‘First Take’ Ratings Up 24% for Skip Bayless Return

The reunion of Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless on ESPN’s First Take was a hit with viewers.

Front Office Sports has learned that Bayless’s first appearance with Smith on First Take in a decade averaged 647,000 viewers, according to Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel ratings system. That’s up 24% from the weekday show’s average viewership from January-May 2026 (520,800) and a 44% hike from the corresponding episode on May 9, 2025.

The two original masters of the embrace debate format hyped their mano-a-mano rematch like the Thrilla in Manila. That helped spark some impressive numbers on social media. 

Friday’s show with Smith, Bayless, and new moderator Shae Cornette went viral, generating 33.5 million social impressions, 22 million views, and 1.1 million engagements across ESPN social platforms.

ESPN has declined to comment on whether Bayless will return as a recurring debate partner for Smith. But given the numbers generated by Friday’s show—and the surprisingly positive reaction toward the polarizing Bayless—it would be shocking if we didn’t see ESPN pair them up again. Or as Stephen would put it, that would be “blasphemy.”

Bayless was clearly energized by Smith and ESPN’s decision to pluck him out of the TV wilderness and bring him back to the spotlight. He’s begging for another crack at his old friend and sparring partner.

“Friday wasn’t a reunion. It was a rebirth. It was a relaunch,” Bayless wrote on X/Twitter on May 11. “It was just a restart of the greatest thing that has ever happened to me in my lifetime.”