Jason Kelce red-faced as new TV show gets off to embarrassing start

Jason Kelce’s late-night show debuted on YouTube last Saturday and the numbers are in for the first episode of ‘They Call It Late Night’.

‘They Call It Late Night’, Jason Kelce’s attempt at late-night television, is turning out to be an intriguing experiment. Despite having Kelce’s trademark charm and sense of humor, the show’s debut only drew 290,000 viewers—a small number compared to ESPN’s typical viewership.

After his NFL career, football star Kelce has entered the entertainment industry, letting his outrageous attitude take center stage. Following his retirement at the end of the 2023 season after years of playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, Kelce has successfully transitioned into the sports media, most notably making an appearance on ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown.

Rapper Lil Dicky, NFL pundit Brian Baldinger, and NBA great Charles Barkley were among the guests on his new late-night show, which had its YouTube premiere last Saturday. Nevertheless, the show only attracted 290k watchers.

For comparison, during a live Twitch event on his channel with comedians Kevin Hart and Druski, streamer Kai Cenat drew 712,600 peak concurrent viewers, garnering 4.95 million unique viewers over 11.5 hours, much exceeding Kelce’s debut figures.

Kelce’s new show recently took the place of ESPN’s late-night programming, but its premiere performance was lackluster. In comparison to prior shows in the same time period, which often garnered over 700,000 people following a playoff game, the broadcast only attracted 278,000 viewers.

The numbers had been 436,000 even in January. Consequently, there can be worries about the show’s future.

In the past, Kelce acknowledged that he was anxious, saying, “It’s definitely nerve-wracking but also exciting.” ESPN seems unconcerned despite the comparatively low viewership numbers. The network is still excited to have the former NFL star on board, according to people close to the organization.

Additionally, the network intends to keep using Kelce’s notoriety in their upcoming ventures. The extremely positive feedback on YouTube indicates that Kelce’s presentation has resonated with his viewers.

Fans have praised his down-to-earth approach, which strays from the rigid format of traditional talk shows. One viewer wrote: “Jason talking to the audience between sets and skits is strangely refreshing compared to how robotic and rigid the normal talk shows handle things. Good job changing it up!”

Another fan commented: “I’m a Commanders fan, but Jason Kelce has always been a fan favourite for any football fan. This platform is perfect for his personality.”

The familial dynamic on the show was praised by a third fan, who wrote: “It was fantastic! The fact that Kylie is the announcer is fantastic! I adore living in the Kelce universe. Since then, the episode has received over 247,000 additional views on YouTube, and the numbers are still rising, suggesting that the show may pick up even more popularity online.

Another phase in the Kelce family’s expansion from sports to the entertainment industry is their entry into late-night TV. Together with his brother Travis Kelce, he hosts the ‘New Heights’ podcast, which has amassed over 2.4 million YouTube followers and was once the number one sports podcast on Apple.

By early 2024, ‘New Heights’ was the fourth-largest podcast in the United States by weekly listeners, thanks to Travis’ high-profile affair with Taylor Swift. With her ‘Not Gonna Lie’ podcast, which debuted at number one on the Spotify and Apple charts, Kylie, Jason’s wife, has built a name for herself in the media. It even exceeded Joe Rogan’s podcast.