Seth Vigdor
Could you ever imagine a world where Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith weren’t both on the same programming? It could happen.
Back in April of 2015, former ESPN producer Jamie Horowitz agreed to a deal to oversee FS1 and FS2. Now, Horowitz is trying to steal the BS spewing Bayless away from ESPN. The two worked together on ESPN’s First Take, so it’s no surprise that Horowitz would want a loudmouth such as Bayless to be part of his team.
If you have no clue who Horowitz is, this quote from him should tell you everything that you need to know.
I look at these ‘opinionists’ like superstars in the NBA. You can probably name the dozen superstars who are out there. It’s like asking the (Boston) Celtics, ‘Are you interested in Kevin Durant?’ Yes, we’re interested in all the superstars. Of course, I’m interested in Skip. I’m interested in Stephen A. and Michael (Smith) and Jemele and (Tony) Kornheiser and (Michael) Wilbon. Just like ESPN and Fox were both interested in Colin.”
Yeah, these “opionionists” are no superstars. I’d actually compare them to many on Twitter. Here’s a small sample of the foolishness that Bayless tweets.
https://twitter.com/RashiedDavis/status/696560403103555584
Long term give me Josh Freeman over Cam. Better leader, more consistent passer, more clutch, more poised under fire, more careful with ball.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) November 16, 2012
I KNOW what Tebow can do in the NFL. I've seen it over/over/over. I'm not sure what Andrew Luck can do or if he has Tebow's It Factor
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) January 27, 2012
I love Steph but GSt had a fortuitous run to title. Avoided OKC, Clips, Spurs and 4 straight injured starting PGs. Needs to validate next yr
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) June 17, 2015
Skip says things for attention and even me writing this is giving him more attention than he should be getting. Michael McCarthy of Sporting News took a deep dive into Horowitz’s plan to “beat ESPN at it’s own game.” Here’s what McCarthy had to say.
Sports news and highlights, narrated by wisecracking anchors, have been the bread and butter of sports studio programming since ESPN popularized the genre in the 1980’s. But today’s sports fans don’t wait to watch Stephen Curry on a highlight show, Horowitz said. They’ve already watched what he did on their mobile devices. The “Embrace Debate” format pioneered by Bayless and Smith is widely loathed by many TV types, both inside and outside ESPN. But “First Take” has grown into the No. 1 studio show on ESPN2. The weekday morning show (10 a.m. to noon ET) averaged a record 413,000 viewers in February, up 18 percent from the same month last year. ESPN2 more than doubled FS1’s viewership from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in 2014. Sitting in the Midtown Manhattan office of sister network Fox News, Horowitz believes FS1 can do to ESPN what Fox News did to former cable news leader CNN: outflank a decades-long incumbent by being provocative and opinionated.”
I think it all comes down to money. Bayless will demand top dollar and if FS1 can give it to him, I can see Bayless bolting from ESPN. Especially if he can be the number one guy.