ESPN is taking its “first real stab” at the morning market with Get Up, featuring hosts Mike “Greeny” Greenberg (Mike & Mike) Michelle Beadle (NBA Countdown) and NBA analyst Jalen Rose.
Bill Wolff, vice president of studio production and formerly of MSNBC and ABC’s The View, told reporters at Winter Press Tour in Pasadena on Friday that “part of people’s morning routines still include television,” and the three-hour weekday show seeks to capture that market.
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The “personality and authority” of the hosts will be what sets the show apart from other programs.
For Greenberg, one of the most important aspects of hosting Get Up is that you have fun every day, and that’s something both Rose and Beadle bring to the table.
“Fans see through phony and what I love about Beadle is who she is off television is who she is on television,” said Rose about his co-host.
In terms of format, Get Up will strike a balance between keeping viewers informed, and delving into opinions and analysis in order to entertain.
“We’ll be somewhere on the spectrum between straight news and all argument,” Wolff said.
When asked how the show plans to tackle politics, Wolff said the topic “has encroached into our happy little world more frequently than I think we are used to,” but that Get Up will be “fundamentally a sports show.”
“People come to us to be diverted from issues of the world at large,” he said.
“You gotta give the people what they want,” added Rose.
Greenberg also addressed recent layoffs at ESPN, calling the news “terrible” and “not something you want to see,” but said he’s excited about starting a new chapter at the network. It’s also a new chapter for him personally, coming off the heels of Mike & Mike, which ended its nearly 18-year run in November.
“We’re going into uncharted waters for the company,” Greenberg said.
Get Up premieres April 2, airing live from 7 to 10 a.m. on ESPN, and re-airing each day at 10 a.m. on ESPN 2.
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