Pat McAfee signed with ESPN months ago but the Worldwide Leader wanted to save his television debut for maximum viewership. As such, the Pat McAfee Show will air on ESPN for the first time ever on Thursday, September 7 from 12 p.m.-2 p.m. ET-- mere hours before the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Detroit Lions in the opening game of the 2023 NFL season, the network announced on Thursday.
Where McAfee would be slotted in the weekly afternoon lineup was a matter of some interest to the true sports media nerds, but much of the intrigue was lost once This Just In with Max Kellerman went off-air. It was immediately clear that McAfee's show would take the early afternoon spot following First Take and the noon SportsCenter Kellerman left open.
ESPN's announcement today revealed that McAfee will mostly occupy the slot formerly filled by This Just In, but surprisingly the 12 p.m. ET edition of SportsCenter has been pushed to give McAfee the entire midday slot. The Pat McAfee Show will start at 12 p.m. ET after First Take and run until 2 p.m. ET, where it hands the reins off to SportsCenter. The final hour of the show will be simulcast on YouTube and ESPN+.
Weekdays during football season will then look like this:
8am-10am ET: Get Up
10am-12pm ET: First Take
12pm-2pm ET: Pat McAfee Show
2pm-3pm ET: SportsCenter
3pm-4pm ET: NBA Today
4pm-5pm ET: NFL Live
5pm-5:30pm ET: Around The Horn
5:30pm-6pm ET: Pardon The Interruption
6pm ET: SportsCenter
Pretty solid all around here. NBA Today will probably lag in the ratings department until the season starts unless the James Harden thing gets even crazier. Otherwise there are no duds. A quality combination of star power and programming for the sports-enthused masses.
It will be very interesting to see how the Pat McAfee Show changes, if at all, once it hits the airwaves powered by Disney. We will find out in just a few weeks.
This article was originally published on thebiglead as Pat McAfee Show ESPN Schedule Announced .
