Are the days of Skip Bayless as a household name in sports media over?
That was the implication of a new report from Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, who first broke the news that the door was closed to Bayless at ESPN for a “First Take” reunion last month. Bayless signed off the air following Friday’s episode of “Undisputed” on FS1. Fox Sports finally confirmed his departure from the network that day.
Now?
“This is a tough spot for Skip,” a source told McCarthy. “His run is over.”
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The problem, according to McCarthy, is that without a platform on ESPN, Fox Sports, or another major network, Bayless’ online platform on its own might not be large enough to compete with his few rivals in the space.
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Shannon Sharpe, Bayless’ original sparring partner on “Undisputed,” has more than 3 million subscribers to his YouTube show.
Pat McAfee was able to parlay his YouTube subscriber audience (nearly 2.6 million as of this writing) into a Monday-Friday platform on ESPN.
Bayless’ YouTube show has 160,000 subscribers. He might have to name his next venture “Undeterred”; as Bayless’ sign-off post Friday suggested, he doesn’t appear ready to ride off into the sunset.
More news: Skip Bayless Breaks His Silence on Fox Sports Departure
“Today was my last show on ‘Undisputed,'” Bayless wrote. “I’m leaving FS1. I’ve been planning to pursue other opportunities for several months. I had a great 8-year run with a lot of great people at Fox, but now I’m excited for what’s coming up. Stay tuned.”
Why didn’t Bayless address any of this on his final show? McCarthy reports that Bayless was “disappointed at being pushed out of the network he helped build.”
McCarthy also speculated on a few of Bayless’ options for future platforms: “Bayless could land at betting platforms FanDuel, DraftKings, and Caesars Sportsbook, which have been scooping up mainstream sports media talent like Kay Adams, Mike Golic Sr. and Trey Wingo.”
A six-digit YouTube subscriber base is nothing to sneeze at, but clearly not in line with the top dogs of today’s sports media landscape. Even if his loyalists allow him to take his platform elsewhere, the peak of Bayless’ reign in sports media appears to have passed.
In 2004, Bayless transitioned from his role as a newspaper columnist into a full-time on-air personality at ESPN. He gained national prominence as a verbal sparring partner opposite Stephen A. Smith on “First Take” in 2007.
For now, call him “undeterred.”