Stop the fight.
In the battle of Stephen A. Smith’s First Take against Skip Bayless’s revamped (and much-hyped) Undisputed, it’s a ratings TKO.
Via Michael McCarthy of FrontOfficeSports.com, First Take trounced Undisputed in viewership over the first three days of Bayless 2.0.
On Monday, First Take drew 448,000 viewers to 131,000 for Undisputed. On Tuesday, the gap shifted to 474,000 vs. 120,000. By Wednesday, Undisputed had plummeted to 78,000 against 423,000 for First Take.
The margin comes despite the fact that, as of August 1, FS1 is in more homes than ESPN.
This week, Undisputed returned from an extended break following the involuntary departure of Shannon Sharpe, who debuts on First Take next week. On Monday and Tuesday, Bayless was joined by Michael Irvin, Richard Sherman, and Keyshawn Johnson for a rollicking and at times unruly discussion that featured the panelists at times talking over each other — and at times freezing Bayless out of the conversation.