BSM Writers
Day Spent With: FOX Sports 1
“The most important part of the show is how we get along and how much we really love each other.”
We’re nearing the finish line of BSM’s Day Spent With series. Today’s feature on Fox Sports 1 offers a peek into a day in the world of two sports television shows, The Carton Show and First Things First. My thanks to Craig, Nick, Chris, Kevin, Charlie Dixon and the Fox Sports PR and production teams for providing BSM with access to capture the daily happenings with both shows.
We have one more story still to come. That will drop next Friday March 29th. I think readers will enjoy what’s planned. This one involves sending Derek Futterman to a city that’ll help him with his pre-baseball season tan. I’m sure he’s looking forward to it.
In the meantime, enjoy the latest edition of a Day Spent With Fox Sports 1.
Jason Barrett
Part I: 7 – 9:30 a.m. EST: “The Carton Show”
Before the sun rises over the Big Apple, the city is full of people on the move to begin their workdays. During the mass travel time, FOX Sports 1 (FS1) personnel have been in the office for over two hours, holding a morning meeting to prepare for The Carton Show. The morning program utilizes a whiteboard to outline the nine segments that encompass the two-and-a-half hour show, which airs live on FS1 beginning at 7am ET.
Craig Carton is the eponymous host of the program. The former New York sports radio host frequently enjoyed radio ratings success and has begun settling into his new life as FS1’s morning man. The shift to television has allowed Carton to gain more time with his family, along with the ability to gain more sleep and work out, while still doing what he loves.
“Look, there’s an aspect of radio I’m always going to miss,” Carton said. “It’s also where I’ve been most successful throughout 30 years of a broadcast career, so there’s an aspect of that that I’m trying to capture now on TV, recognizing that it takes time to build that type of following and loyalty amongst an audience, but from a lifestyle standpoint, it’s been great.”
After a morning meeting and pre-show prep, Carton gets into the makeup chair a half-hour before air. He interacts with his colleagues set to catapult into the show with frenetic energy and enthusiasm. Within the confines of the multipurpose studio, he is in control of the playlist of music blasting through the speakers just minutes before the daypart officially commences. Co-hosts David Jacoby, Willie Colon and Tim Hardaway Sr. are conversing with one another, building genuine rapport and candor that translates onto the screen.
Throughout the show, Carton and his colleagues execute the game plan. They floor the gas pedal from the start of the show, this one specifically centered around discussion of the New York Knicks potentially attaining the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
“We come on the air [and] half the country’s sleeping,” Carton explained, “so if I’m talking to an audience that’s not watching because they’re in bed, that’s foolish, so I might as well embrace the audience that’s awake and talk about Baltimore, talk about New York, talk about Boston; talk about the East Coast teams who have really passionate fan bases.”
The opening segment lasts nearly five minutes, quickly taking a three-minute commercial break, a strategic maneuver to permit longer segments later on. Even so, there is palpable buzz and anticipation in the studio as they prepare for the second block of the show.
Once those in the control room count them back in, Carton asserts that the New York Jets’ current roster construction encapsulates the best iteration of the team in his lifetime. Carton’s take prompts Colon to disagree and reference different eras in Jets history. Hardaway advances the discussion by proposing a trade that would send the Jets the first-overall pick from the Chicago Bears in exchange for starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers, igniting debate about its feasibility.
“A lot of sports fans are waking up in the morning and sort of [use] our show as a download,” Jacoby explained, “which is something we take into consideration in terms of tone, but also pace because we want to go [at] a pretty quick pace [to be] part of people’s morning routines.”
The program moves into baseball discussion through its “Around the Diamond” segment, showcasing moments from around the sport as MLB gears up for its regular season. A video of former New York Yankees manager Joe Torre attending a spring training game and going to the mound to make a pitching change elicits a maelstrom of laughter, causing Hardaway to question why his presence is a story in the first place. Little did anyone realize that this would become an ongoing discussion for today’s show, something Carton attributes to the style of their production meetings.
“I kind of don’t like hearing those conversations before a show because you don’t want to lose your best material there,” Carton said, “and if I saw Tim go nuts in the meeting before the show, we never would have had the moment on the show.”
Carton believes that the morning program is the most entertaining show on television across any network, offering self-deprecation and humor through the lens of sports. There are elements of Carton’s radio approach on the FS1 airwaves, but the program is a bonafide television show rather than a radio simulcast. There are graphics, game highlights and other visual elements activated by the control room located two floors above the studio. A team of producers, directors and coordinators are on hand to ensure the program runs smoothly and allows its hosts to be successful.
Staff members in the control room make sure to clip Hardaway discussing Torre to bring back later in the program, along with loading posts into social media using Tagboard. The show rundown and graphics take place in iNews, the latter of which is subsequently played out through Viz Trio.
“We’ve got the roadmap right there, but we just don’t always stick to it, so it’s usually those three-minute breaks between segments [when] I always check in,” Jacoby said. “We always make sure Craig, Willie and I are on the same page, so there’s a lot of communication, but you’d be surprised that sometimes there’s not too much at all because we’re just kind of going.”
Jacoby was not an original on-air cast member of The Carton Show, initially serving as a consultant. Prior to his work with FS1, he was with ESPN for over two decades working as a producer for Grantland and host of Jalen & Jacoby. This past August, FS1 added Jacoby as a co-host to the program.
“I’ve been on daily shows my entire life, and once you get the routine down, you kind of get it, and it was also a little bit of an adjustment just sort of editorially,” Jacoby said. “This is a lot of fun; there’s a lot of focus on laughs, focus on fun, and I really enjoy that about this show.”
As the program reaches its conclusion, Carton and his colleagues address a variety of topics including posterizing NBA dunks, the United Football League and a job posting to work on the Orlando Magic social media team. The clock strikes 9am and the studio lights begin to flash for Carton’s ‘Top 5 at 9’ segment, in which he ranks storylines and briefly discusses them on the program.
Members of the show shout each number as Carton reveals his selection, some of which included the Dallas Cowboys clearing cap space, the start of March Madness and losses on the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive line. The #1 topic pertains to his belief that 2024 will be a year in which New York sports flourish, deeming the Knicks, Rangers and Jets all have a chance to potentially win championships.
“We’ll talk about certain events, teams and players that I would never talk about on WFAN,” Carton said. “That was the learning curve for me for sure – what’s important to the national audience that was never important to me doing local radio, no matter where I’ve worked over the course of my career. Once you figure out what are kind of the hot-button teams and players and topics that’ll attract the biggest audience, you embrace it and do it.”
Over the last six months, The Carton Show has attained double-digit, year-over-year growth. Carton believes that establishing a strong rhythm over the summer and heading into football season will help the show continue to flourish. In reflecting on his time with the show since departing WFAN, he feels content with where the show is but is determined to expand its following.
“You can have all the meetings you want about, ‘You’re this guy; you’re that guy. You do this; you do that,’ and that’s all well and good, but until you actually turn on the camera and say ‘Go’ and it’s real and it’s live, you can’t do it. You can’t figure out what works and what doesn’t work,” Carton said. “We’ve had pretty good growth in that regard, and like any show, there’s some growing pains and things that don’t always work, but I’ve always said I don’t mind failing on the biggest stage, and some bits don’t work and the only way to figure that out is by doing it.”
Part II: 3 – 4:30 p.m. EST: “First Things First”
Mere seconds after The Carton Show concludes, the conversion to First Things First is already underway in the main studio. Whereas select production staff work in the studio at the First Things First desk, the layout is essentially reversed for the afternoon program. Airing on FS1 during this studio transformation is Undisputed with Skip Bayless and a rotation of co-hosts, followed by The Herd with Colin Cowherd and Jason McIntyre, both operating out of Los Angeles.
Before The Carton Show was added to FS1, First Things First occupied the morning slot. That resulted in an early wake-up call for hosts Nick Wright, Chris Broussard and Kevin Wildes, along with its production staff. Since the move, the show has attained 18 consecutive months of year-over-year growth amid a record-setting 2023. The past 16 months have represented its 16 most-watched months in the history of First Things First.
“The biggest difference is you don’t get the first bite of everything,” Wright said. “[In] mornings, you’re the first one to talk about everything, so there is a little bit more of an element of telling people what happened. By the time people watch us, everyone knows what happened unless it’s breaking news.”
The pre-show meeting for First Things First occurs on Zoom shortly after the end of The Carton Show. The team formulates an idea of how the show can look based on the dialogue during that call. The hosts and additional staff then arrive at the New York City studios to prepare and engage prior to the 3pm ET start. Unlike the morning show, there’s no music playing in the studio and light discussion before taking the air, a more subdued environment. Few production staff members are situated in the studio itself, with a large majority of the technical duties occurring in the control room.
“The actual mechanics of what goes into making sure, ‘This full screen fires; this video plays,’ I’m lucky enough that I don’t really have to worry about that because it’s just always worked, and so to me it’s pretty seamless,” Wright said. “We have our morning meeting, we know what we’re talking about, we do our research – the stats or graphics we ask for, they do a great job of finding them – and then we put them on the show.”
Wildes begins First Things First with a preview of the discussion before immediately transitioning into the A-block topic of highlight-reel dunks in the NBA. A highlight of Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards leaping over Utah Jazz forward John Collins has made the rounds for sports fans, amassing millions of views on various platforms. Wildes then asks Broussard what he thought about the dunk, leading to a debate about how to adjudicate and measure the effectiveness of a dunk. Even though Wildes is a co-host, not a moderator, he has the versatility to contribute to many areas of the show.
“Some segments, I don’t need to say anything and those guys can just cook,” Wildes explained. “Some segments, I should do a little bit more [and] some segments I should do a little bit less, so whatever it takes for me to help the segment, I’m willing to do and will do obviously.”
The second half of the opening segment discussed whether Edwards’ play is similar to six-time NBA champion and Hall of Fame guard Michael Jordan. Broussard, who covered the National Basketball Association for several decades, revealed later in the opening block that he reached out to Jordan himself for his opinion on the perceived correlation. Jordan told him that he sees the similarities in he and Edwards’ games, leaving Wright somewhat nonplussed that his co-host was talking with the superstar guard.
“You gain an insight and perspective and knowledge that I didn’t even know I didn’t have, but I learned so many things over the years,” Broussard said of his time as a beat reporter. “And then obviously the connections – I don’t talk to people like I used to when I was a reporter, but I still talk to guys, and can reach out to get perspectives and different thoughts on what’s going on in the league.”
After First Things First concludes, Broussard drives back to his home and is on the phone with a FOX Sports Radio producer to prepare for his evening show, The Odd Couple, which he co-hosts with Rob Parker. Balancing both roles can be a challenge and leads to busy weekdays. Chris though enjoys both jobs, appreciating the opportunity to talk sports for a combined four-and-a-half hours each day.
“It’s nice because since I’ve been at FOX, which has just been TV and radio for me, I get weekends off, or at least technically off,” Broussard said. “Obviously NFL season – Sunday is wall-to-wall football watching all the games, but for a sportswriter that’s unique. My first [26] years in the business, weekends were not off. The Saturday’s no different than Tuesday, so it’s nice to have that set schedule.”
The basketball discussion continues throughout First Things First and culminates with Wright’s ‘King of the Hill’ segment. Members of the production team drape the desk with a customized mound of actual grass to represent the proverbial hill, which has different tiers to rank NBA players. Wright ended up placing Edwards at its summit, explaining why he awarded the 22-year-old phenom with an apogee in the segment thus far.
Since Wildes joined First Things First in 2020, the hosts have built camaraderie and friendship, going out to dinner and attending sporting events together. They all root for one another to succeed and look to enable prosperity rather than serving as a hindrance to that therein. Broussard stated that he has been on shows where people did not talk to each other off the air, and he has also heard stories of hosts being hesitant to give their opinions in pre-show meetings out of fear that it would be stolen. Although Wright, Broussard and Wildes have different idiosyncrasies and areas of expertise, their personalities effectively blend together to create a captivating and enthralling afternoon program.
“The most important part of the show is how we get along and how much we really love each other,” Wright said. “The #1 comment I get is, ‘It feels like friends talking sports,’ and the reason it feels like that is because it is that, so you have that element. You have each of our unique backgrounds, [and] you have, in my opinion, the best staff of producers of any show in sports TV, and it allows for a show that hopefully works.”
The hosts interact with one another during commercial breaks, using the time to communicate as well with the production staff and check social media. Wright looks for breaking news between segments, something he believes may be attributable to his background in sports radio. After all, he worked in the format for 610 Sports in Kansas City and Sports Radio 610 in Houston.
“If you can carry a four-hour solo radio show, then you can talk to yourself, so then you can talk to other people once you learn how to do that,” Wright said. “You can formulate arguments; on those shows, you have to argue with yourself almost – you present the prosecution and then the devil’s advocate defense. So yeah, my radio background was more helpful for my television career than anything could have possibly been.”
With every edition of First Things First, Wildes hopes the cast delivers smarts, smiles and surprise, something that was taught to him earlier in his career. While at ESPN, Wildes served as the vice president of original content for NBA studio production and found a way to make the transition to work on camera. Nonetheless, the managerial and production background has granted him a deeper cognizance of the day-to-day operation and staying focused on the current moment.
“It’s very [New England] Patriots-esque where, ‘Hey, what’s your goal for the postseason? Like, ‘Man, we’re just trying to have good practice,’” Wildes said. “Let’s, tonight, try to put some good stuff in the document; tomorrow, try to prepare a good show; and then try to do a good show. I don’t really look too far down the road, not because I’m not goal-oriented necessarily or not because we don’t want success, but I just think the path there is 10 feet in front of you.”
The day concludes with the First Things First hosts participating in a quasi-press conference that is recorded for social media. Wright, Broussard and Wildes all share their evaluations of the program sitting in front of a step-and-repeat speaking into a microphone adorned with a First Things First mic flag.
The studio’s focus then immediately shifts to the next day with the production day for The Carton Show beginning in approximately 12 hours. Even so, there is incessant brainstorming and communication, safeguarding against unpreparedness while always being set to discuss breaking news should it arise. For now though, everyone gathers their belongings and looks forward to reconvening tomorrow morning well before the sun can greet them anew.
“It’s constant prep in that you’re always staying on top of the news,” Broussard said. “There’s a lot of reading, a lot of watching other sports and obviously all the games, and then you just come up with your own take.”
Derek Futterman is a contributing editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Sports Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, find him on Twitter @derekfutterman.
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