Jason Kelce’s ESPN talk show, already plagued by its 1 a.m. EST airtime and poor ratings, is now facing a steady stream of negative reviews.
“They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce is the worst show in television history,” wrote a critic on X.
Another went a step further, calling the program “one of the worst ideas ever.”
The show, which takes its name from David Letterman’s legendary late-night show, premiered on January 3 to disappointing responses. The culprit could be the late start time or the content itself, but in any case, according to Puck’s John Ourand, the show only attracted 290,000 viewers during its first episode.
For context, Ourand points out that ESPN had 700,000 viewers watching the same time slot two weeks earlier. However, he adds, “that figure was inflated earlier in the evening by the Indiana-Notre Dame playoff game.”
DailyMail.com has contacted ESPN for confirmation.
Former NFL player and ESPN analyst Jason Kelce, right, performs with Philadelphia Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland during a taping on Jan. 3

Former NFL player and ESPN analyst Jason Kelce, right, performs a skit with a younger version of himself during the taping
Most importantly, Ourand wrote on Jan. 6, the ratings don’t really represent Kelce’s value to the network.
The Super Bowl winner and Philadelphia Eagles legend reportedly makes $1.8 million a year from ESPN, not including a $1 million signing bonus, according to a May report in the Sun. That deal includes Kelce’s main duties on Monday Night Countdown and the five-episode limited series of his late night talk show.
So while there may be some negative reactions to Kelce’s Steve Allen impersonation, the network likely cares a lot more about his Monday Night Football duties.
And that’s a good thing for Kelce, because social media is a bottomless pit of criticism.
“Late Night with Jason Kelce is one of the most pathetic shows I have ever seen,” one angry fan wrote on X. “Stop selling out and just go back to the roots.”
“Jason Kelce’s late night show is unwatchable,” another added.

Former NFL player and ESPN analyst Jason Kelce, right, performs a skit with NFL Hall of Famer Harold Carmichael, left






Not everyone hates Jason Kelce’s new ESPN talk show, which recently aired its third episode
Luckily, not everyone hated Kelce. One fan wrote that the second episode was “a substantial improvement.”
And another complained to the live TV streaming service Sling that Kelce’s show couldn’t be recorded.
“Impractical Jokers and Jason Kelce Is it Late Night are not on demand,” they groaned.
Additionally, a Philadelphia sports fan called the third episode a dramatic improvement.
“Jason Kelce’s late night show has really found its footing,” they wrote on X. “Fantastic niche he finds here. Really like it. So much better than where he started. So happy to see it!’
Kelce’s ESPN deal also gave the network the right to buy Jason and his brother Travis’ popular podcast if they chose to sell before 2025, the Sun reported. According to multiple reports, the brothers instead signed a $100 million podcast deal with Amazon for advertising and distribution rights to their show, New Heights.