Interesting read from the Wall Street Journal concerning the 4 Letter and some of the issues they are currently having regarding subscriber loss and the changing ways in which people view sports:
http://www.wsj.com/article_email/espn-tightens-its-belt-as-pressure-on-i...
I know that I for one would probably have cut the cord already if not for still wanting to get the live sports aspect. I primarily watch HBO, Amazon, and Netflix streaming through my Xbox One. I still get the Hokies mostly on ESPN 3 through my cable provider anyway. If live TV is on its either sports or a kids show of some kind (and those can be replaced with the on demand services easily).
One of the commentators makes a great point that ESPN on air personalities usually diminish the entertainment value of sports rather than enhance it. I couldn't agree more on that point. I havn't tuned into SportsCenter in probably 5+ years.
Your thoughts?
Comments
I still watch Tony and Wilbon cause I see so many parallels between them and Statler and Waldorf and the make me laugh sometimes. Other than that I don't watch and of the Espin networks unless there is a game on one of them that I want to watch.
Sportcenter was dead for me when they started doing a live entertainment show instead of just running a standard highlight show.
Maybe I'm in the minority, but I disagree - or at least I enjoy the best of them. Stewart Scott, Dan Patrick, Chris Fowler, Colin Cowherd, Mike & Mike, Tony/Wilbon, SVP and Russillo, Buccigrass and Ryan Burr are people I grew up listening/watching.
Mostly everyone else I despise, but I feel like that's due to their personalities/acts, not the job itself.
I think that was the point.. the personalities
EPSN used to have consistently entertaining reports/anchors/analysts and now it's 50% at best, and the good ones are almost always seated next to an idiot
I was in the same boat as you but the P in ESPN changed to Politics. This started for me when SVP was not actively involved with the radio show anymore and R Russillo started to get political. IMO that guy has no balls whatsoever, he reminds me of the type of person that is offended if the wind blows the wrong way
Hear, hear. (However, it started long before Ryan Russillo.)
I think this could potential have a large impact on the proposed ESPN/ACC Network partnership. The conference may have missed their window to create this if ESPN is going into a cost-saving mode.
What's to say the deal has to be through ESPN?
With the transition towards online streaming over cable subscriptions, I could see the ACC trying to partner with someone like Amazon Prime, Netflix, or Hulu to build out their subscription based streaming network that can reach everyone, regardless of who your cable provider is.
I don't have that kind of confidence in Jim Swafford
Bring in ND and make a deal with NBC. They have a sports network now, so they could broadcast CFB games nationwide on one broadcast (NBC) and one cable channel (NBC Sports) all day long like ESPN does.
Exactly, hopefully there is someone smart enough on the ACC front office figuring out how to make take the ACC Network straight to a streaming service. Let people pay for just the costs of providing the games and not all the fees of being associated with ESPN or a cable service. If it is successful, then the bigger networks will come knocking. Not sure how this violates the Raycom and the terrible third party rights deal.
ESPN owns all of the broadcast rights for all ACC sports for a long time. That goes for TV and internet.
Just going off memory, but I think it's until 2026? Contracts can and are broken all the time. Technology can change a lot in 10 years - I don't think many people foresaw the rise of internet streaming 10 years ago.
But the deal through 2026-27 was made in 2012 or so, when it was pretty well established that streaming was an option.
WatchESPN, for instance, launched in 2010.
Yes, the technology was there, but I don't think many people in 2010 thought that a sports network could broadcast via the internet, and reach all of its target demographic without airing anything on cable. That is starting to change.
Side note, but as someone who cut cable and just uses an apple TV, it's a HUGE pain in the ass when we have a game on the ACC network, and is thus blacked out on WatchESPN. If anyone has a streaming solution, let me know.
I think those games show up on the ACC app or website.
Or get an antenna to get the over the air channels.
I would be a day one subscriber.
Haven't watched ESPN in a long time. I enjoy Mike & Mike on my drive in to work, but can't stand most of the sports talk radio blowhards.
I've tried listening to Colin a few times (mostly because a guy with that legendary a takedown of LOLUVA football can't be all bad), but never last long before I have to turn it off. I'm always amazed at how much time he can fill saying nothing of substance. Plus there was the time he found out one of his largest demographics was wealthy up-and-coming lawyers and spent the rest of the show sucking up to them because they "get it". Ugh.
Cowherd is awful. I know we're supposed to like him because of the Zima rant but he's just a godawful nexus of mind-numbing, ego driven stupification and suck. And the sad thing is, I hear he's not even the worst of their 'personalities.'
I'm with you. Out here in AZ we get the ESPN radio feed at odd times (for the national shows like Mike & Mike and Colin). Whenever I am in my car and Cowherd is on, then ESPN is off.
The guy never says anything really remotely interesting, and makes the entire show about him in some way.
Are we bitching about ESPN radio? GET OFF MY RADIO LE BATARD! YOU'RE EDGY! I GET IT! I like Bomani Jones but Le Batard and his lapdog Stugatts (or whatever the hell) are just insufferable.
I do like M&M and I did like SVP&Rusillo. Cowherd's ok, he is arrogant as can be but I find him funny.
LeBatard is the only one you can't stand, really? For me, he's the only tolerable one. Mike and Mike are annoying as heck, and Cowherd's just way too full of himself for my liking. He's like the Sean Hannity of sports talk radio. Even if you like and agree with his take, he's so loud and arrogant about it, it's unbearable to listen.
The timing of this is scary. I was JUST thinking yesterday about how I never watch ESPN anymore. I couldn't tell you why, but ESPN just doesnt hold my attention.
Glad Olbermann is gone. He's a blowhard.
I like Sports Nation and would miss it, but ESPN disgusts me with most of their BS.
Live Sports programming will always be available from some media outlet. I think its growing while the entertainment aspects of these channels is annoying the viewers.
Good, the voice of the customer is being exercised.
I will forever miss Michelle Beadle/Colin Cowherd on Sportsnation. I remember trying to get home from classes by 4 just so I could watch it. I know Sportsnation is still on, but it's not the same without that combination.
ESPN no longer reports the news, they make the news. And I don't care to listen. When portions of the show are dedicated to reading tweets it shows how it is a complete waste of my time.
I now get all my sports knowledge and highlights from the internet, and if I were to watch TV, it would most likely be on a sports specific channel rather than ESPN.
I watch ESPN for the World Cup, CFB, and 30 for 30s.
And now you watch ESPN for CFB and 30 for 30, as FOX secured the World Cup rights for the foreseeable future.
Which is somehow a huge downgrade. I loathe Fox soccer commentary. And freakin Alexi Lalas followed the World Cup to Fox. Can't even get away from that clown.
Even if you were able to get away, he'll still haunt your dreams...
Ugh, I didn't realize this. I suppose it'll be time to find an alternative spanish language broadcast. My money is on the Fox broadcast being garbage. For no raisin.
No raisin inded
Hmmm. I might need to rethink this.
Raisin:
Erin Andrews left ESPN to help lead Fox's burgeoning college football efforts to lead their studio coverage
Then Stewart Mandel left SI to lead Fox's written college football content
Now Cowherd has left ESPN and rumors suggest he's in negotiations with Fox.
Maybe Fox is making a stronger push than I had previously thought. They seem to be intent on pulling in talent from all over to augment each facet of their distribution model.
Pulling in talented raisins?
Bruce Feldman joined Fox prior to Mandel. They have a solid group of CFB writers.
If I remember correctly, Bruce Feldman left ESPN because they basically chose Craig James over him. Feldman is one of the best in his field and ESPN really shit on him.
http://www.bruinsnation.com/2011/9/1/2398160/bruce-feldman-leaves-espn-e...
I really soured on ESPN around this time because they were creating the story instead of reporting on it. Now I get sports related news elsewhere. ESPN is just for live broadcasts.
Correct you are. I remember the #freebruce Twitter campaign. He went to CBS, which briefly had an insane amount of CFB talent writing for their website, before moving to Fox.
When the USWNT was playing Japan for the Cup, we tried the entire first half to find a workaround to having to watch through Fox, since none of us had an account. Eventually VPN'd through a BBC Sports feed for the second half. Not gonna lie, hearing Brits commentate the game was pretty awesome.
I always prefer the British crews to the American crews for soccer commentary. This will probably be my strategy moving forward for the World Cup, if I can find a broadcast I can get.
I listen to a lot of Espn radio but don't watch much on tv unless it's live sports. I like all the radio programming except russillo, he just doesn't hold my interest for some reason.
I would listen to the show just because I loved SVP. With him gone Russilo grates on me a little bit.
Side note, had a chance years ago to throw back a few beers with Scott Van Pelt at the Bottle & Cork in Dewey Beach, DE. He was easily one of the coolest guys I ever got to talk sports with., super nice guy.
I was just thinking this the other day, since I drive to work when he's on.
Russillo is decent enough, and very knowledgable, but his interest area lies outside of mine. He's a big NBA guy, I can't stand them. Sure, SVP's main thing is golf, but he knows that's got minimum interest to the masses.
Basically, Russillo was a good #2 guy, but without SVP, I dunno. We'll see how it goes when football season gets in full swing.
I honestly don't watch ESPN at all unless a live sporting event is going on that I want to watch. Sportscenter never seems to have positive stories etc.
But I have to wonder how much ESPN is having to tighten their belt because they overpaid for some of these SEC and other contracts.
And due in larger part to the fact that it's literally the same show hour after hour. If they didn't swap anchors out every two hours, you could literally see the same clips for six hours straight.
I was sick one day, and left the TV on Sportscenter as I dozed on and off...I couldn't take it. I was hearing the exact same roundtables and interviews all day long.
I wouldn't blame the recent viewership trend on that. It's been that way since at least the early 90s.
I had Fox Sports 1 on last night watching the Gold Cup game. Afterwards I just left it on and caught some of the highlights show they did for the day. I in fact found it quite entertaining. It felt a little bit like the old Sportscenter used to, with just sports highlights and some funny one liners
Joe Tessitore makes me watch games on mute.
I watch almost all games on mute. It drives my wife crazy but I find I enjoy them more.
It's the endless echo chamber that bothers me the most. The 24 hour news cycle leads them to more and more sensational "reporting." Every game is the most important ever. Every player is the best ever. Every scandal is the worst ever. The shock becomes shtick and I've just walked away.
I think its in ESPN's best interest (and then by association, the ACC's) to create an ESPNow type streaming service that mirrors what HBO Now is trying to accomplish. A monthly fee and you can stream the channels and it breaks being forced to pay for a cable provider. I could easily see myself only paying for internet, HBO Now, and ESPNow instead of buying a ridiculously expensive cable plan, just to get ESPNU for a random noon-er the Hokies may have.
I'm guessing the cable companies would come up with the most severe repercussions possible if ESPN were to do this. I mean, they can't throttle your bandwidth to the service, but I'm sure negotiations for including ESPN in cable packages would be very hostile.
I doubt ESPN sees this as being in their best financial interest. They know that right now going this route would cost them a TON of subscribers.
It's why they are fighting tooth and nail to remain as a channel that you "have to" pay for in the sense you can't find many cable packages that don't include the flagship station all the way up to The Ocho. Because if people had a choice they would drop ESPN even more than they are already.