Overseeing ESPN’s radio and TV lineup is a highly scrutinized job. For Dave Roberts, ESPN’s Senior Vice President of Production, the recipe for success features interesting topics, talent and diversity.
Speaking to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, Roberts discussed ESPN’s TV lineup, beginning with the success of Get Up. Mike Greenberg’s weekday morning TV show is the perfect example of needing to fine-tune content, while giving it time to grow.
“Get Up has had quite a turnaround thanks to the leadership of Mike Greenberg and his team and also the cast of characters who are on that program,” Roberts said as he referred to the morning television show as a “juggernaut.”
“The No. 1 priority for what makes that program are interesting topics, breaking news coverage equal to those interesting topics and a mix of diverse voices,” Roberts added. “You will see up to six or seven different people on that program from all backgrounds — male, female, Black, white — throughout the week.”
Another show that had a recent rebound under Roberts’ watch is the 6pm edition of SportsCenter. Following a ratings dip during the SC6 era with Jemele Hill and Michael Smith which lasted from 2017-2018, the show returned to its roots to better meet the expectations viewers have for the SportsCenter brand.
“I don’t want to be perceived as criticizing the people who were on the show prior to the change, because they both were very talented and brought a lot to the table. But our focus with this edition of SportsCenter is to fit those expectations that SportsCenter has, which is to cover the news, show the best and most compelling highlights of the day, put them in context and bring the best that we have in the area of storytelling,” Roberts told Front Office Sports.
One show that continues to perform well is First Take led by Stephen A. Smith. Even after losing Skip Bayless to FS1 in 2016, First Take hasn’t missed a beat with the addition of Max Kellerman and Molly Qerim, along with its move from ESPN2 to ESPN.
“First Take is just an interesting program to watch,” Roberts said. “It doesn’t shy away from topics that others might consider to be controversial. People like to watch and, frankly, people love to watch Steven A. whether they love him or hate him.”
As far as rumors of potentially reuniting Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless, Roberts chose not to speculate on the pending free agent when asked by McCarthy.
