“High Noon” was overseen by hitmaking producer Erik Rydholm, the creator of a big block of ESPN’s popular afternoon programming, including “Pardon the Interruption,” “Highly Questionable” and “Around the Horn.”

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But the show didn’t last at its original hour length or time slot; it was eventually moved from noon to 4 p.m. and pared to 30 minutes. It was later bumped to ESPN2 on Mondays during football season in favor of “SportsCenter.” As the show searched for its footing, ESPN opted to cancel it rather than give it more time and the chance to build a bigger audience. In breaking the news, Sports Business Journal noted that the show averaged 330,000 viewers in the first quarter of this year so far, down 3 percent from a year ago. ESPN’s own statement knocked the viewership, too.

“Co-hosts Pablo Torre and Bomani Jones are extremely talented, and they helmed what we believe was a smart and nuanced show,” the company said. “Unfortunately, not enough people agreed with us.”

The show, which was greenlit by ESPN’s previous president, John Skipper, was an outlier for ESPN. Torre is a Harvard graduate and former writer for ESPN the Magazine. Jones has a master’s degree in economics and also hosts a podcast. The two were good friends and together aspired to the thinking fan’s guide to sports.

They covered the problems with the NFL’s and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation outreach to social justice organizations and they explored topics like whether black college athletes should attend Historically Black Colleges. “High Noon” also had its lighter moments, once airing a cold open that spoofed “Law and Order” and included Stephen A. Smith delivering his famous line, “Stay off the weed.”

“You’re allowed to not like that show, you’re allowed to not think that they had chemistry, or whatever it is your criticisms and complaints are,” said Dan Le Batard on his ESPN radio show Tuesday afternoon. “But I will just say that the cancellation of that show is a victory for dumb people.”

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“High Noon” will be replaced for now with a show starring former NBA player Jalen Rose and host David Jacoby. The shift comes not long after the network bumped its flagship sports-news show, “Outside the Lines,” from its daily lineup to a low-profile time slot on Saturday morning. Without OTL and “High Noon,” the network’s daily lineup, for now, has two fewer slots likely to examine race, politics and other off-the-field issues — the types of stories that network executives appear to believe viewers want fewer of.

Still, multiple people at ESPN said Jones and Torre, whose contracts expire soon, remain in negotiations with the company about new roles. Where those talks go may reveal more about ESPN than simply the end of “High Noon.”

Torre wrote on Instagram that his wife gave birth to the couple’s first child on Monday, and that the show was canceled while they were at the hospital.

“Thanks to everyone sending kind messages about how much High Noon meant to them,” he wrote. “I am deeply proud of what our team got to build.”