Fans of the show ‘Undisputed’ won’t be seeing a new episode until August. The program is facing the most uncertainty it ever has during its seven-year run to date.
Currently, the show is on an extended hiatus from the network as the Fox Sports team assesses what to do with it next. “Undisputed” is currently on a two-month hiatus that was announced by FS1 and Bayless. The program has targeted a return date of Aug. 28th.
According to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, the network’s strategy “was driven by Bayless and FS1 management’s inability to find a replacement for Shannon Sharpe.”
“Shannon’s exit moved way faster than they expected. So they had no choice but to go on hiatus,” a source told FOS. “Skip has never done anything like this during all his years at FS1 or ESPN. Not being on the air during all these NBA moves is killing him.”
Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports also added that the show could be making a shift to the First Take’s current format of a revolving door of analysts debating Bayless on a variety of sports topics.
Stephen A. Smith has already gone on record to state that he loves this format and wouldn’t change it for a permanent co-host when he spoke about Shannon Sharpe possibly signing with ESPN.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
One source told McCarthy that Fox Sports really messed up by allowing Sharpe to walk away.
“This was so dumb. They had the best (partner),” McCarthy wrote. “There are three stars in the morning debate: Skip, Stephen A., and Shannon. And Fox had two of them.”
Sharpe left “Undisputed” on June 13, 2023, after having been a part of the show since it debuted in 2016. Sharpe’s exit was reportedly induced by his tense relationship with Bayless.
Replacing Sharpe is no easy task as Fox Sports is finding out right now.
