“He doesn’t actually want to play me…” Cam Newton accuses Skip Bayless of beefing with him just for the sake of ratings

FOX Sports' flagship talk show Undisputed has had horrendous ratings following the departure of Shannon Sharpe.

“He doesn’t actually want to play me…” Cam Newton accuses Skip Bayless of beefing with him just for the sake of ratings

Skip Bayless and Cam Newton (via Undisputed on FS1/ IMAGO)

It has been a few weeks since Skip Bayless issued an open challenge to Cam Newton, inviting him to play against him in a three-point shootout game of HORSE on his podcast. The duo had a difference of opinion after Bayless dubbed a ridiculous game-winning block by Anthony Edwards, where his head hit the backboard after he made the block as a rather ordinary feat. This irked Newton, who dared the analyst to do the same.

Skip Bayless responded to Cam Newton and claimed that he could beat the former NFL quarterback in basketball. The latter accepted the offer and asked the former to send him the time and place.

YouTube video

It has been a few weeks since he issued his acceptance, but Skip Bayless does not seem to be too eager to set things in motion. The analyst has since gone on to bring up Newton on air and has brought up past instances such as his Super Bowl loss to the Denver Broncos.

FS Video

This tendency of Skip Bayless to continue to beat around the bush has resulted in Newton being convinced that the analyst has no intention to play him. He is just merely using his name to garner views and is desperately attempting to increase the ratings of his show. 

Skip Bayless needs Cameron Newton, I've seen the report that said Skip Bayless' ratings has failed week-after-week... It initially started with me going back and saying, if you can't do it. Shut up...I had to realize and say, Skip don't really want to play me, Skip just want ratings from a failing show...He's mentioning the Super Bowl, he's mentioning Von Miller, he's trying to stay relevant...this ain't about basketball...
Cam Newton via 4th and 1 podcast

Skip Bayless’ Undisputed on FS1 has taken a big hit in terms of viewership ratings

Cam called out the analyst for attempting to use him and milk his name for views. He brought up the decline in the show’s ratings and viewership this year on a weekly basis.

As per Sports Media Watch, FOX Sports’ flagship show touched an all-time record-low viewership of 50,000 viewers on the 27th of February. ESPN’s First Take, on the other hand, recorded 486,000 views on the same day. The difference is night-and-day between the two.

Cam Newton
Cam Newton (via IMAGO)

The immediate week following the Super Bowl is the equivalent of harvest season for sports networks. Fans are glued to their televisions and sports talk shows such as First Take and Undisputed amass massive views during this period.

This year, ESPN’s show managed to garner 548,000 views as part of its initial broadcast, whereas Undisputed had just 78,000 viewers on average. Those numbers ought to be concerning for FOX Sports, who have for the longest period trusted Skip Bayless’ intuition and plan for the show.

Since the departure of Shannon Sharpe from the network, things have not been the same. Skip brought in Richard Sherman, Keyshawn Johnson, and Michael Irvin on the panel. Sherman has not been on the show following his DUI incident, which has left Johnson and Irvin as the only two regular panelists. The show’s format has changed a bit but from the numbers it is clear that the viewers are not liking it.

Cam Newton believes Skip Bayless is hoping to save his ratings and make the show a bit more interesting by continuing to bring his name up. However, this claim may not have much merit to it.

Skip has addressed the beef with Newton on his namesake show, which airs on YouTube and is available in podcast formats. So, there is no way this would have had any impact upon the TV ratings of Undisputed directly. But it would surely have had an impact upon the ratings of his social media views and clicks.

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