Stephen A. Smith has ramped up the rivalry with former ‘First Take’ partner Skip Bayless as he threw some serious shade his old running mate’s way on Friday.
Bayless is back on television after a two-month absence, having unveiled a new cast including Richard Sherman, Michael Irvin, and Keyshawn Johnson for ‘Undisputed’ this week, having lost Shannon Sharpe. Though there was interest in the new-look sports debate show, ‘First Take’ wiped the floor with it in the ratings department.
FrontOfficeSports reported Skip’s show brought in 131,000 viewers on Monday while Stephen A.’s garnered a viewership of 448,000. The report went on to cover the two days that followed, with ‘Undisputed’ dropping as low as 78,000 on Wednesday while ‘First Take’ remained above 400,000.
“The first three days of Bayless’ revamped program drew fewer viewers than Sharpe’s final episodes in June, which averaged 154,000 viewers to “First Take’s” 421,000,” the report notes.
Smith would show zero sportsmanship as he reposted the report on X.
Bayless, however, won the battle on said social media platform as his show trended there all week. He can also expect a huge boost when the NFL season kicks off.
