Somewhere within the crack of dawn, a battle is in progress, its battlefield is the TV screens, its warriors, sports talk show hosts and its spoils ‘viewership ratings."
A bitter rivalry between long-standing sport shows, First Take and Undisputed, epitomizes this struggle on morning TV.
In an effort to shift the viewership scales in their favor, both shows made significant changes over the summer, making it a veritable contest of the big names in sports.
FS1"s Undisputed revamped their show with retired NFL powerhouses Michael Irvin, Keyshawn Johnson, and Richard Sherman.
Countering this change, Stephen A. Smith of ESPN"s First Take rallied behind Shannon Sharpe, an ex-sparring partner of Bayless, to sit alongside him and Molly Qerim.
The new season has seen both shows battle it out with gusto, but the viewership numbers lean heavily in favor of Smith"s First Take.
With an average viewership of 554,000 from September to November, in contrast to Undisputed"s paltry 120,000, it"s apparent who the favorite is.
Even the two weeks from Nov. 27th to Dec. 8th saw First Take pulling in 581,000 viewers, overshadowing Undisputed"s 105,000 count.
First Take is averaging 5x more viewers than Undisputed, per @FOS
"During the two weeks from Nov. 27 to Dec. 8, ‘First Take’ (581,000) drew an audience five times greater than ‘Undisputed’ (105,000), according to sources. In fact, November ranked as the most-watched month… pic.twitter.com/fvUHVJisP0
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 13, 2023
The success from the numbers goes beyond viewer count, as well. November marked one of the most successful months in the 16-year history of First Take, with a massive 614,000 viewers.
This placed Emerald Take as a solid contender, maintaining its top ranking since the debut of Undisputed in 2016.
Given the resounding dominance of First Take, Sharpe didn"t shy away from claiming a continued reign even if Smith was to leave.
"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," Sharpe warned his competitors at FS1.
"Now, if Stephen A. says, ‘Shannon, I want to go in a different direction,’ you all are still not [going to beat us]. Because Stephen A. is that dude, if Stephen A. ever decides to leave and turn the reins over to me, you all know I’m that dude. I’m him. Now the problem y’all got is you got two hims to go up against."
But just as in any good story, the contender never fades away lightly, and in this case, it"s Undisputed"s Bayless.
Known for his versatility and persistence akin to a cat, the 72-year-old journalist is far from bowing out from the fight.
Besides his resilience, Bayless, widely acclaimed as the father of “Embrace Debate," has played a significant role in shaping the careers of both Smith and Sharpe.
Interestingly, Bayless played an instrumental role in teaming up with Smith on First Take in 2012 and later bringing Sharpe on board with Undisputed in 2016.
Amid the heightened rivalry, Undisputed had its strong moments this fall.
Including an on-site episode filmed at the University of Colorado involving Bayless, Irvin, and the University’s Coach Deion Sanders.
Adding to the show"s drama was a heated argument between Bayless and Sherman over a contested football occurrence.
Despite being new to TV, Sherman valiantly stood his ground against veteran journalist Bayless in the argument.
"I’ve been covering the game longer than you’ve been alive," Bayless retorted.
In the face of this fierce competition, FS1"s afternoon studio programs are indeed showing considerable growth.
With "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," “First Things First," headed by Nick Wright posting their most-watched Novembers ever.
The signs are there, the competition is heating up, and the undisputed reign of First Take may be up for contention.
