WRIGHT STUFF
Former Houston radio host Nick Wright debuts a national show.
Nick Wright will begin his new Fox Sports 1 show “First Things First” on Tuesday morning with understandable optimism and high hopes but also with a heavy heart for the misfortune that has befallen the town where he lived and worked for four years. § Wright, the former KILT (610 AM) talk show host who will co-host FSI’s morning show with Cris Carter and Jenna Wolfe, already was planning a shoutout to Houston on an early program. But with Hurricane Harvey’s devastating impact on the city, his words will be delivered in a different tone. § “I’m pulling for my friends and hope that things are better when we are on the air,” Wright said. “It shows something for the city and the people in it when you see people who are safe putting themselves in harm’s way. It’s a level of courage and selflessness that I’m not sure that I have.”
Wright, who began his career in Kansas City, spent four years in Houston, from 2012-16 alongside co-host John Lopez. He has spent more than a year at Fox, appearing on assorted network shows while executives developed the concept for “First Things First” and paired him with Carter, the former NFL wide receiver.
Ahead of schedule
That may seem like a slow build-up, but Wright said his chance is coming a lot sooner than he expected.
“I remember talking to my agent and saying that if I play things right, within three years I hopefully can have my own show,” he said. “And we started developing this one within eight months of me starting.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bundle of nerves. I realize what an amazing opportunity this is for me.”
Wright has spent much of the past year as a guest on assorted shows and as a regular guest and fill-in host for Colin Cowherd, which he said gave him to establish his personality outside of Kansas City, his hometown, and Houston.
He was brought to the network by Jamie Horowitz, the former “embrace debate” programming chief for Fox Sports who was fired in July in the midst of a sexual harassment probe.
“Everyone likes to have their boss be the person who hired them, but I am lucky that nothing would have happened for me without (Fox Sports head) Eric Shanks signing off on it,” Wright said. “Charlie Dixon, who was Jamie’s deputy, is still here, and we have a tremendous relationship.
More structured than radio
Wright also worked morning drive time in Houston, so he will still be working the same hours more or less, albeit it with a better wardrobe. There are other, more substantive changes between sports talk TV and sports talk radio, however.
“Radio in general is a more freewheeling format because there are no supporting elements,” he said. “In radio, if you’re talking about the Texans and all of a sudden you see a tweet from Jose Altuve, you can hit it instantly. TV doesn’t allow for that. Things have to be planned out to the minute.
“The other difference is that I am a verbose guy. You can ask me the time, and I’ll tell you how to make a watch. You can do that more on radio than on TV.”
TV also provides less opportunity, at least for Wright, to talk about matters of personal interest, be it family or pop culture subjects, and less of a tolerance for the social justice or politics of race topics that he frequently debated on his KILT show.
“People are coming to us for sports commentary,” he said. “If I turn on ‘Entertainment Tonight’ and they’re talking about the Super Bowl, that’s not what I came for. If I watch ‘ET,’ I want entertainment talk.
“That being said, you cannot avoid the real world in today’s sports climate. If politics or real life intersect with that world, absolutely we will talk about it.”
As for early topics, Wright said it’s no coincidence that the show is premiering before the start of the NFL season. With 15 hours of show time each week, “I would set the overunder on pro and college football talk at 14 hours and 18 minutes, and I would take the over.”
Given his Houston ties, Wright expects to have some extra Texas flavor for his show, including early appearances from former Texans receiver Andre Johnson and Rockets general manager Daryl Morey.
“I would appreciate it if friends or people who listened to me on the radio, even if you gritted your teeth at me, check out the show,” Wright said. “Cris is amazing, Jenna is amazing and I’m delighted to be there.”