NEW YORK — It was a powerful TV moment that could have helped a new morning TV show put a stake in the ground. After Reuben Foster of the 49ers was charged with multiple felonies for allegedly beating up his girlfriend, Michelle Beadle of ESPN's new "Get Up" criticized GM John Lynch's position that the team should let the justice system play out before making a decision on the second-year linebacker. Instead, the 49ers should "do the right thing" and proactively dump Foster, said Beadle last month.
"Take a stand. Cut the kid," she declared.
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The problem? Foster's ex-girlfriend Elissa Ennis recanted her domestic violence claims, saying she lied to police when she claimed Foster dragged her by the hair and punched her in the head. Beadle hasn't corrected or apologized for her Foster comments, even as other journalists, such as Steve Berman of The Athletic, have apologized for not waiting until all the facts of the case came out. ESPN declined to comment Wednesday.
The unforced error over Foster encapsulates "Get Up's" bumpy debut. Since premiering April 3, the expensive new show has suffered from underwhelming ratings, poor critical reviews and work-in-progress chemistry between co-stars Beadle, Mike Greenberg and Jalen Rose. On the fly, it's also trying to figure out what kind of show it wants to be. Does it focus on news, highlights and the feel-good, inspirational sports moments Greenberg likes? Or go big on controversial takes from Beadle and Rose?
The result? The expensive "Get Up" is on a short leash, sources said. No, it won't be canceled this year. But if the show doesn't jell by the Sep. 6 kickoff of the NFL season, look for changes in front of and behind the camera, sources said.
Football season is when sports talks shows make their money. "Get Up" show-runners might add a fourth football expert alongside Beadle and Rose, who also co-star on "NBA Countdown." Possible candidates include ESPN football analysts Ryan Clark, Booger McFarland and Damien Woody.
As ESPN's executive vice president of content, Connor Schell serves as the network's top programming czar. Schell won't say whether ESPN is planning major changes to "Get Up." But that wouldn't be unusual for a new show still finding its way.
"This is a work in progress. That’s what any new show is. It’s not the same as Day 1. In fact, in many cases on a daily show, your first show is the worst one. Then you go, ‘OK, this felt comfortable, we’re going to do this, we’re going to move a little faster here, this segment worked,'" Schell said. "That’s a process that we want to give time to and let some smart talented people think about it and iterate it. I don’t mean for that to sound like a canned answer. It’s true. It’s what we said going in."
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Schell confirmed sports talk shows like "Get Up" make their money during football season, which is why, Ideally, he wants "Get Up" to find its mojo by the fall.
"That’s when the most people will be watching. We'd like to have an even better product on the air than we do now," he said. "But we believe in who’s there, and what we’re doing, and the production team. We feel really good about the progress."
Chuck plays too much. 😂 pic.twitter.com/NthtAao2LH
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 24, 2018
Jimmy Pitaro, ESPN's new president, is watching closely. During a news conference after ESPN's May 15 presentation to advertisers, Pitaro said the ESPN brass in Bristol, Conn., are tracking "Get Up's" progress "every single day."
Said Pitaro: "We've already made changes to the program. And ratings are up double-digits from when we actually launched. ... So we’re feeling very good about the progress."
ESPN management is studying the show's pace, Pitaro said, especially during the first 10-15 minutes when the show has to grab, and keep, viewers in a crowded TV market that includes FS1's "First Things First" as well NBC's "Today," "CBS This Morning" and sister Disney network's "Good Morning America."
"We're working very closely with the team. Connor is working very closely with the producers, trying to identify what’s working and what’s not," Pitaro said. "Looking at the data in real time — and making changes. We’re very much behind this show. We believe in it."
The debut episode of ESPN's morning show "Get Up!" averaged 283,000 viewers yesterday. That's down -12% from ESPN's 7-10am time period average on Mondays last April.
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) April 3, 2018
It's been a rocky road so far for "Get Up." The new show was given the primo 7 to 10 a.m. ET morning slot on the flagship ESPN channel, bumping "SportsCenter AM" to ESPN2 and Mike Golic, Greenberg's old partner, to ESPNEWS with "Golic and Wingo." Internally some ESPN insiders referred to the cast as "The Avengers" — an All-Star group designed to win back lost morning viewers. Then the problems began.
"Get Up" was supposed to launch Jan. 1, 2018, during the heart of NFL season. But production delays and cost overruns at ESPN's South Street Seaport Studio in Manhattan pushed the premiere back four months to April 2, a dead period in sports after the end of the NFL/college football seasons and before the start of the NBA and NHL playoffs.
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A preview story about "Get Up" in The Hollywood Reporter revealed Greenberg, Beadle and Rose were making a combined annual salary of $14.5 million ($6.5 million for Greenberg; $5 million for Beadle; and $3 million for Rose).
That went over like a lead balloon on the ESPN campus in Bristol, where hundreds of anchors, analysts, reporters and producers have been laid off in recent years. Some talents feel "left behind" in boring old Bristol, while the casts and production teams working for "Get Up" and other shows get to work and play in the Big Apple. Both "First Take" with Stephen A. Smith, Max Kellerman and Molly Qerim, and "High Noon" with Bomani Jones and Pablo Torre are expected to be produced in New York.
A THR headline describing "Get Up" as "woke" politically also frustrated Greenberg, who declared the show would be all sports, period.
"I believe that when a person turns on ESPN, that person has a right to expect that we're going to be talking about sports, so what people will see when we debut on Monday, and every single day thereafter, is that we are a sports show first, last and always," Greenberg told SN in an interview.
To make matter worse, "Get Up" initially tanked in the TV ratings, losing audience from the less expensive "SportsCenter AM." During its first month on the air, "Get Up's" audience fell 18 percent vs. "SportsCenter AM'" during the same period last year, according to Ryan Glasspiegel of The Big Lead. Even the debut episode, which should have drawn curious viewers, was down 12 percent vs. a regular "SportsCenter AM" episode the year before, tweeted John Ourand of SportsBusiness Daily.
Critical reviews have been mixed too. Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated tweeted that he watched "Get Up" for less than 15 minutes before switching the channel to NFL Network's "Good Morning Football."
I sampled “Get Up” on ESPN. I lasted 14 minutes. Putting 4 faces on the screen and having the 4 hosts talk over each other during highlights was not for me. Back to the NFL Network and “Good Morning Football” - the best morning sports show on TV. pic.twitter.com/Ywjp3e6yLD
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) April 2, 2018
Given the disappointing audience numbers, Awful Announcing suggested that ESPN reunite Greenberg and Golic for "Mike and Mike in the Morning 2.0" on ESPN, then shift a Greenberg-less "Get Up" over to ESPN2.
Wrote AA: "ESPN’s AM situation is not in a better place than it was a year ago at this time. Get Up is struggling, Golic & Wingo is relegated to ESPNEWS on a regular basis, and ESPN is cannibalizing its own audience. If you were a fan of Mike & Mike, are you going to watch Get Up or Golic & Wingo? The fact that Mike & Mike are now competing against each other for the same viewers is only making the problem worse."
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Then there's the chemistry between Greenberg, Beadle and Rose.
Beadle and Rose have worked together for years on "NBA Countdown" and other shows. But Greenberg and Beadle had never worked together before "Get Up." The show sometimes feel like Beadle and Rose are talking to each other, with Greenberg relegated to referee duties.
Take the debate on May 2 about Charles Barkley of TNT saying he wanted to punch Draymond Green of the Warriors in the face. Beadle and Rose went at it like an "NBA Countdown" segment. It was fun TV. But Greenberg was left out of it. He raised his finger as if to make a point. By the time he had an opening, it was time for commercial break.
"The beauty of 'Mike & Mike' is they bickered and bantered like an old married couple. It was funny and familiar to audiences. You don't have that on Get Up," said another source.
This whole Charles Barkley wanting to punch Draymond in the face thing is a bit too far for @JalenRose. pic.twitter.com/f3TYJKa8UE
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 2, 2018
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So what could the changes look like if things don't improve?
ESPN has a history of tinkering with the cast and producers rather than dumping a show outright. "First Take," remember, started off as "Cold Pizza." Stephen A. Smith was just another guest, not the star of the show, which initially featured Skip Bayless, Jay Crawford and Dana Jacobson.
Ditto for Jemele Hill and Michael Smith's old "His & Hers" on ESPN2. That show actually started out as "Numbers Never Lie" with Charissa Thompson before morphing into a new show with a new cast. Jones' and Torre's new "High Noon" will fill that noon to 1 p.m. ET time slot starting June 4.
"You don't change the team. You change the players and coaches. That's what would happen with 'Get Up,'" said a source.
Stay tuned.
