Matt Kelliher has served as Pardon the Interruption’s coordinating producer for all 25 years of the show’s existence. Before PTI debuted in 2001, he spent six years in Bristol, Connecticut, in ESPN’s studio production ranks. Kelliher initially started in August 1995 as a production assistant, mostly working on SportsCenter — including the legendary 11 p.m. edition hosted by Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann.
Kelliher became an associate producer where he worked on features and covered golf majors for SportsCenter, before being promoted to highlight supervisor, and producer, helping lead afternoon ESPNEWS shows, SCAM and the 6 p.m. SportsCenter.
On the eve of back-to-back Thursday episodes (5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) that will celebrate PTI’s 25-year anniversary, Kelliher reflects upon his decision to join the show two-and-a-half decades ago. He discusses PTI’s success and offers a glimpse behind the curtain of what it’s like to work with the show’s legendary hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon.
What led you to join the PTI production team at launch in 2001?
The main reason was the opportunity to be a part of a show from day one and help build something. The allure of moving back to Washington, DC, where I went to college (at Georgetown) was attractive as well. And, the fact that I would be working Monday through Friday, essentially 9-5, with weekends off was VERY attractive.
What expectations did you have for PTI when it started?
I didn’t really have any. I knew that [PTI’s founding executive producer] Jim Cohen, who hired me, was a really smart guy and someone I had loved working for when he was with SportsCenter as a CP. So that made me excited to take the job.
I overheard some serious skepticism about putting on a show with “two old sportswriters.” And that was a little unsettling, but happily for all involved, that proved unfounded. Jim said to us that he wanted PTI to be “the best show on television.” And I remember thinking that was sort of an absurd thing to say, I would have been very happy to launch the show and have it last a few years.
What’s your daily routine working with Tony and Mike?
I get on a phone call with Tony every day at 11 a.m. — not 10:59 a.m. or 11:03 a.m. Tony is a creature of habit. We discuss which stories in our Google doc he is most interested in, set the rundown and then he and I prep the stories for the show. He takes written, long-hand notes written in cursive on a yellow legal pad — one page for each A block story and 1/2 page for each B Block topic, unless we have a guest in the B Block.
I speak with Mike later in the day, usually about 3 p.m. and go over the stories. Both of them have consumed SportsCenter at that point and often the ESPN morning shows, so they are aware of a lot of stories, but we sometimes do topics not covered earlier in the day. Mike, in contrast to Tony, takes few notes. It is interesting to see how differently they prepare.
We all convene in the studio and record the show, usually from 4:30-5:15 p.m. or so. If there is breaking news or stories that develop through the day, we add them and subtract others. And in the event news breaks really late, we “go live” with the show at 5:30 p.m.
What are some unique things about Tony and Mike that PTI fans might not know?
The No. 1 reason PTI has been so successful is Tony and Mike. And their relationship. They love talking — and arguing — with each other. And that is so apparent on air. People may not know, or believe, how often they talk on the phone, on weekends especially. And every call usually starts with one asking the other, “Are you watching this?!” They want to share the experience of watching sports with each other. And then they want to share the experience of discussing those events the next day on PTI. It is very natural. And that is what makes the show special, their special relationship. And the deep love and respect they have for each other allows them to argue or disagree without there ever being hard feelings. Like, ever.
We as a production team have provided some bells and whistles to dress up the way their discussions are presented to viewers, and I think we do a pretty great job of selecting stories and angles that bring out the best in them. But in the end, their relationship is natural and special and they never get (too) tired of each other and that is what has kept us on the air for 25 years. And they both love sports, even after all these years. That matters so much, too.
What are your favorite moments working on the show?
When we have a late-breaking story and we have to scramble to go live. We started as a live-to-tape show for a lot of reasons, and have stuck with that over the years. But to collaborate with Tony and Mike and the rest of our awesome production team to react to a late-breaking story is always exhilarating, even if it is no big deal to most everyone else in TV. As Tony says everytime we do this, “Live TV. Ain’t nothing like it.”
What are you most proud of?
We are still consistently putting out a really good show, day after day after day, in our 25th year. And no matter how stressful or annoying a particular day’s prep and production can be, I think all of us that work on the show (Tony and Mike included) feel satisfied and proud once the show is over.