Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe’s departure from FS1’s “Undisputed” and his arrival to ESPN’s “First Take” have caused a major change in daily ratings. Sharpe joined “First Take” on Labor Day (Sept. 4), after leaving ‘Undisputed’ following the NBA Finals in June.
Sharpe, the three-time Super Bowl champion, has also been pretty open as to why he left former partner Skip Bayless and joined Stephen A. Smith.
Unc Shay Shay as he’s affectionately known says his departure stemmed from what he were direct shots from Bayless over and over again. Sharpe, recently said “he felt increasingly bullied and disrespected by Bayless.” And instead of fighting back, he decided it was best if he left the show. While, he may have felt bullied and disrespected, his impact on that show was bigger than folks wanna admit, and it’s reflecting big time at ESPN.
Numbers Don’t Lie
Since Sharpe’s arrival on Sept 4 “First Take” has seen an increase of 18 percent in viewership, which equals over 505,000 average viewers per day. That dwarfs the between 114,00 and 162,000 viewers per day that Undisputed which now features Bayless, joined by Pro Football Hall of Michael Irvin and former NFL Pro Bowl players Richard Sherman and Keyshawn Johnson.
Some days “First Take” has hit the over 720,000 viewers plateau for a single show, and Sharpe knows exactly why, and he explained it during a recent appearance on “The Stephen A. Smith Show.”
“Y’all not going to get better than me and Stephen A. That’s not going to happen. I promise you, that is not going to happen. Ever, EVER,” Sharpe declared.
“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 and turn the reins over to me, you all know I’m that dude. I’m him. Now the problem y’all got two hims to go up against.”
Smith Leaving In Future To Do Other Stuff?
Following Sharpe’s words, Smith did acknowledge that Sharpe taking over the show is a possibility if and when he does decide to venture into other realms of show business or even politics, which is something he’s always mentioned he wanted to give a try.
But for now, they’re enjoying working together and sticking it to Sharpe’s former colleague and Smith’s friend and former colleague Skip Bayless.
Smith won’t be leaving that $8 million to $10 million per year he rakes in anytime soon though.
