Is Skip Bayless eyeing a reunion with his old boss Jamie Horowitz? According to Front Office Sports’s Michael McCarthy, DAZN is looking to move beyond just live event broadcasts. Documentaries and studio programming are part of the company’s strategy going forward. With Bayless’s FS1 deal coming to an end, the time might be right for DAZN to swoop in.
Bayless credits Horowitz with turning his life and career around by putting him on First Take. He followed Horowitz to FS1 initially. The two very publicly reunited in Miami during Super Bowl week. Whether they discussed a potential reunion on DAZN is unknown.
DAZN has been expanding its programming more and more in the last two years. The company started by adding Adnan Virk to its MLB coverage on the whip-around show Change Up. It has also rolled out documentary series around Canel Alvarez fights and the Sylvester Stallone produced One Night: Joshua vs. Ruiz. DAZN has also added a simulcast of CBS Sports Radio’s The Pat McAfee Show.
FS1 seems to have faith in Bayless’s show Undisputed. The network showed that by signing his partner Shannon Sharpe to a multi-year contract in September.
DAZN isn’t the only competition FOX could have for Bayless’s services. It was reported in November that Bayless may have his eyes on a reunion with Stephen A. Smith and First Take over at ESPN.
When he first joined FOX, Bayless received a four-year deal with a total of $25 million. Smith received a new deal from ESPN recently that will pay him $8 million for the next five years. Would Bristol dole out the same kind of money for Bayless? It is possible that rumors of flirtations with DAZN and ESPN could be part of Bayless’s strategy to drive his asking price up. We won’t know for sure until September when his contract expires.
