STEPHEN A. SMITH’S PROGRAM
First Take
500,000Average TV viewersAugust 31–September 27, 2026
No. 5 in this TV chart →THE SPORTING PAGE CHARTS
ESPN
RATINGS
The audiences behind the shows.
Verified numbers, with the dates that matter.
LATEST VERIFIED MONTHLY REPORTSEPTEMBER
2026
2026
Audience period
August 31–September 27, 2026
ESPN report published
October 7, 2026
First Take averaged 500,000 television viewers in ESPN’s latest verified monthly report. The Pat McAfee Show averaged 464,000 across television and digital. Those figures describe different audiences, so McAfee’s combined total appears separately from the television ranking.
TELEVISION + DIGITAL
The Pat McAfee Show
464,000Combined average viewersAugust 31–September 27, 2026
Why it has no TV rank →
HIGHEST REPORTED TV AVERAGE
Pardon the Interruption
794,000Average TV viewersAugust 31–September 27, 2026
No. 1 in this TV chart →SEPTEMBER 2026 · U.S. AUDIENCES
ESPN’s October 7 report ↗The ESPN television chart
Ranked highest to lowest among the 11 program and edition figures below. SportsCenter editions are separate entries. New shows cover the episodes they aired during this reporting month.
| Rank | Program / edition | Avg. viewers | Audience period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pardon the InterruptionWeekdays |
794,000TV viewers | Aug. 31–Sept. 272026 |
| 2 | SportsCenter6 p.m. ET edition |
640,000TV viewers | Aug. 31–Sept. 272026 |
| 3 | SportsCenterSunday morning edition |
533,000TV viewers | Aug. 31–Sept. 272026 |
| 4 | SportsCenter5 p.m. ET edition |
526,000TV viewers | Aug. 31–Sept. 272026 |
| 5 | First TakeWeekdays |
500,000TV viewers | Aug. 31–Sept. 272026 |
| 6 | SportsCenterSaturday morning edition |
482,000TV viewers | Aug. 31–Sept. 272026 |
| 7 |  NFL LiveWeekdays |
472,000TV viewers | Aug. 31–Sept. 272026 |
| 8 |  Get UpWeekdays |
461,000TV viewers | Aug. 31–Sept. 272026 |
| 9 |  NBA TodayWeekdays |
329,000TV viewers | Aug. 31–Sept. 272026 |
| 10TIE |  Big Day with Peter SchragerFirst three weeks |
317,000TV viewers | Aug. 31–Sept. 272026 · First three weeks |
| 10TIE | Bussin’ & Pate on CampusThree September episodes |
317,000TV viewers | Aug. 31–Sept. 272026 · Three episodes |
Source: ESPN Research, published October 7, 2026. A tie shares a rank. An absent program has no rank here; it does not have zero viewers.
READING THE MCAFEE NUMBER
464,000 measures two platforms
ESPN reports McAfee’s September average across linear television and digital. The release does not provide a separate television-only average for the show. Ranking that combined figure between NFL Live and Get Up would treat a broader measure as though it were the same television audience.
First Take’s audience belongs to the program. It is not a personal rating for Stephen A. Smith or a count of viewers across all his appearances and digital channels.
DIFFERENT PERIODS & MEASURES
Beyond the daily chart
435,000 average viewers
August 31–September 27, 2026. ESPN’s all-editions average is an aggregate, so it is not ranked again alongside its individual editions.
Reported October 7, 2026 ↗2.9 million average viewers
Iowa City, October 3, 2026. The final hour averaged 3.7 million. That hour is a separate segment, not the full-show average or a monthly figure.
Reported October 8, 2026 ↗What the numbers mean
“Ratings” is the section’s name; this chart reports average viewers, not household rating points, reach, podcast downloads or social video views. ESPN identifies Nielsen Big Data + Panel and YouTube Analytics as its sources. The published figures come from ESPN’s reporting; TSP has not independently audited Nielsen’s underlying measurements.
September means August 31–September 27 under Nielsen’s calendar. The source publication date and the date TSP checked it are shown separately. This page does not describe September figures as October viewing. A later source check alone does not refresh the audience period.
Official promotional artwork identifies the programs. SportsCenter and Bussin’ & Pate use TSP typography tiles where matching artwork is unavailable. Program images do not imply endorsement. The television chart includes the verified figures in this edition, rather than a claim to rank every ESPN program.
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