ESPN announced this week that they were finally rebranding Numbers Never Lie as “His & Hers” beginning November 3rd. The “His & Hers” name comes from the title of the podcast of co-hosts Michael Smith and Jemele Hill. Smith and Hill have brought stability and ratings success to Numbers Never Lie as ESPN2 continues to be the channel for Bristol’s personality-driven program. The pair have channeled the chemistry of some of ESPN’s other notable duos and have managed to organically build a multi-platform presence.
The change from Numbers Never Lie to His & Hers for the Smith/Hill television offering is the most overdue rebrand in sports television. So as it’s mercifully put down next Monday, spare a thought for what Numbers Never Lie was supposed to be.
When ESPN launched Numbers Never Lie in 2011, it was supposed to be something different. A show that moved beyond the tired debate format that has polluted and populated sports television in the last five years and into the analytical sphere. A show that actually focused on facts and statistics to back up arguments instead of making the loudest noises to back up arguments. A show where the number crunchers and fantasy experts got equal time with the former players.
Before it launched, ESPN was glowing about the potential about giving analytical discussion a daily national platform:
“Numbers Never* Lie was developed for the fan craving statistics, whether it is the traditional box score or in-depth fantasy analysis,” said Marcia Keegan, ESPN vice president, production. “Like all sports fans, we actively engage in lively, stat-driven sports discussion around the water cooler. This show will capture some of the most debated topics.”
We had hopes that Numbers Never Lie would be smarter sports television.
Those hopes didn’t last for long.
ESPN moved quickly to completely revamp the show, dumping the likes of Matthew Berry and Aaron Schatz. Original co-host Charissa Thompson left NNL for SportsNation and was replaced by Jalen Rose and Hugh Douglas. The show abandoned its original intent of stats-based discussion, only using empty numbers in name only as a launching point for the same old tired debate format. And when it did dive into statistics, the results were less than optimal. Even as far back as October 2012, a full two years ago, co-host Michael Smith admitted the “Numbers Never Lie” name gave viewers a false impression:
“Numbers Never Lie was initially conceived and dubbed as the fantasy show,” Smith said. “It now is a debate show, like most other shows on ESPN. … I hate to say it’s not about analytics, but it’s not about analytics.” Smith admitted the title’s a little deceiving given the show’s current format. “The show Numbers Never Lie does give kind of a false impression,” he said. “Numbers are the flavour of the show, but not the focus of the show.”
Perhaps the most notable incident from the Numbers Never Lie era is when co-hosts Michael Smith and Hugh Douglas got into a public altercation that resulted in Douglas’ firing from the network in August 2013. Hill had replaced Rose as a permanent co-host with Smith and Douglas a few months earlier. After Douglas’ dismissal, the show was able to finally find solid footing, even though the statistical focus had long been forgotten.
So as we reflect on the lifespan of Numbers Never Lie, we do so with some semblance of regret. Numbers Never Lie could have been a gamechanger in the sports world and moved us into a more progressive, informed arena of talking about sports. Instead, once ratings began to dip, ESPN abandoned the concept entirely. Numbers Never Lie became just another debate show in a world with way too many debate shows. Now we’re left to wonder if another network will even attempt to take that kind of step forward and try something new and different once again.
Comments are closed.