How to advertise on First Take: what it costs, who buys, and how to book

First Take sells its host-read inventory direct through ESPN, quoted per campaign rather than off a public rate card. Spotsnow attributes over $200K in estimated total spend on the show to a single advertiser, 5-hour Energy, its heaviest host-read buyer, running roughly 130 to 155 ads. Most of what runs here is direct response, so if you're a DTC or performance brand weighing a buy, you're joining a feed built to move product, not just to be seen. Spotsnow estimates all of this from tracked advertiser activity, not audience surveys. See the full profile for First Take.

Why First Take is built for host-read direct response

Stephen A. Smith hosts, ESPN's debate voice, alongside co-host Molly Qerim. It sits in sports, and it leans hard into direct response: Spotsnow data shows a direct-response share in the low 80s percent. That format matters because a host endorsement carries codes, URLs, and attribution a produced spot can't, which is exactly what a performance buyer needs to know a spend worked.

Reach is estimated at roughly 110,000 listeners per Spotsnow, and it skews strongly male, mostly young to mid-career, concentrated in the US with a meaningful high-income tail. The show's whole style is sustained argument, so listeners stay locked in through the break instead of skipping. A host-read borrows that attention: when Smith hands off to a sponsor mid-debate, the audience is already leaning in.

Influence backs it up. Spotsnow social stats show a 4-star Apple Podcasts rating across roughly 5,000 to 5,800 ratings, and an associated Instagram footprint of over 1.3 million followers. The pull is concentrated in the feed and in social clips, where a Stephen A. take travels far past the episode itself.

Who is advertising on First Take

The roster is broad, roughly 170 to 200 brands in the tracked window, mixing energy shots, hiring, e-commerce, telecom, and sportsbooks. Recognizable names include 5-hour Energy, Shopify, Indeed, DraftKings, and Mint Mobile.

The anchor advertisers, broken down

5-hour Energy

The energy-shot brand is the show's top host-read buyer, at over $200K in estimated total spend and roughly 130 to 155 ads, classified direct response by Spotsnow. A quick-lift product built for game-day, hot-take listeners is about as clean a fit as this audience offers.

Shopify

The e-commerce platform has run roughly 70 to 86 ads at over $100K in estimated total spend, direct response per Spotsnow. The entrepreneurial, side-hustle-minded male audience is a natural pool of would-be store owners.

Indeed

The job board sits at roughly 60 to 69 ads and over $100K in estimated total spend, direct response per Spotsnow. Hiring managers and working men are the show's core, and a hiring pitch lands with both sides of that.

The awareness outlier

Not everything here is coded direct response. Large produced-spot advertisers like Toyota, LinkedIn, Energy Transfer, and ESPN itself run pure brand-awareness reads in the same feed. That's proof a reach-and-association play can also work here, alongside the direct-response core.

All spend figures are Spotsnow estimates.

Why sports brands cluster here

Look at who repeats and the thesis writes itself. An energy shot, a job board, and an e-commerce platform aren't buying the same feed by accident. They're buying a young, male, US-heavy audience in prime earning years, delivered by a host whose authority on sports carries into whatever he reads next. Smith's credibility is the product. When he vouches for a shot that gets you through a workday or a platform to start a store, the endorsement inherits the trust he's built arguing about the NBA. That's why performance brands with a fast payback keep coming back, and why the sportsbooks and telecoms slot in beside them. The mindset is decisive: this crowd acts on a code before the next segment starts.

How your ad could sound

The 5-hour Energy read gets the front end right. The hook is concrete and sensory ("ignite your taste buds") with a flavor line-up you can picture: cherry, citrus lime, and blue raspberry. It names the benefit cleanly, a "zero sugar energy shot," and ties it to the season with "Bring on summer." That's a tight product story a listener holds onto.

The close is where it leaks. It ends on "Available, available online," with no promo code, no URL, and no urgency. For a spot Spotsnow classifies as direct response, that's a soft landing. Drop in a coded offer and a real destination and you'd actually be able to measure what the read drove, which is the whole point of buying host-read here.

View what a great sample ad looks like here.

What makes a show like this convert

1. The format does the work. A host-read carries codes and URLs, so the spend is measurable in a way a produced spot isn't.
2. Host credibility transfers. Smith's authority on sports lends weight to whatever he endorses, and the audience trusts the handoff.
3. The audience is buyable. A young to mid-career, male, US-heavy crowd in earning years is a clean target for energy, hiring, and e-commerce offers.
4. Repeat buying proves the math. 5-hour Energy's roughly 130 to 155 ads is a brand that keeps re-upping, and nobody re-ups a channel that doesn't pay back.

First Take in a nutshell

This is a strongly male, US-heavy sports audience in prime earning years, estimated at roughly 110,000 listeners per Spotsnow. The brands buying it, 5-hour Energy, Shopify, and Indeed, lean on host-read endorsements from Stephen A. Smith, and Spotsnow classifies almost all of it as direct response. The show sells direct through ESPN on a quoted, per-campaign basis. If your objective is coded, measurable performance, this feed fits, though there's room for awareness money too.