{"id":236894,"date":"2025-09-18T17:43:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T17:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/236894\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T17:43:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T17:43:10","slug":"espn-says-first-take-will-have-30-to-45-day-tryout-for-a-new-host","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/236894\/","title":{"rendered":"ESPN says \u2018First Take\u2019 will have 30 to 45-day tryout for a new host"},"content":{"rendered":"

ESPN president of content Burke Magnus told The Athletic on Thursday that the company will take 30 to 45 days to try out a variety of people for the \u201cFirst Take\u201d hosting role that had been filled by Molly Qerim since 2015. He praised Qerim as \u201can awesome person\u201d and expanded on why the \u201cFirst Take\u201d host was leaving ESPN\u2019s morning show after 10 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019ll be someone in-house or not,\u201d Magnus said of the \u201cFirst Take\u201d host job. \u201cWe\u2019re not locked into anything in particular. The one thing that was unexpected was the timing of all this. She [Qerim] put out a statement because there was a report on it, so it kind of got out of our respective controls once that happened. While we knew we were going to make a change \u2014 her deal ran through the end of the year \u2014 we were more focused on that timeline. So we\u2019re going to take probably about 30 to 45 days to try a variety of in-house people because we can do that on the show. Then we\u2019ll make a decision shortly after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The timeline was accelerated after a report from Sports Business Journal on Monday stated that Qerim was leaving ESPN at the end of the year and that she would not be on the show heading forward. Qerim had worked at ESPN since 2006, first working on digital and mobile platforms.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter much reflection, I\u2019ve decided it\u2019s time to close this incredible chapter and step away from First Take,\u201d Qerim wrote via a post on her Instagram story on Tuesday, confirming she was leaving. \u201cHosting this show has been one of the greatest honors of my career. Every morning, I had the privilege of sharing the desk with some of the most brilliant, passionate, and entertaining voices in sports \u2014 and with all of you, the best fans in the world. I\u2019m so grateful for what this journey has given me: lifelong friendships, unforgettable memories, and the chance to be part of something truly special. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for welcoming me into your homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Magnus expanded on Qerim\u2019s departure in a long-form interview with the \u201cSports Media Podcast\u201d<\/a> that will be published in the upcoming days. He said that ESPN and Qerim were negotiating about roles beyond \u201cFirst Take.\u201d He made clear that ESPN wanted her to stay at the company, even as Qerim was going to be coming off the show by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

Qerim declined comment via her agent when contacted by The Athletic on Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cMolly Qerim is a wonderful person and an unbelievable teammate and colleague,\u201d Magnus said. \u201cThere was a couple dimensions to this. One, is obviously we were in a renewal conversation. Two, is 10 years to do something like that is a long time. I\u2019m not going to speak for her, but I think there was a feeling that she wants to do other things, and successfully being on a top show like that for a decade qualifies as maybe I can turn the page and do something else. We tried to have her do other things and to redo that agreement. It honestly became less about that, and more about, in my opinion, her wanting to do other and explore other things. It ended up being easier for her to make a clean break entirely.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was going to come off First Take either way and that was something [where] we had already crossed that bridge,\u201d Magnus continued. \u201cSo it was from our perspective much more about what else could she be doing, how could we make her more versatile, get her involved in different things? That\u2019s what we were trying to do. I read a lot of stuff on X [on Tuesday]. There\u2019s no controversy here. There\u2019s no shoe that\u2019s going to drop. She\u2019s an awesome person. You know, it\u2019s business. You try your best and we just weren\u2019t totally aligned. I totally respect her interest, in rather than going into a less defined situation, to make a clean break and try to do other things outside of ESPN.\u201d<\/p>\n

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