The Pro Football Hall of Fame Shannon Sharpe left FS1’s “Undisputed” program and his co-host Skip Bayless after seven years of working together. He later agreed to join hands with the “First Take” show on ESPN alongside Stephen A. Smith.
Both Sharpe and Bayless got emotional during the former’s departure, albeit every viewer of the show knew that a spicy cold war had been prevalent between them. However, ESPN struck gold by signing the former NFL star as his arrival has already been marked as a huge business win for the company in the early going.
How many viewers has “First Take” had since Shannon Sharpe and Stephen A. Smith joined?
During a recent appearance on “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” Sharpe openly called out Bayless and his new cast saying the FS1 show would not be able to surpass his show on ESPN, even if Smith leaves the show.
“Y’all not going to be better than me and Stephen A. That’s not going to happen. I promise you, that is not going to happen. Ever. EVER. Now, if Stephen A. says, ‘Shannon, I want to go in a different direction,’ you all are still not (going to beat us).”
Seemingly, the veteran’s take was not wrong in any sense as just six weeks on the air, Sharpe has reportedly been a part of three of the four most-watched episodes of “First Take” this year while it has surpassed 900K viewers several times.
The three-time Super Bowl champion appears on ESPN’s show two or three days a week alongside Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, Ryan Clark, Marcus Spears, and Dan Orlovsky. Meanwhile, his bromance with Smith is another thing to watch as the duo has been seen enjoying their companionship as they frequently appear on each other’s individual podcasts. They both even traveled together to see college football coach Deion Sanders Colorado Buffaloes’ football games.
How did Skip Bayless make a terrible business mistake?
After breaking up with Sharpe, Bayless has a list of guests to work alongside him including rapper Lil Wayne, Richard Sherman, Michael Irvin, Keyshawn Johnson, Josina Anderson, and Rachel Nichols. Just for one person, FS1 had to bring so many people.
On top of that, according to a report by Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, Sharpe’s “First Take” has already surpassed Skip’s “Undisputed” show on his debut back on Sept. 4, which averaged 727,000 viewers. His two-day debut also recorded 6.8 million views on ESPN’s YouTube account.
In the following week, the ex-NFL star’s appearance attracted 726,000 viewers, while “Undisputed” averaged 162,000. The Monday edition of “First Take” with him, Smith, and Molly Qerim drew 852,000 viewers, nearly five times more than the 172,000 viewers for Skip’s show on Monday. It seems that FS1, in parting ways with Shannon Bayless, may have made a regrettable decision.
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