Skip Bayless’s new version of ‘Undisputed’ seems to be on its way to catching up to ESPN’s ‘First Take’ despite the latter landing Shannon Sharpe as a member of Stephen A. Smith’s debate panel, according to FrontOfficeSports.
The FS1 show, which also has a rotating group now, averaged 91,000 viers last Thursday, while ‘First Take’ pulled in 336,000. However, Skip’s ratings climbed to 126,000 the following day while Smith’s dropped to 307,000.
That’s because Josina Anderson debuted on the show, helping it attract its second-biggest audience since that two-month hiatus in the wake of Sharpe’s departure.
Things were slightly better the previous Monday as viewership was at 131,000 for the show’s return episode. However, ‘First Take’ boasted 448,000 viewers that day.
By Wednesday, the viewership for ‘Undisputed’ had dropped to 78,000 while 423,000 viewers gravitated toward ‘First Take’ brought in’.
“That [Wednesday number] was almost impossible to believe,” a source noted. “That’s former fans actively choosing not to watch.”
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Both networks likely garnered extra interest this Monday because people wanted to hear what television’s most popular analysts had to say about Colorado’s win over TCU on Saturday. Skip actually got Deion Sanders on the show, doing so on the day Sharpe made his debut on ‘First Take’. So it will be interesting to see how those ratings end up.
It will also be interesting to see how Skip’s show does if his Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants this Sunday.
