ESPN's FIRST TAKE Averages Over 500,000 Viewers for Live Shows

FIRST TAKE, ESPN's lively weekday morning debate show featuring Stephen A. Smith, Max Kellerman and host Molly Qerim, is averaging 515,000 viewers per live episode since its move to ESPN (Jan. 3 - 27). Since moving to ESPN on January 3, the two-hour program has seen a 14% increase in viewership compared to the same time period in 2016 when the show was on ESPN2. The re-air of FIRST TAKE on ESPN2 draws an average of 179,000 viewers.

In addition, significantly more young men are watching live episodes of First Take, which airs from 10 a.m. - noon ET Monday through Friday, since the move to ESPN. The Men 18-34 demo has increased 41 percent to 134,000 average impressions, while Men 18-49 viewership has also grown double digits - up 12%.

The FIRST TAKE team will travel to Houston for live shows Wednesday, Feb. 1, through Friday, Feb. 3. Kellerman, Qerim and Smith will be live from Lucky's Pub Downtown each day. The show will be open to the public and free of charge with doors opening for seating at 7:30 a.m. local CT time. A variety of guests will join the show, including Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. The current schedule:

Date	Guests
Wed, Feb 1	Deion Sanders NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback
	Dan Marino NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback
	Brandon Marshall New York Jets wide receiver
	Terry Crews Actor and former defensive end and linebacker
Thu, Feb 2	Marshall Faulk NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame running back
	Antonio Brown Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver
	Barry Sanders NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame running back
	AJ Green Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver
Fri, Feb 3	Larry Fitzgerald Arizona Cardinals wide receiver
	Tyrann Mathieu Arizona Cardinals cornerback

Image courtesy of ESPN