ESPN was dealt two duds in the conference championships; one courtesy of the New York Knicks sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the other courtesy of the Vegas Golden Knights sweeping the Colorado Avalanche.
It was a nightmare scenario for the network, which typically banks on series length averaging out to about 5.5 games in a best-of-seven format. With the NBA and NHL series combined, ESPN fell three games under expectations during this year’s conference championship round. And while that’s certainly a challenge for the network’s ad sales team, who are now tasked with arranging make-goods for advertisers expecting the larger audiences and added inventory a deeper series provides, it’s also a challenge for ESPN’s programming department, which had to figure out what to air in primetime for several nights where it could’ve reasonably expected to broadcast some games.
Enter The Pat McAfee Show.
On Wednesday night, McAfee and his crew produced two hours of original primetime programming for the Worldwide Leader at the television equivalent of a drop of the hat. McAfee had one day to book six conference commissioners — Adam Silver (NBA), Rob Manfred (MLB), Gary Bettman (NHL), Cathy Engelbert (WNBA), Don Garber (MLS), and Dana White (UFC) — and conduct interviews with each that would become the backbone of his special episode.
The primetime edition of McAfee won’t be winning any Pulitzers. The interviews were the standard McAfee fare that make the most powerful people in sports so eager to enter the Thunderdome with regularity. That is, McAfee gave the commissioners the usual latitude to list their talking points without much pushback. Combine that with his huge following, and the platform is catnip for those wanting some favorable publicity.
That’s, in part, the power of McAfee. But perhaps the more underrated aspect of the show is its nimbleness.
See, had ESPN faced two 4-0 sweeps that created several open blocks of primetime programming in the pre-McAfee era, the network’s options would have been limited. It could elevate the Women’s College World Series to the main ESPN channel, as it plans to do the next five nights. Or, it could throw on an old 30 for 30 and call it a day. There isn’t a scenario in which ESPN creates its own original programming on the fly, as McAfee allowed it to do on Wednesday.
And that’s partly why ESPN is willing to license McAfee’s show for a reported $17 million per year. He and his team are capable of putting on shows that the modern ESPN outfit cannot. SportsCenter can’t book six commissioners in a day. Get Up isn’t going to command the attention of a primetime audience by debating whether Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets too many foul calls.
McAfee leans into what makes his show different. He travels to events like the NFL’s league meetings and MLB spring training, investments he’s willing to make that would probably be a bit too rich for ESPN if they were in charge of the budget. He’s willing to dedicate lengthy segments to sports like hockey, baseball, and golf, when all of ESPN’s other shows stay laser-focused on the NFL and NBA (or WWE).
It’s the added layer on top of McAfee’s aforementioned nimbleness. Yes, his show is nimble from an operational standpoint. But McAfee himself is also nimble, able to hold court on any number of topics and make the segment interesting. Does that sometimes come at the cost of his interviews lacking a certain depth? Absolutely. But McAfee is under no illusions that he’s a journalist. In fact, he’s gone to great lengths to distance himself from that label.
Pat McAfee is more important to ESPN now than ever, making that $17 million deal look more like a bargain with each passing day. And shows like the one he hosted Wednesday night display exactly why ESPN executives are willing to go to bat for him even when he occasionally steps on a rake. His show offers something that no one else at ESPN can provide, from both an operational and content standpoint.
ESPN needs a differentiator, and McAfee is willing to provide.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.