ESPN said The Pat McAfee Show will join the network’s daytime lineup starting September 7.
The show will be part of a six-hour personality-led block of sports punditry that will start with Mike Greenberg and Get Up at 8 a.m. ET and Stephen A. Smith’s First Take at 10 a.m. ET.
ESPN signed McAfee to a big-money contract at a time when it was shedding highly paid on-air announcers and analysts who have been with the network for years.
The first two hours of The Pat McAfee Show will be simulcast from noon to 2 p.m. on ESPN, ESPN on YouTube and ESPN Plus. The final hour of the show will appear on ESPN on YouTube and ESPN Plus. The arrangement with YouTube was a key to McAfee bringing the show to ESPN.
McAfee, a former NFL punter whose show grew in popularity on YouTube, will also continue in his role as a college football analyst on ESPN’s College Football GameDay. He will also host alternate presentations of ESPN college football telecasts.
Most episodes of The Pat McAfee Show will originate from the host’s “ThunderDome” headquarters in Indianapolis. On some Fridays, the show will be hosted from College GameDay sites.
The show features a crew that includes former NFL linebacker and co-host A.J. Hawk, Evan Fox, Zito Perez, Connor Campbell, Ty Schmit, Tone Digs, Frank Maraldo, Phil Mains, Casey Tok, Matt Brahn, Michael Girdy, AQ Shipley, Bailey McComas, Mitt McMahon, Coach Chuck Pagano, Aaron Rodgers, Darius Butler and Adam Jones.
“We can’t wait for Pat and his team to bring a fresh new energy to ESPN’s weekday lineup, led by some of the most prominent, creative and authentic voices in sports,” Burke Magnus, president of content at ESPN, said. “The Pat McAfee Show will redefine what success looks like across multiple ESPN platforms and will bring a new, contemporary audience to our afternoon time block. It’s a perfect fit.”
