ESPN had struggled to crack the morning show market when, in 2011, a coordinating producer in his mid-30s named Jamie Horowitz was put in charge of the show “First Take.”
Horowitz obsessively convened rounds and rounds of focus groups to identity the ideal hosts for the show. He discovered that participants’ interest soared the moment that Skip Bayless, a former sports reporter, appeared on screen for a debate segment.
“Research showed that debate was the perfect complement to highlights and analysis fans were also consuming on morning offerings,” Horowitz told ESPN’s corporate blog.