Jason Kelce Gets Bad News on ESPN Late-Night Show

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Jason and Travis Kelce have a popular podcast in "New Heights," but one of Jason's other ventures has possibly hit a snag.

Former Philadelphia Eagles star Jason Kelce may not be in the NFL anymore, but he’s anything but missing from the public eye. Kelce is a regular sports personality during the “Monday Night Football” games and has plenty of projects that keep him in the spotlight, including his “New Heights” podcast with brother Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Now, Kelce is trying his hand at hosting a late night, early morning talk show on sports network ESPN. However, it’s possible this wont’ be the best fit for Kelce, at least looking at early numbers.

Jason Kelce’s Ratings in Question

According to a report from Puck sports business expert John Ourand, the debut episode of the show, called “They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce,” has left something to be desired in the ratings department.

Those ratings were “not particularly good,” according to a post on X from Ourand on Monday, January 6. The inaugural episode aired at 1 a.m. and drew an audience 290,000 viewers, Ourand reports.

Two weeks before the debut, in the same time slot, the viewership was 700,000 viewers, according to Ourand. He does point out, however, that the show that week came following the Notre Dame vs. Indiana College Football Playoff game, so more people could have been watching late-night sports because of that significant game. Ourand also points out that during the same time slot last year, ESPN had 436,000 viewers, but he didn’t point out what was showing before that slot last year.

Either way, it shouldn’t be a big deal to either Kelce or ESPN, since the show is only contracted to last five episodes, all of which are being recorded at Union Transfer, a music venue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

“From ESPN’s perspective, viewership numbers from a late-night talk show that has a five-episode run don’t matter nearly as much as other aspects of this programming deal,” Ourand added. “ESPN is happy to be in business with Jason Kelce, regardless.”

As for the debut show’s guest lineup, it featured Kelce’s wife Kylie and former NBA star Charles Barkley. Both Jason and Kylie have become much more popular as of late because of Jason’s brother, Travis, dating Taylor Swift, so having Kylie on the show seems like a draw. Barkley is always a popular guest, too.

Jason and Travis Kelce’s ‘New Heights’ Podcast Has Strong Following

Even if Jason’s late-night show on ESPN isn’t going well, he has his successful “New Heights” podcast with Travis, which has a large following and more than 2.5 million YouTube subscribers alone. It goes without saying that the popularity of the podcast grew after Travis started dating Swift, but either way, what the guys do and say on the show seems to be striking a chord with listeners.

Kelce retired from the NFL last season and joined ESPN after that retirement. He’s an analyst on “Monday Night Countdown” and will also be a part of ESPN’s coverage through the playoffs.

While Jason is retired, Travis is still serving as a star tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs have a bye and then head off to the playoffs, trying to secure their third Super Bowl championship in a row.