Fox Sports Talent deals
- Thread starter NYShoreGuy
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Skip Bayless has conducted himsef like a clown for quite a while now. No sympathy from me; he's got millions to tide him over. A long time ago he was a sportswriter of some import. Then he sold out to become a cartoon figure on TV.
Skip Bayless leaving ‘Undisputed’ in FS1 bombshell
Skip Bayless is leaving his role as co-host of “Undisputed” at the network after eight years, The Post has learned.
nypost.com
Skip Bayless leaving ‘Undisputed’ in FS1 bombshell
By Ryan GlasspiegelIt is the end of an era at FS1.
Skip Bayless is leaving his role as co-host of “Undisputed” at the network after eight years, The Post has learned.
His final show will be later this summer.
Bayless referred The Post to Fox Sports PR, which declined to comment.
It is the second consecutive summer that one of the pillars of the program has departed, as Shannon Sharpe left following the NBA Finals last year.
The new iteration, which featured a rotating group of panelists with Bayless, including Keyshawn Johnson (who is on just about every day), Michael Irvin, Richard Sherman, Rachel Nichols and Paul Pierce, did not capture audiences as successfully as had Bayless and Sharpe debating one-on-one for the previous seven years.
It was going to be an uphill climb as Sharpe was arguably as compelling a debate foe for Bayless as Stephen A. Smith had been on “First Take” during his time at ESPN.
The show took a couple months off last summer following Sharpe’s departure and never regained the momentum.
When it returned, the format was a little bit wonky.
Instead of a moderator — a role formerly fulfilled by Joy Taylor, Jenny Taft and Jen Hale — Bayless introduced the topic and then might be the third or fourth person to chime in with his opinion.
“Undisputed” ratings numbers were also hurt on the margins as Craig Carton’s lead-in show has not yet reached the metrics that “First Things First” had in the early mornings before it got moved to mid-afternoon, following “The Herd” with Colin Cowherd.
While Cowherd and Bayless were warned by colleagues that they would get “lost” leaving ESPN for FS1 in 2015 and 2016, both were successful in making the shift, as digital platforms like YouTube, X and Instagram made their audiences portable beyond linear TV.
It is expected that “Undisputed” will continue without Bayless.
Elsewhere on the network, “First Things First” and “Speak” are expected to expand by a half-hour each, to fill the time vacated by “Race Hub,” the NASCAR show whose run ended after 13 years in June.
Former Post columnist Andrew Marchand reported in 2021 that Bayless had signed a four-year deal with FS1 worth $32 million.
Cowherd, who was the first talent building block for this iteration of FS1, also will be a free agent following the 2024-25 NFL season.
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