Skip Bayless’ revamped ‘Undisputed’ is lagging behind the ratings of Stephen A. Smith’s First Take — and that’s BEFORE his ex-sparring partner Shannon Sharpe joined the show this week
- Sharpe left ‘Undisputed’ with Fox Sports in June after the conclusion of the NBA Finals
- Fox Sports has since hired Richard Sherman, Michael Irvin and Keyshawn Johnson
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Skip Bayless’ revamp of “Undisputed” has trailed Stephen A. Smith’s “First Take” in TV ratings even before Shannon Sharpe made his debut on the latter’s show on ESPN this week.
It took a two-month break for Bayless’ “Undisputed Live” to be shown on TV before returning to Fox Sports airtime on Monday, with Keyshawn Johnson, Michael Irvin and Richard Sherman appearing on the weekday debate show for the first time ever.
The new cast and format changes didn’t have much effect on producers, as only 131,000 viewers watched the show Monday, compared to 448,000 for ESPN’s top-rated “First Take,” according to Sports front office.
The opening widened on Tuesday, with an average of 120,000 viewers for ‘Undisputed Live’, compared to 4447,000 for ‘First Take’.
On Wednesday, ‘Undisputed Live’ only registered an audience of 78,000 viewers, compared to 423,000 for ‘First Take’.
Skip Bayless’ revamped version of “Undisputed” has been unpopular since its Monday airing
‘Undisputed Live’ draws audiences in the 100,000s compared to ‘First Take’s’ 400,000s
The first three days of Bayless’ revamped schedule attracted fewer viewers than the show’s final episodes co-hosted by Sharpe in June, averaging 154,000 viewers, versus 421,000 for ‘First Take’.
However, the jury is still out on Bayless’ show, with the start of the new NFL season expected to attract a larger audience later this month.
Sharpe left the 71-year-old’s show after the NBA Finals in June.
Josina Anderson, who was hired in 2011 as ESPN’s first female national NFL Insider, joined the Bayless program Friday as the newest member of the cast, trying to fill some of the void Sharpe had earlier this summer. abandoned.
‘Undisputed’ had a two-month break from FS1’s airtime after Shannon Sharpe left in June
Rachel Nichols, another former ESPN employee, made her Fox Sports debut on Wednesday.
Fox Sports Radio personality Doug Gottlieb urged everyone involved in the production of “Undisputed” to keep calm following the debut of the revamped show on Monday.
‘Relax, first show. Shows are always evolving,” Gottlieb tweeted. ”’First Take” was a segment called ”1st and 10” on ”Cold Pizza”, which was rebooted after a year.”
While “Undisputed” was off the air for almost the past two months, “First Take” had its most-watched August in six years, growing its viewership by 21 percent to 391,000 average viewers.