SayUWantAreVOLution
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Just ESPN is well south of 70% but there's FX, Nat Geo, ABC original content, Hulu original content, etc. I've no idea what programs are involved. I probably only watch Nat Geo and then only at night if I'm unable to sleep.The question is "how many" of those subscribers are "active" ESPN users? In one article, Disney says is it in the 70% range, Charter says it is in the 25% range. Neither say it is 100%. I suspect Disney's take is inflated and Charter's take is deflated. Today all Charter subscribers pay for Disney/ESPN whether they use it or not. Many will not care that they no longer have it and will welcome the decrease in their bill.
The fact is that the only streaming service that makes money is Netflix. Can ESPN as a direct to consumer make money? That is yet to be proven as it has always been wrapped up in a package. Plus, there are still games on non-ESPN channels - folks will choice and adjust. Some may just go back to listening on the radio.
And I agree it's a $2B question that is going to cost both money in the end, but that's actually good for consumers in the short run. If you don't want ESPN, you get a bundle that should be cheaper. If you want ESPN and little else, eventually you should be able to buy it streaming and ignore whatever else is out there. That sounds good except it's not profitable.
If ESPN streaming is a complete dog for Disney, one of Amazon, Alphabet or Apple could buy it cheap and either fold it into Prime, Apple TV, etc or shut it down, but they are not stupid enough to honor the ridiculous contracts to the conferences.
If ESPN is sold or shuttered, all those big contracts won't matter nor be honored. The SEC and others won't be able to squeeze $300M from another provider who just watched Disney lose their shirt because of them. More importantly to me, I'll be back to something like Jefferson-Pilot and spotty, regional broadcasts.
That's the issue: who is going to continue feeding us all this sports content if ESPN dies? If it's not profitable, no one. If it is profitable, those of us who want to watch it are going to pay dearly for the privilege.
We've had it pretty good for the last several years and things change. The sports buffet is about to close......or get really, really expensive.