I’m going to go over something that I spend a lot of time on – Sports. Specifically, listening/watching sports talk. I primarily watch Fox Sports based programs as they have invested in more engaging (and overall better) sports commentators. Especially when it comes to American football. The shows I’m going to talk about air on FS1 currently. And sweet lord I hope they make adjustments.
I’ll also preface that I literally watch all these shows EVERYDAY – I work from home and have a TV going in the background as I work. The voices are always in my head 🙂 I’ll start in air order.
The Carton Show (6:30 AM – 9:00 AM PST) – 2/10
Craig Carton has an interesting past – most notably (and likely how he got this show) his successful radio show on WFAN (based in NY). Fox likely brough
His takes, are…stupid. Watch/listen to his takes on Shoehei Ohtani? Honestly, any of his baseball commentary. Basketball. Even American Football to an extent. He typically does not really discuss other sports – though that makes a little sense as outside of soccer, they do not garner a majority appeal. Or the moment he non-stop talks about the Jets. He also just makes sh*t up. Which is annoying for any of his co-hosts as these days it’s easy to get in trouble for misquotes in the media.
He does have Tim Hardaway and Cody Decker as the pseudo-cohosts? Talking heads? The 4th member is a rotating cast of other former professional athletes. Either way, at least they (Tim, Cody, and the additional host) TRY to keep Carton in check. What’s insane is that Carton’s bias and block-headedness stops him from hear or believing his counterparts.
Also, it’s annoying that these hosts are biased to such a degree – I understand that as a sports host – you’re a fan – you’ll like some teams/players. But to just non-stop talk about 1-2 teams in every show – get’s old fast.
The counterparts/other hosts, Tim Hardaway Sr. and Cody Decker are fine. Tim doesn’t always have a great vocabulary, and has a tendency to be more nostalgic vs. realistic, he’s overall fine. Just a kind “normal” voice at the table (albeit a hall of fame Champion from the NBA). Cody Decker (former MLB player) is great – would love for him to have more time to talk about baseball (his specialty) as at least he’s got good takes. Really nice and energetic.
Carton’s got two things going for him – charisma and his built in (rapidly shrinking) former radio audience from NY.
The Carton show does not rank in the top 20 shows airing on FS1. The show averaged less than 60000 viewers (anywhere between 14k-20k pending the day) in 2023. While that is an improvement from the abysmal 2022 start – it’s overall pretty telling to just how poorly this show is being viewed.
https://ustvdb.com/networks/fs1/shows/carton/
Undisputed (Skip Bayless + ??) – 6.5/10
Since I started writing this story – this show has been under some drastic change. Shannon Sharpe is no longer part of Skip and Shannon; Undisputed. Now it’s back to Undisputed.
I don’t blame Shannon. While Skip helped amplify Shannon’s career – it came at a great cost. The cost? Dealing with an irate, pig-headed, and egotistical (aka extremely boomer energy – unwilling to change or admit wrong) person by the name of Skip Bayless.
Skip migrated over from ESPN to Fox in 2016 with a great poach move from Fox Sports executives. Since then, Undisputed has been one of the top FS1 shows garnering an average audience of 130,000. That’s a pretty great number for a sports talk show.
Skip has a long history as a sports journalist and analyst – over 50 years. He’s been a journalist since 1974 – he’s seen a lot. He’s got a lot of context and a lot of experience. That doesn’t stop him from making some real stupid comments and takes. Nor does it stop him from being unwilling to change his mind given new data. He has yet to show respect to Lebron James in the NBA. He consistently angers his staff and fans/athletes with his shitty comments/takes (see D Hamlin tweet by Skip).
Now the show itself is nothing new. A debate show about sports. Nothing special in the type of show – however – Skip does provide a certain level of experience (50+ years). He also is surprisingly “hip” at times. Otherwise nothing special with Skip.
Now his former cohost – Shannon Sharpe, is outstanding. Charisma out the wazoo. Intelligent. Direct experience as a hall of fame tight end in the NFL. Well connected. And overall, a joy to watch and listen to. I truly will miss him (he does have a podcast – Club ShayShay).
Overall – this show is typically the most popular FS1 Sports Talk Show garnering 173,000 viewership.
Colin Cowherd Show (9a-12p PST) – 5/10
Colin’s pretty great overall. While he does have a bit of a big head – his takes are generally on point. Though I would not go to him for gambling advice (he’s not bad – above 50% usually). He adjusts his perspective on current data – not historical. He changes his mind if the circumstances change. In general, he’s a great analyst/sports talk show host. He absolutely makes great points that any fan of sports should listen t. See his discussion (and book) on the analytics behind great QBs and the colleges they attend as an example.
The show started with a variety of cohosts that were just reading off the prompter – not great. Later, Joy Taylor took over as the “co-host.” It took a couple years of reading news, but she finally found her voice and interjected opinions from time to time. Joy’s an absolute joy to watch. Really smart takes and a great counterpart to Colin. Only wish she had more opportunities to talk when she was on. Joy left to truly co-host SPEAK with Emmanuel Acho in 2021. Can’t blame her for taking the next step in her career. ALSO – big shout out to her for when she took over on days that Colin was not in – she would have her co-hosts and guests be all female and bring their perspectives/stories in. Really was a wonderful idea and concept to bring in to a male dominated media/medium.
Since she left, a new “co-host”/reader- Jason Mcintyre. Jesus f*ck is he terrible. He brags ALL THE TIME for no reason – and absolutely without prompting. He interrupts Colin with stupid takes. He doesn’t get half the jokes. He tries to be cool? I guess? I honestly can’t understand his perspective or behavior half the time on the show. OH, and what’s extra grating – he thinks he can be a professional athlete, or at least, compete on that level. Based on his consistent plugs/brags – I have to assume it’s because he won a flag football trophy? Or is in a basketball sports league club? Or tennis? The dude just can’t stop bragging about himself over/on nothing. It’s hard to be unbiased (though I may sound biased) on this guy. Ironically, the areas he has been successful in – he sold his website for 7 figures, bought into a futbol club in Mexico, has a wonderful wife/kids, and has transitioned from being a sports writer to on air talent. Really majorly successful. Just is beyond an arrogant person with little reason to be arrogant for THOSE reasons. He should be confident in his sports takes, gambling advice, web based advice/takes, etc. Not his own “prowess” playing club sports. Also, again, it’s the Colin Cowherd show – don’t interrupt. Let Colin finish, then you reply. JFC.
The show is nothing special. Primarily Colin just talking about sports that he typically likes. At least, in comparison to Carton (and Undisputed to an extent) he has a wider barometer of sports that he enjoys/discusses. But overall it’s NFL, NBA, NCAA, Soccer/futbol, baseball, golf, and a wide variety of sports that have major storylines. Hockey is not usually something that is discussed on the show – though that’s for a pretty good reason (another post for another time).
The Cowherd show garners an average audience of 123,000 viewers. Typically the 2nd most viewed show on FS1.
First Things First (12p-1:30p PST) – 9/10
This show started as “First Things First” with Nick Wright and co-hosts. The show started with the great NFL Hall of Famer Chris Carter, then Jenna Wolfe with Brandon Marshall, before revamping and adding Chris Broussard and Kevin Wilde. Wow – what a breath of fresh air.
Nick Wright has fiery great takes about 75% of the time – he’s absolutely on top of his game. Fun, charismatic, funny, and overall intelligent. Really great sports talk show host.
Chris Broussard is another funny, smart, and charismatic sports analyst/host. He primarily focuses on NBA/NCAAM as his background comes from that area.
Now, the real treat, is Kevin Wilde. The man is hilarious and is absolutely a treat to watch. While Nick and Chris are fun/funny with each other, it’s a whole new level with Kevin. These hosts can’t help themselves EVERY episode with constant laughter at each other’s takes/jokes/commentary. It really if an enjoyable show.
The show is a blast – 3 hosts cracking jokes and talking about sports with random “bits” interjected (i,e, Kevin Wildes bringing a live Reindeer on set for the Milwaukee Bucks, or Nick Wright bringing in a live brass band to hale the “prince that was promised”). While not a new show concept – a really fun take on the “normal” sports talk show.
What an outstanding new show to add – I wish it was longer. I’d remove an hour from Carton and add it to First Things First easily.
First Things First has been a smash hit. Quickly gaining the 2nd largest audience outpacing Cowherd to take the #1-2 spot for FS1 Sports (number one without Undisputed) with 125,000 viewers.
Speak (1:30p-3p PST) – 8/10
Now Speak used to be my favorite show when it was “Speak for Yourself” starring Marcellus Wiley and Emmanuel Acho (both former NFL players). It was definitely the best sports talk show on FS1 at the time (in my opinion) – though Undisputed/Colin shows received better ratings. The reason I felt so strongly on how great this show was due to just the combination of intelligent takes and the dual cast of former black NFL players (it was the only all minority hosted show on FS1 at the time). They covered a wide variety of topics and seldom held back from any issue discussed (racial issues, ownership, different sports, etc). It was also fun to hear them nerd our on a variety of off/on topics – including their time doing track and field.
Now, since 2022 Marcellus Wiley has not been on the show due to a contract dispute. I hope Fox brings him back in the future (maybe in an earlier or later block). Since then, Emmy award winning Emmanuel Acho has taken over the show with co-hosts Joy Taylor and the Philly legend – Shady McCoy. There’s also a cavalcade of 4th hosts/guest hosts. Dave Helman WAS on the show for a while and provided great takes – but I have a feeling he and Shady did not get along.
Joy Taylor finally gets a bit more of a voice – though it has been drowned out a bit due to having to provide the other hosts time to speak their part. Unfortunate, but that’s what happens with 3 other hosts in a 1.5hr block.
Shady…is fun? He seldom has great takes, but makes up for it with enthusiasm. He does provide some great insight and stories of the NFL – so that’s a big bonus.
Emmanuel Acho is overall really great. Super intelligent, great takes USUALLY (see bad takes on Justin Herbet – “Social Media Quarterback”), well dressed, and very charismatic. Given his communication skills and style, not to mention intelligence, I absolutely understand both why he has his own show(s) and 2 Emmys.
While I enjoy Speak, it is currently the 3rd (or 4th when Undisputed is on) most popular show at an average viewership of 78,000.
Data Points
Top FS1 Shows
| Rank | Program | Audience | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NASCAR Xfinity Series | 814,000 | -1% |
| 2 | NASCAR RaceDay | 426,000 | -45% |
| 3 | NASCAR RaceDay: Xfinity | 402,000 | +181% |
| 4 | MLB Regular Season | 390,000 | +220% |
| 5 | NASCAR Xfinity Qualifying | 356,000 | -6% |
| 6 | America’s Day at Belmont | 306,000 | |
| 7 | NHRA Qualifying | 262,000 | +91% |
| 8 | NHRA | 248,000 | +10% |
| 9 | Undisputed | 173,000 | +21% |
| 10 | NASCAR Xfinity Practice | 144,000 | -57% |
| 11 | NASCAR Race Hub | 134,000 | +4% |
| 12 | First Things First | 130,000 | +23% |
| 12 | Herd with Colin Cowherd | 130,000 | +18% |
| 14 | UEFA Nations League | 128,000 | -23% |
| 15 | Dirt: The Last Great American Sport | 126,000 | +59% |
| 16 | MLB Regular Season Post | 123,000 | -8% |
| 17 | America’s Day at the Races | 100,000 | -27% |
| 18 | Major League Soccer | 82,000 | -8% |
| 19 | Speak | 78,000 | -13% |
Impartial Reviews 