ESPN viewers were left disappointed after a late change to the normal weekday schedule.
First Take was shortened from its normal two-hour slot to just 60 minutes on Wednesday.
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Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim’s show runs every weekday at 10 a.m. ET on the Sports Network.
First Take has achieved very high ratings in recent months.
But on Wednesday the broadcast was interrupted as ESPN provided live coverage of the Men’s College World Series.
“It’s a beautiful day in New York City,” Molly told First Take viewers midway through the show.
“We’re only an hour in today, guys, so stick with us,” she added.
The change occurred due to a schedule change announced Tuesday night by the NCAA.
The Florida Gators’ elimination game with the Kentucky Wildcats was originally scheduled to be played on Tuesday afternoon.
The game was postponed due to bad weather and “severe thunderstorms” in Omaha, Nebraska, for SBNação.
Therefore, it was moved to the 11am ET slot on Wednesday.
“11am is crazy, I know it’s late, but damn, the whole world is working,” one Gators fan complained on X.
“We’re winning back-to-back games today. Bookmark this!” said another.
“Wait, why does it still say @FirstTake runs until 12pm??? Was it suddenly cut off???” asked another confused ESPN viewer.
Florida is the only unranked team left in the competition and its season comes down to an all-SEC matchup.
The Wildcats put Dominic Niman in the game while Pierce Coppola starts for Florida.
Despite the game being postponed, the rest of Wednesday’s schedule at Charles Schwab Field Omaha will proceed as planned.
First look at the numbers
First Take has grown from strength to strength under the guidance of Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim over the past year.
ESPN’s weekday debate show averaged 496,000 viewers in 2023 – making it the most-watched year in the program’s history.
Its December average of 611,000 represented a 24% annual increase compared to 2022.
The show has also recorded more than 250 million views on YouTube.
First Take was helped by the addition of Shannon Sharpe alongside Smith and Qerim after he left Fox Sports’ Undisputed.
Top-seeded Tennessee will face No. 8 Florida State at 3 p.m. ET, with the Volunteers knowing a win will advance them to the championship series on Saturday.
Texas A&M awaits the winner of the Kentucky-Florida game, with the contest beginning at 7 p.m. ET.
ESPN will air Game 1 of the championship series next weekend, with ABC airing Game 2 on Sunday.
If Game 3 is necessary on Monday, first pitch will be at 7pm ET on ESPN.
Despite the shorter-than-usual runtime, First Take covered a lot of ground in its 60-minute broadcast.
Smith, Qerim and Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo looked back on the life of Willie Mays, dedicating the first half of the program to the MLB legend.
The baseball icon died on Tuesday at age 93.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
