Stephen A. Smith Blasts OutKick Column on First Take Ratings Amid Bayless Reunion

Stephen A. Smith expressed anger over an OutKick article published this week about his upcoming reunion with Skip Bayless on First Take.

"Instead of just celebrating Skip Bayless coming back to 'First Take' for the day, I’m seeing articles here on Fox News, Awful Announcing, along with others, and it’s talking about ratings slip," Smith said on his radio show Tuesday.

He referred to an OutKick column from the day before that appeared on Fox News' homepage. It was titled "Skip Bayless to reunite with Stephen A. Smith on ESPN as First Take's ratings slip."

Smith added, "He’s coming back because I wanted him to come back for a day. Because I haven’t been with my guy in 10 years. Ratings slip? We’re still number one. We’ve had record ratings over the last five years. At some point, that’s not going to happen, because how many records can you break?"

First Take stands out as ESPN's daily studio program with the weakest growth. An ESPN press release noted that Get Up is up 18 percent and The Pat McAfee Show is up 16 percent. First Take, which airs between them, rose just 5 percent.

The show has also kept discussing political, social and racial topics while others grew more. ESPN executives have noticed First Take's stagnant viewership, especially after signing Smith to a five-year, $100 million contract.

Smith repeated that he is "still No. 1." First Take leads only among sports shows in its time slot. Fox News Channel more than triples its audience head-to-head, and ESPN's PTI tops it internally.

Next month marks 10 years since Bayless left ESPN for FS1. His last FS1 show aired almost two years ago. Bayless has shown interest in reuniting with Smith several times, and Smith said Tuesday that Bayless accepted the offer quickly.

Smith had resisted the idea until now. In 2024, after ESPN said it had no interest in Bayless, Smith stated, "Regarding Skip Bayless, ESPN did not consult with me. They didn’t have to. But in fairness, and in the interest of transparency, had they asked me, I would have said the same thing that ESPN said. Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith, together as partners, working across from each other on a debate show, is over. It’s been over. And this is not the first time I’ve said it. There’s no negativity or shade being thrown on Skip Bayless. I have moved on."

Smith has rejected Bayless' return to First Take many times before.