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With Little Fanfare, ‘Pardon The Interruption’ Just Keeps Dominating

The iconic ESPN show just had its best June ratings since 2021.
Jimmy Traina|
‘Pardon the Interruption’ debuted on ESPN on Oct. 22, 2001.
‘Pardon the Interruption’ debuted on ESPN on Oct. 22, 2001. | ESPN

1. ESPN spent part of Wednesday touting the June ratings for its various daytime shows. All of the network’s programs experienced increased viewership over last June.

What struck me the most, though, about these numbers was how Pardon the Interruption STILL blows away all other ESPN shows when it comes to ratings.

Here are the average daily viewership numbers for ESPN’s daytime programming in the month of June:

  • PTI: 665,000 viewers
  • First Take: 505,000 viewers
  • Get Up: 426,000 viewers
  • The Pat McAfee Show: 383,000 viewers
  • NFL Live: 322,000 viewers

First Take and Pat McAfee get tons of attention. In the case of First Take, the attention isn’t always good, but that’s another story. Get Up and NFL Live get heavily clipped for social media. PTI, however, lays low, generates little social media fanfare yet keeps on chugging. Actually, the show does more than just keep on chugging. It dominates. Just look at those numbers.

Meanwhile, the show has been around since 2001. One host, Tony Kornheiser, is 77 years old. The other host, Michael Wilbon, is 67.

We live in a cord-cutting time where one-minute videos, outrage, negativity and sound-bite clips dominate the sports media landscape.

PTI does none of those things yet stands atop the ratings mountain. It’s a truly impressive television feat.

2. A brand-new SI Media With Jimmy Traina dropped this morning. This week’s show is an all-mailbag episode.

Topics covered include the World Cup and what the U.S.’s exit means for Fox’s ratings; who’s to blame for the Yankees’ struggles and what is the biggest problem with the organization; top 5 play-by-play voices working today; whether the Knicks winning the championship helps the NBA; Sami Zayn winning the WWE title and then losing it nine days later; MLB’s complete incompetence in making a schedule; all-time best ESPN shows excluding SportsCenter; where Fox will turn for a No. 2 college football play-by-play person; the future of Good Morning Football; the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce wedding; Long Island diners; The Bear’s final season and much more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

3. If preseason football is your thing, you’ll have a lot more access to games this season. ESPN has announced that 12 exhibition games will air on its ESPN Unlimited app. This is in addition to 19 games that will air on the NFL Network.

Add in the one game each that NBC, CBS, Fox and Prime Video will broadcast and that’s 35 preseason games that will air live on national broadcasts this summer, a true dream for those of you who want to do fantasy football scouting.

4. If you like insane and scandalous stories, here’s a doozy for you.

Spurs play-by-play voice Jacob Tobey was fired Thursday. Allegedly, Tobey’s girlfriend got a hold of his phone and posted on Tobey’s Instagram that Tobey was having an affair with the sister of Spurs forward Lindy Waters. Given that Tobey got the ax, I don’t think allegedly is even needed here.

When I first saw the story, I didn’t want Tobey to get fired because I just hate the way he got exposed. However, if you are a broadcaster for a team, you should probably stay away from any relatives of the player. Especially if you are married.

5. Tom Brady has quite a Rob Gronkowski impression.

6. Pirates righthander Jared Jones was pulled Wednesday after throwing six perfect innings against the Braves. It was the second time this week that a pitcher was removed for a reliever while in the middle of a perfect game. Here’s a post about how often that has happened in Major League history.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 70th birthday to Tom Hanks.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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