ESPN Profit Plummets As Network Turns Left

#302
#302
volfanbill said:
This. No one is quitting cable because of ESPN's non live sports programming.

On the flip side no one is watching ESPN regurgitate 5 hour old news over and over. They barely care about it ten minutes later since they can pull all the information they could ever need off of espn.com or mostly from social media. While opinionated pieces may not be the most exciting, it gets better ratings than alternatives
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I think cord cutting and the downfall of espn subscriptions relate the other way as well. I think it started with cord cutters but some people did use the excuse of "but I wouldn't have espn or sportscenter" then they slanted their programming left and the ones on the he fence got pushed away. They couldn't justify it anymore because now they simply don't watch. This is where the true decrease in subscriptions and original programing ratings came from. Espn had the decrease, made the wrong choices and helped push it along.

Although twitter isn't the end all be all, of course, but you cannot dismiss the amount of people that say they stopped watching because of the unnecessary culture change at espn.
 
#304
#304
bamawriter said:
If you don't watch live sports, what programming could ESPN introduce that would make you watch ESPN? If you don't watch live sports, why would your TV ever be tuned to a sports network?
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I wish I had time to watch live sports but of it's not a special event, Olympics, World Series, World Cup kind of thing it doesn't get priority. I used to enjoy SportsCenter and PTI but not lately. I would like a sports recap with highlights and some light analysis. Hold the entertainment, who's dating who stuff and the social commentary please. Not why I follow sports.
 
#306
#306
utvols88 said:
I think cord cutting and the downfall of espn subscriptions relate the other way as well. I think it started with cord cutters but some people did use the excuse of "but I wouldn't have espn or sportscenter" then they slanted their programming left and the ones on the he fence got pushed away. They couldn't justify it anymore because now they simply don't watch. This is where the true decrease in subscriptions and original programing ratings came from. Espn had the decrease, made the wrong choices and helped push it along.

Although twitter isn't the end all be all, of course, but you cannot dismiss the amount of people that say they stopped watching because of the unnecessary culture change at espn.
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There's no logic there. Literally none
 
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#307
#307
ESPN was built on two types of hosts. Men who had some credibility because they played the game, and guys who had been around a game for a long time and had interesting style and insight.

They got rid of that.
 
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#309
#309
utvols88 said:
I think cord cutting and the downfall of espn subscriptions relate the other way as well. I think it started with cord cutters but some people did use the excuse of "but I wouldn't have espn or sportscenter" then they slanted their programming left and the ones on the he fence got pushed away. They couldn't justify it anymore because now they simply don't watch. This is where the true decrease in subscriptions and original programing ratings came from. Espn had the decrease, made the wrong choices and helped push it along.

Although twitter isn't the end all be all, of course, but you cannot dismiss the amount of people that say they stopped watching because of the unnecessary culture change at espn.
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Except the issue isn't ratings, it's subscribers, and you can't just call up and cut ESPN.
 
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#310
#310
ESPN's increasing reliance of guys with half a degree in sociology and head trauma dictating the conversations turned me off. Plus the ease of getting highlights anywhere else means I don't need to watch anything other than live events. Once the UT game goes off I'm on to other things.
 
#311
#311
This is just the tip of the iceberg. The real costs are sunk into their contracts with leagues to carry games. That can't be easily shedded. These employees salaries are a drop in the bucket
 
#314
#314
VolsSportsFan said:
Except the issue isn't ratings, it's subscribers, and you can't just call up and cut ESPN.
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The issue is both. espn2 is down 30 something percent. sports center is down as well. Can't remember the numbers. Also, I never said you can call and cut espn. I am talking about cable as a whole. I know plenty of people who didn't cord cut because of espn and live sports. Now that they never watch espn at home because of its slant in programming, cord is cut.
 
#316
#316
We cut the cord about a year ago. We don't miss it as we have Netflix Hulu and Amazon prime. Anything that's not on Hulu that we absolutely must see the new episodes of (which is a very small amount of shows) we buy a season pass to on Amazon Prime.

I watch substantially less tv than I used to and almost never just veg out with the tv on mindlessly. It's been a positive move all around and we have no regrets at all.

It did help this past football season that we had four CBS games since those can all be streamed through their site.
 
#317
#317
utvols88 said:
The issue is both. espn2 is down 30 something percent. sports center is down as well. Can't remember the numbers. Also, I never said you can call and cut espn. I am talking about cable as a whole. I know plenty of people who didn't cord cut because of espn and live sports. Now that they never watch espn at home because of its slant in programming, cord is cut.
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It's way more subscribers than ratings.
 
#318
#318
So, after cutting a ton of their sports staff/personalities across all sports, ESPN has decided that poetry on the "new feminism" is a priority at the moment. In their own words....

"In honor of National Poetry month, espnW asked five poets to reflect on resistance, redefining feminism and movement"

http://www.espn.com/espnw/voices/article/19201723/five-poets-new-feminism


I know many are arguing that ESPNs struggles have nothing to do with their obvious, deliberative, strategic move to incorporate left wing politics into literally every decision they take, every thing they publish, every segment they produce. But I'm telling you now, I've gone from having Sportscenter and ESPN to being my default channel for 25-30 years to actively, consciously avoiding the channel 99% of the time now because of the crap they spew.

If I want politics in general I know where to get it and I'm one of the overwhelming majority of Americans to avoid social justice crap 24/7. I've always relied on sports and sports programming to get me away from it and now that ESPN has made politics and leftist social awareness it's number one priority and identity, I refuse to have anything to do with them unless I'm forced to watch a game on one if their channels.....and even then, I've become very discerning about which games I "need" or "forced" to watch. I know longer watch a game, any game, just because it's on.....if it's on ESPN. Anybody who thinks that ESPN's change in business model and strategy has nothing to do with many people choosing to cord cut and stop watching the espn channels is in strong, strong denial.

I've gone from being one of their most loyal customers/watchers/fans for a quarter century to one someone who actively avoids those arrogant a-holes like the plague.
 
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#319
#319
VolsSportsFan said:
It's way more subscribers than ratings.
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I'm not sure if it is way more. Definitely more, but not substantially so.

The single biggest factors in their downfall are the irrelevancy of SportsCenter, their signature show, and the big overpays for broadcast rights for the NFL and NBA. Their feature show has been rendered obsolete, and they'd be able to withstand cord cutting better if they hadn't overpaid for broadcast rights.

SportsCenter ratings have cratered, and that represents a loss of big primetime ad buys. Their ratings for live sports are just fine.
 
#322
#322
BowlBrother85 said:
You are right. There is no indication that the 12% loss in subscribers that ESPN has seen over the last 6 years has had any impact on their viewership for their live sporting events. Business Insider detailed this pretty well today, ESPN's ratings have remained strong and steady for live sporting events during these 6 years so although their subscription revenue is down, their advertising revenue is still very good. The problem that they are facing is that their signature program (SportsCenter) is now obsolete. These layoffs show a network scrambling to adjust to a changing consumer who no longer needs television for sports highlights. The people here who are whining about politics are misguided. That has nothing to do with this.
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You guys have been spot on in this thread. I was talking about this with a friend yesterday. ESPN was built by a show that they taped once, and re-ran until the early afternoon. Then a couple of flagship discussion type shows, and a NFL/MLB/NBA show for whatever was in season to bridge you into the 7pm live games.

For some reason, they decided they needed to set up a content factory to feed 3.5 networks. Its like they built a giant, expensive plant to build VCRs in 2003. Bad bet all around.

Some of the cuts are just odd though. Katz? McMurphy? Seems like there's bigger pieces of fat to trim...
 
#323
#323
WallyBalls said:
Some of the cuts are just odd though. Katz? McMurphy? Seems like there's bigger pieces of fat to trim...
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The layoffs are an attempt to buy time to figure out a new strategy in an era of cord cutting. In the meantime, they are doubling down on what they have turned their network into, which is a hot take/progressive political pot stirring network. This is their strategy for making their non-live sports programming relevant again. ESPN went left wing because of cord cutting, not the other way around.

Actual reporters like Katz and McMurphy don't fit that mold, so naturally that is where they look to cut people. Look at the people we know they let go yesterday; none of the names laid off are hot take artists.
 
#324
#324
Last week on SC 6 and on another program on ESPN they had a guest who is an African American author named Michael Eric Dyson who wrote a book titled:
TEARS WE CANNOT STOP: A Sermon to White America.

Somebody please explain why the hell he would be a guest on SPORTScenter or any other program on ESPN.
 
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#325
#325
RDU VOL#14 said:
Last week on SC 6 and on another program on ESPN they had a guest who is an African American author named Michael Eric Dyson who wrote a book titled:
TEARS WE CANNOT STOP: A Sermon to White America.

Somebody please explain why the hell he would be a guest on SPORTScenter or any other program on ESPN.
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You already know why. It's why Clay Travis refers to them as MSESPN.
 
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