the second-most-watched First Take episode of the year, trailing only behind the post-Super Bowl 57 episode that aired on February 13th.
With the dynamic addition of Pat McAfee and the recent boost in ratings due to the addition of Shannon Sharpe, First Take continues to solidify its position as a leading sports debate show on television.