Stephen A Smith and ESPN should consider a full-time reunion with Skip Bayless

The history between Bayless and the show is significant.ESPN built "First Take," its daily debate program, around Bayless in 2007.Like Smith today, Bayless initially debated a rotating cast of analysts.

He pushed the network to give Smith a recurring role, but executives initially resisted after Smith's previous, unsuccessful stint at ESPN.SKIP BAYLESS BOOSTS STEPHEN A'S SLUGGISH "FIRST TAKE" RATINGS BY 24% ON THEIR REUNION SHOWSmith eventually joined the show on a weekly basis and became Bayless' full-time debate partner in 2012.Together, Bayless and Smith drew an average audience that well exceeded ESPN2's typical viewership, often outperforming the main ESPN channel during the same time slot.Bayless left ESPN for FS1 in 2016 to launch "Undisputed," a similarly formatted debate program designed to compete directly with "First Take." Bayless partnered with Shannon Sharpe at FS1, while Max Kellerman replaced him at ESPN.Comparing the success of the two programs warrants context.ESPN reached three to five times as many morning viewers as FS1 at the time.

Even so, "First Take" lost more than 20% of its audience after Bayless departed.ESPN responded by moving the program from ESPN2 to ESPN.

After the move, "First Take" attracted roughly twice the audience of "Undisputed."The gap widened after Kellerman left "First Take" and Sharpe exited "Undisputed." By 2023, "First Take" regularly drew three to four times as many viewers as its FS1 rival.Bayless ultimately left the network in 2024.Sports journalist and television personality Skip Bayless appears on television screens in the control room during the live filming of ESPN2's daily sports talk show First Take at ESPN Headquarters in Bristol, Conn., on Aug.

30, 2013.(Christopher Capozziello/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)Smith and Bayless are in different positions than they were in 2012.At the time, Bayless was one of ESPN's most viral personalities.

Smith had been relegated to local radio.Today, Smith is ...