Rose, Greenberg and Beadle's ability to develop chemistry could determine the show's successESPN Images
The launch of ESPN's new morning show "Get Up!" comes at "pivotal time for the network, which just got a new boss, President James Pitaro, and a continued battle over subscriber losses due to cord cutting," according to Ahiza Garcia of CNN MONEY. Other morning shows like NBC's "Today" and ABC's "GMA" have what ESPN wants -- daily viewers "who spend money on consumer goods." Author Jim Miller noted there is "a lot riding on the show's success." Miller: "This needs to work. The network needs to be able to show that it can successfully launch and have a series like this on the air -- not just for viewers but also for its own brand." Miller is interested to see "how committed Pitaro is" to the show, as it was the "brainchild of former President John Skipper." Miller said, "It's unfair to expect the show to come out of the blocks at 90 miles per hour. They're going to need time to develop the tone and they need a big margin of error from management" (MONEY.CNN.com, 4/2).
TIME WILL TELL: AWFUL ANNOUNCING's Ian Casselberry noted "Get Up!" definitely "kept things moving in its first hour" during Monday's debut broadcast -- "maybe a bit too much." Every morning show -- whether news or sports-related --has "plenty to talk about and doesn’t dwell too much on a particular topic, but some subjects warrant some breathing room and a bit more conversation." That is often where the "chemistry between hosts demonstrates itself best." It is going to take some time to "develop that kind of rapport and comfort level." Whether or not Mike Greenberg, Michelle Beadle and Jalen Rose do could "determine how successful the show is" (AWFULANNOUNCING.com, 4/2). THE RINGER's Bryan Curtis noted "Get Up!" "doesn't strive to be a 'Good Morning America'–style show that whirls between hard news and remote interviews." It strives to be a show "built from pieces of other successful ESPN shows: 'SportsNation'; 'Around the Horn'; 'NBA Countdown'; and even that old warhorse 'SportsCenter.' The "Get Up!" crew did "SportsCenter’s" Top 10 plays -- the "very same ones that were showing on ESPN2 -- each hour." The message "seemed to be: This is all the stuff you like about ESPN, only we’re doing it much earlier" (THERINGER.com, 4/2). WEEI.com's Alex Reimer noted "Get Up!" will "likely evolve over time." However, it is "difficult to see how this show, which looks like a jazzed up version of every other ESPN studio program, will differentiate itself from an already crowded morning TV marketplace" (WEEI.com, 4/2).
