Years Before UNDISPUTED Stint, Skip Bayless Tried Replacing Stephen A. Smith on ‘First Take’ With the Latest ESPN Employee

Before reviving the TRP war with their revamped rival shows, Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless were behaving like strange bedfellows. The sports analysts were locking horns over an apparent newsroom supremacy. One of them even tried to dethrone the other in what appeared to be a commentator’s coup.

The beans over the bygone episode were spilled by Smith while welcoming his new partner-in-presentation. The expose has already become a juicy gossip highlighting the sleight of hand moves in the showbiz industry. While many are calling such revelations a smart strategy to reignite the newsroom battle amid the ongoing rival shows between the colleagues turned contenders, others are calling it an ugly reality of TV.

But why’s Skip Bayless such a rival for Stephen A. Smith?

Skip Bayless famously parted ways with Stephen A. Smith and ESPN’s First Take in 2016 to set up his own show Undisputed with Fox Network. His TV stint with Smith witnessed several dins and disputes that eventually led to this fallout. The ugly upshot of this newsroom infighting went to such an extent that Bayless tried replacing the most legendary sports analyst on his own show.

The timing of this disclosure is crucial. It came at a time when Smith landed NFL legend Shannon Sharpe to join the iconic show. However, Skip Bayless may have brought the 3-time Super Bowl champion to the show much before Smith or ESPN may have envisioned it.

Years before Bayless partnered with Sharpe on Undisputed, Smith was almost replaced by the legendary tight end. However, the veteran’s stature proved too big for the sly replacement. The 55-year-old acknowledged this very move from Bayless in a recent discussion with Sharpe on his show, Club Shay Shay.

“I knew back then Skip was auditioning you,” Smith told Sharpe in what sounded like a freewheeling talk. “Because, whenever I took off, you would be there. And what Jamie wouldn’t tell anybody is that there were extra days that I would take off, just so Skip could bring you on.”

But years later, Smith would turn the tables on Bayless by recruiting Sharpe. And with that, First Take surpassed Bayless’ Undisputed by a big margin in terms of ratings and viewership.

Smith’s First Take reigns supreme over Bayless’ Undisputed

First Take has entertained basketball fans on their television screens for over 16 years now. The show that roped in Stephen A. Smith has dominated the court commentary from the very beginning. In fact, it has reigned supreme over Bayless’ show, Undisputed too.

First Take generates an average viewership of a whopping 448,000 viewers. In comparison, Undisputed only engaged a mere 131,000 viewers after their all-new format. In fact, Smith’s show has had one of its most successful years to date, achieving several incredible numbers.

In January this year, First Take accounted for its largest monthly audience with an average of 561,000 viewers. This became the show’s most watched month ever. They repeated this feat for the month of March as well.

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Although Stephen A. Smith’s position in ESPN was put in jeopardy by his own new recruit, the duo have shined together already. Meanwhile, Bayless’ show continues to nosedive.

Read More: “I Know What Shannon Was Going Through”: Stephen A. Smith Vilifies Skip Bayless & $13,920,000,000 Co, Takes Pride on Being Sharpe’s Lifeline