Michael Smith and Michael Holley to Co-Host Peacock's First Sports Talk Show
By Kyle Koster
NBC Sports on Peacock is making a hard push for relevance in a crowded landscape. Debuting next week, the platform will feature PFT Live with Mike Florio, The Dan Patrick Show and The Rich Eisen Show. The first original sports talk show will then premiere in September in the form of Brother From Another, a two-hander featuring former former Boston Globe colleagues Michael Smith and Michael Holley. Outkick first reported Peacock was eyeing Smith for the role.
"“When coming up with our show’s name and thinking about the vibe we wanted to create, we kept coming back to just that — family — and to this brotherhood,” Smith said. “We want this show and the conversations between us and with our guests to feel relatable — literally. As in, if you’re giving us time out of your day, then you’re family to us.” Smith and Holley’s friendship goes back more than 20 years, “so viewers will immediately sense our authenticity and honesty with one another,” Holley added. “We became colleagues by covering similar events in sports. We became brothers when we shared our experiences in that space, as well as other aspects of our lives. We’re excited to now bring our discussions to Peacock.”"
The show will air 3 PM-6 PM weekdays. Building within the framework of an honest conversation is a sound strategy but one wonders just how much this will move the needle or drive signups. Peacock self-reported 10 million initial users in July.
That said, there's potential to fill the void of competitors' afternoon fare that will be sticking close to the script and purely sports issues. A lot of people have been waiting for Smith's next vehicle after the ill-fated 6 p.m. SportsCenter and very public breakup. As co-executive producers of the show, he and Holley will have plenty of runway to do what they want to do, how they want to do it.