ESPN host Dan Le Batard has never been shy about his feelings over Colin Cowherd and Skip Bayless leaving The Worldwide Leader for more money over at FS1. Now that Bayless has premiered at his new home with new show (which looks a lot like the old show), he’s sharing his opinion again.
Tuesday, Le Batard was incredulous about the arrival of Undisputed and just how much it’s like Bayless’s old haunt, First Take.
“They’ve got Lil Wayne on First Fake, this show with Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe. I can’t believe they’re just doing the same thing. I can’t believe that Fox is just doing First Fake. It’s just the same show with Shannon Sharpe as the other black guy.”
Le Batard has long been opposed to the notion that ESPN talent can go elsewhere for more money and find the same level of success. When the news of Bayless’ departure first broke, he spoke openly about a conversation he had with Colin Cowherd, who did the same thing.
“The ego of these guys is such that they don’t believe they’re choosing money over winning,” Le Batard said on his show this morning. “They believe they are going to make the difference. It’s happening right now in the sports opinion business. I told Colin Cowherd not to leave this spot. We were having conversations — now I’m revealing private conversations that I shouldn’t be — even though it would have benefited us, I was telling Colin Cowherd I don’t think you leave. You leave, you’re going to get lost, you’re going to do it for money and no one’s going to know where to find you. We don’t do this to have your voices stuffed in a drawer; we do this to be heard.”
Undisputed got off to a rousing start, delivered a .10 overnight Nielsen rating, up 400 percent from the same FS1 timeslot last year. That said, a .10 pales in comparison to First Take’s 0.32 in the same timeframe. That’s a 320 percent advantage and shows what Le Batard is warning about.
Of course, it’s still early and the numbers could change. Longterm, we’ll know better if Bayless and Cowherd made the right call or whether or not they traded relevance for paychecks. In the meantime, these two clone hot takes shows will battle it out for your eyeballs.
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About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.