Days After Bombing on Opening Night Against Stephen A. Smith’s First Take, UNDISPUTED’s Skip Bayless Speaks Out: “Never Prepared Harder”

Apart from dramatic trades, the offseason is witnessing some hottest NBA shows. Many are revamping their roster of hosts in order to prepare for the upcoming season. The right set of broadcast battery results in more viewership and bigger numbers but Skip Bayless may not be privy to this for the upcoming season.

Skip Bayless’ Undisputed and Stephen A. Smith’s First Take are two of the most-watched shows on television. But after bombing on opening night to First Take, Skip Bayless had something important to say.

Skip Bayless issues a heartfelt message

Skip Bayless had one of the best NBA analytical shows on air last season. Bayless was paired along with former NFL star Shannon Sharpe. And the duo made for some interesting heated debates that fans loved to see.

But after this season, Sharpe went on to leave Undisputed and join forces with Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s First Take. This resulted in plummeting numbers for Bayless’ Undisputed as compared to Smith’s First Take.

Read More: “You Paved the Way”: Stephen A. Smith Gets Massive Praise From New First Take Partner Shannon Sharpe Days Before Debut

After the huge crash in viewership, Skip Bayless had a heartfelt message for his viewers on his show. He was asked by one of the viewers how much sleep he got prior to the relaunch of Undisputed. Bayless replied, “Not much but more than I expected.” He then went on to say, “Live television is about preparation and concentration. I have NEVER prepared harder than I did for the 4-5 days leading up to Monday’s Undisputed relaunch.”

Skip went on to talk about himself and his team and how they prepared hard for the relaunch. Unfortunately for him, the viewership kept declining whereas First Take’s numbers kept on soaring higher.

Skip Bayless may lose everything to Stephen A. Smith

Skip Bayless was considered one of the best NBA analysts to ever do it along with a few more. So, for his show to take such a dive in viewership and numbers is surely highly unusual. But there might be a reason for that.

What made Skip Bayless’ Undisputed so popular among fans was his back-and-forth arguments with Shannon Sharpe. And after Sharpe announced his departure, it may have taken a huge chunk of viewers along with him.

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For the opening week, Skip Bayless even had hip-hop artist Lil Wayne on the show but even that did not help. Now let’s see how Bayless brings the numbers back up as First Take flourishes further.