“Stephen A Smith needs Max Kellerman like Kyrie needed LeBron James!”: ESPN’s First Take’s ratings experience a disastrous drop after the sour departure of its former co-host

Tonoy Sengupta | 02/10/2021
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ESPN’s First Take reports a massive drop in ratings after Stephen A Smith had Max Kellerman taken off the show

 

Max Kellerman getting off First Take truly was the end of an era.

His role of the analyst that only believes in numbers, against the emotionally driven Stephen A Smith made for perhaps one of the greatest media duos in the history of sports journalism.

But alas, as all good things do, this partnership needed to come to an end… or at least, that is what Mr. Smith would have you believe.

When most fans had initially heard the rumor that Stephen A had made moves to kick Max off the show, many chose to give him the benefit of the doubt. But, when the current host of First Take confirmed it, let’s just say, it didn’t help the man’s image.

Today, the show has gone quite a few episodes without Max Kellerman on the panel. And saying that the show has suffered for it would be an understatement.

Let’s get into it.

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Ratings show just how badly First Take has suffered since Max Kellerman left Stephen A Smith as co-host of the show

As we said, Stephen A Smith and Max Kellerman formed the perfect talk show duo in the eyes of countless fans. So, losing that duo would obviously have some sort of impact on the show. However, combined with Smith’s recently altered image after the fiasco, just how much damage the show has gone through, is staggering.

Take a look at the tweet below.

Yep. It’s that bad.

Even the biggest detractors of the show would probably have had a hard time predicting the situation to be this bad. However, we must say it’s a bit justified as well.

Departing with a beloved figure in such a sour manner was never going to be pretty. And until the show can find a new way of doing things, whether it be how their or episodes are produced, or even how they treat their employees, we can’t see the ratings change anytime soon.

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Post Edited By: Tonoy Sengupta
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About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.

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