ESPN

[ShotgunDawg]

ESPN is laying off 100 people, including Ed Werder. They lay off legit reporters with perspective like Ed Werder while keeping PCs like Jemele Hill, yellers like Stephen A Smith, and offered millions to keep Skip Bayless last year.

I'm not sure I've seen an American business run themselves in the ground more by not understanding their demographic and playing in the political sand box as much as ESPN.

For someone that grew up watching the channel non stop, I now despise what they stand for.

[confucius say]

Catering hard to the instant gratification millenials and it has backfired. And I'm only 33.

[ShotgunDawg]

Catering hard to the instant gratification millenials and it has backfired. And I'm only 33.

Yup. The channel turned into pop culture diarrhea

[DownwardDawg]

Same here. I'm 49 years old now. I used to watch espn non stop and the tv would stay on espn even when I wasn't watching. Now the only time I watch it is during football games and other MSU events.

[Martianlander]

And the bad thing is ESPN is a controlling factor in college sports, especially football.

[AusTexDawg]

Just look at the popularity of cable news or much of talk radio to see why they would want to keep folks like Stephen A Smith and Skip Bayless. Apparently, folks like people yelling back and forth.

[smootness]

Just look at the popularity of cable news or much of talk radio to see why they would want to keep folks like Stephen A Smith and Skip Bayless. Apparently, folks like people yelling back and forth.

Exactly. This is the fault of viewers, who give those shows ratings and have proven they don't care at all about legit reporting from people like Werder.

ESPN understands their demographic just fine. As is always the case, they are making moves to cut costs while supporting their revenue drivers. They are a business, they're not going to get rid of the people making them more money.

[SaintDawg]

That's what happens when you mix politics and sports. That silly shit with Caitlyn/Bruce "Look At Me" Jenner and the ESPYs was icing on the cake. They're doing what all failing companies do and it will lead to their ruin. They are attempting to satisfy the small groups who want this and that and are crying the loudest and complaining while running off the main people who made them what they are. This is to make ESPN appear politically correct and say "See? We have something for everyone." Sports needs to stay sports, period. And it doesn't need to include the LBGTQ/OBGYN/LSMFT population. Nobody cares who you sleep with. Nobody cares who you marry. If your an athlete, be an athlete. Don't make it a platform to force your views and get media channels to pander to you. Keep the shit separate, like church and state.

[Reason2succeed]

Hate to break it to you but everything isn't a PC culture war against you.

The decline of ESPN has more to do with the rise of the web and websites. You used to depend on ESPN to know scores and stats and what happened in a game but now you can just click to a website and get the highlights you want to see when you want to see it.

You used to have to watch sportscenter and wait for that 10 sec clip. And then they just played SC on a loop all day long until 6pm and have a new episode.

[smootness]

Hate to break it to you but everything isn't a PC culture war against you.

The decline of ESPN has more to do with the rise of the web and websites. You used to depend on ESPN to know scores and stats and what happened in a game but now you can just click to a website and get the highlights you want to see when you want to see it.

You used to have to watch sportscenter and wait for that 10 sec clip. And then they just played SC on a loop all day long until 6pm and have a new episode.

That, and the fact that more and more people are cutting the cord on cable. Sports fans will almost all continue to pay for cable because of the live sporting events, but it is the non-sports fans who don't care about ESPN, and because you paid for ESPN with your cable package whether you wanted it or not, that is where their losses are showing up.

It has virtually nothing to do with any politics.

[TimberBeast]

Hate to break it to you but everything isn't a PC culture war against you.

The decline of ESPN has more to do with the rise of the web and websites. You used to depend on ESPN to know scores and stats and what happened in a game but now you can just click to a website and get the highlights you want to see when you want to see it.

You used to have to watch sportscenter and wait for that 10 sec clip. And then they just played SC on a loop all day long until 6pm and have a new episode.

The rise of websites to deliver the content is also because of the decline of ESPN and their decision to cater to the fringe instead of what built them. There is a demand out there that is anything but ESPN, just like some of the news networks. I won't let my kids just watch ESPN without it being a certain sporting event because of the garbage that's there, the exact same reason we don't watch news networks.

[maroonmania]

Inevitable given where the network is headquartered.

[smootness]

The rise of websites to deliver the content is also because of the decline of ESPN and their decision to cater to the fringe instead of what built them. There is a demand out there that is anything but ESPN, just like some of the news networks. I won't let my kids just watch ESPN without it being a certain sporting event because of the garbage that's there, the exact same reason we don't watch news networks.

It really isn't. ESPN still gives you all the scores and information they've ever given. It's just the reality of a world in which you can receive score updates and highlights on your phone in real-time. No one is choosing to use Fox Sports for their scores and highlights because ESPN is too liberal.

I mean, their rise that culminated in utter domination of the sports world happened while their most prominent employee was freaking Keith Olbermann.

[Brahmabull]

ESPN is cratering because they overpaid for their content. Everything else is a result of that. They misjudged the top $ value of sports content. They assumed they could pay whatever they wanted and people would just accept their cable bills continuing to rise. Once it was possible for people to say no without losing all television entertainment, they did so.

The left wing "silly shit with Caitlyn/Bruce "Look At Me" Jenner and the ESPYs was icing on the cake". Furthermore, when the CEO of your company is more concerned with his political/presidential run rather than the company that employs him, the company suffers.

[SaintDawg]

Hate to break it to you but everything isn't a PC culture war against you.

The decline of ESPN has more to do with the rise of the web and websites. You used to depend on ESPN to know scores and stats and what happened in a game but now you can just click to a website and get the highlights you want to see when you want to see it.

You used to have to watch sportscenter and wait for that 10 sec clip. And then they just played SC on a loop all day long until 6pm and have a new episode.

Agree 110%, but you must admit... ESPN has become pretty "snowflakey"

[PMDawg]

There's truth in pretty much all of these answers. Add them all up, and there you are. And I can tell you for a fact that I quit watching ESPN aND visiting their site due to their biases (Lib and OM). Plus the whole Colin Kap thing (I also lost 90% of my interest in NFL over this). You can deny it all you want, but it's a real thing. Ask Starbucks.

[BrunswickDawg]

If all the PC snowflake stuff is causing ESPN to fail, how come Fox Sports still continues to flounder? This is all about an overall economic model beginning to fail (cable/sat tv)combined with ridiculous contracts (for broadcast rights and "on air talent" coming home to roost.

[Coackjek]

There's truth in pretty much all of these answers. Add them all up, and there you are. And I can tell you for a fact that I quit watching ESPN aND visiting their site due to their biases (Lib and OM). Plus the whole Colin Kap thing (I also lost 90% of my interest in NFL over this). You can deny it all you want, but it's a real thing. Ask Starbucks.

I'm with you. No one can point at a single thing a say that is the reason ESPN is failing, it's a culmination of things. Personally people can point single things out and claim it for the reason they stopped. But claiming the PC angle is non-existent is like saying bowling is not a sport. You'll have people on both sides fighting it tooth and nail.

[Cooterpoot]

The costs involved with cable/sat tv are going to kill lots of media. People are cutting the cord. Also, ESPN has gone so political, that they've lost another large segment of viewers that don't give a damn about politics and quite frankly are tired of hearing about it. Stick to sports. The top shows are just about always ballgames, followed by Pardon the Interruption and Around the Horn. Occasionally a 30 for 30 will score high in the ratings.
Sportscenter sucks. Most of the talk shows suck. Stephen A's show First Take, down 35%.

[Political Hack]

Political partisanship may be costing them a small %, but it's the ability to see everything on your phone immediately that makes SC irrelevant in today's world.

[Todd4State]

I watch sports in part to get away from politics. Also their baseball coverage is a joke and MLB Network is far superior with their content as far as baseball goes. I'm sure the other networks that focus only on a certain sport hurt them as well as the other things mentioned.

[smootness]

I'm with you. No one can point at a single thing a say that is the reason ESPN is failing, it's a culmination of things. Personally people can point single things out and claim it for the reason they stopped. But claiming the PC angle is non-existent is like saying bowling is not a sport. You'll have people on both sides fighting it tooth and nail.

I mean, it's a pretty clear answer. People are no longer paying for cable at nearly the rate they once were, and a huge majority of those cutting the cord do not watch sports.

So ESPN is no longer making tons of money off people who don't consume their product. That's a pretty cut-and-dry answer.

There may be a handful of people saying, 'I don't like them, they're too liberal,' but do you honestly think those people are cutting out their entire cable package and not watching live sporting events because of it?

[PSYCHO(thesis)DEFENSE]

Hate to break it to you but everything isn't a PC culture war against you.

no bigger example of victim culture than the Right's interpretation of other's rights & views that have no effect on their personal lives as a personal attack.


The rise of websites to deliver the content is also because of the decline of ESPN and their decision to cater to the fringe instead of what built them. There is a demand out there that is anything but ESPN, just like some of the news networks. I won't let my kids just watch ESPN without it being a certain sporting event because of the garbage that's there, the exact same reason we don't watch news networks.

enjoy your safe space


There's truth in pretty much all of these answers. Add them all up, and there you are. And I can tell you for a fact that I quit watching ESPN aND visiting their site due to their biases (Lib and OM). Plus the whole Colin Kap thing (I also lost 90% of my interest in NFL over this). You can deny it all you want, but it's a real thing. Ask Starbucks.

Yes, glad we can all agree Kapernick should have been more politically correct instead of expressing his politically incorrect views


Agree 110%, but you must admit... ESPN has become pretty "snowflakey"

the only snowflakes I see are the ones melting b/c their outdated source of sports information forces them to acknowledge the fact that straight white males aren't the only ones that represent American Sports. Women have opinions on basketball, gay dudes play football, illegal immigrants are baseball stars, people don't feel patriotic when they see their tax dollars paying for administrative leave for someone who just killed an unarmed citizen. Ignoring it and being constantly offended doesn't make it go away.

/

aside from the UCONN win & 2014 rise to #1 I haven't watched ESPN since the mid-2000s - not b/c I give ashit who or what they put on tv but b/c I can watch live sports & get real-time updates via an app & watch highlights on Twitter 30 seconds after they happen.

[SaintDawg]

http://deadspin.com/a-running-list-of-espn-layoffs-1794664091

All that phony mess. "Thank you ESPN for the great years." "Thank you ESPN for letting me pursue my passion" "Thank you ESPN for all the friends and colleagues I've made." "Moving on to the next chapter" Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. Be real guys and tell'em to get 17ed.

Man, I'm angry today. Glad I have a place to vent and then have people tell me how dumb I sound. Thanks EliteDawgs!:)

[Dawg61]

All of us in this thread will watch ESPN and their networks when it's a sporting event we want to watch and that won't change no matter who is announcing the games or hosting SportsCenter at 10am. During the day most of us work and aren't watching daytime tv so ESPN caters more to the crowd that is watching tv during those hours and that means catering to people that watch soap operas, Ellen, Steve Harvey Show, Dr. Phil and Jerry Springer type shows. These people watching daytime First Take and Stephen A. Smith are just bored and need some energy and fire from their TV so yes they like yelling and arguing and talking about racism and domestic violence and a bunch of shit none of us really want to talk about most of the time. Again ESPN will get our dollars regardless so they cater to dumb ass shady people who are craving drama. They basically turn ESPN into Facebook with a sports twist during non-prime time.

[Irondawg]

Won't miss Danny Kannell at all. Hate it for long timers like Werder and jayson Stark both of which I always liked

[BeardoMSU]

Can at least rejoice in Danny Kannell getting the boot? He is absolutely atrocious.

[Liverpooldawg]

I just saw a list. The only two I knew who they were were Danny Kannel (VERY good riddance) and Len Elmore. I watch a ton of sports but I only watch the actual games for the most part. I would rather watch cricket than watch Sports Center. I've always been that way though. The only one of their shows I ever watch regularly is Gameday, and then basically just to watch Corso and Kirk's picks. I will watch a 30 for 30 every once and a while.

[DudyDawg]

Wish they'd fire Jessica Mendoza too and I may watch some Sunday night baseball.

[confucius say]

All of us in this thread will watch ESPN and their networks when it's a sporting event we want to watch and that won't change no matter who is announcing the games or hosting SportsCenter at 10am. During the day most of us work and aren't watching daytime tv so ESPN caters more to the crowd that is watching tv during those hours and that means catering to people that watch soap operas, Ellen, Steve Harvey Show, Dr. Phil and Jerry Springer type shows. These people watching daytime First Take and Stephen A. Smith are just bored and need some energy and fire from their TV so yes they like yelling and arguing and talking about racism and domestic violence and a bunch of shit none of us really want to talk about most of the time. Again ESPN will get our dollars regardless so they cater to dumb ass shady people who are craving drama. They basically turn ESPN into Facebook with a sports twist during non-prime time.

Largely agree. And they should have kept schilling then. Put him with Stephen A or jemele hill. Natural disagreement and drama.

[Cooterpoot]

Wish they'd fire Jessica Mendoza too and I may watch some Sunday night baseball.

She's the most knowledgeable person in that booth.

[MadDawg]

no bigger example of victim culture than the Right's interpretation of other's rights & views that have no effect on their personal lives as a personal attack.



enjoy your safe space



Yes, glad we can all agree Kapernick should have been more politically correct instead of expressing his politically incorrect views



the only snowflakes I see are the ones melting b/c their outdated source of sports information forces them to acknowledge the fact that straight white males aren't the only ones that represent American Sports. Women have opinions on basketball, gay dudes play football, illegal immigrants are baseball stars, people don't feel patriotic when they see their tax dollars paying for administrative leave for someone who just killed an unarmed citizen. Ignoring it and being constantly offended doesn't make it go away.

/

aside from the UCONN win & 2014 rise to #1 I haven't watched ESPN since the mid-2000s - not b/c I give ashit who or what they put on tv but b/c I can watch live sports & get real-time updates via an app & watch highlights on Twitter 30 seconds after they happen.

ESPN is obviously in a shit-ton of trouble because they lost you and you are apparently their target audience.

[PSYCHO(thesis)DEFENSE]

ESPN is obviously in a shit-ton of trouble because they lost you and you are apparently their target audience.

Don't forget I got the #1 cable news show taken off air too. Single-handedly taking down the fake news MSM. Thank me later :cool:

[HereComesTheSpiral]

Is there still time to shitcan that 4 hour show on the SECN that involves a dik with ears and mouth breathing callers?

[WSOPdawg]

What will be interesting is when the NEXT big television contract for a sports entity or league occurs -- whether its the NFL, NBA, MLB, SEC, etc, will the new contract be more than the previous one was valued at?

Nascar already took a hit and it's a shit performer. The Longhorn network is a crap performer that you know ESPN wishes they never entered into.

[Dawg61]

Largely agree. And they should have kept schilling then. Put him with Stephen A or jemele hill. Natural disagreement and drama.

this is actually a brilliant idea but I wouldn't pick Schilling. Definitely a white conservative male that doesn't care to speak his mind and say shit all the liberals will hate and pair him with Stephen A. **** your name is long Smith would be epic TV. Bill O'Reilly is looking for a job. Can you imagine the shitstorm those two would start

[ShotgunDawg]

Good article by Clay Travis explaining the problem.
http://www.outkickthecoverage.com/espn-firing-over-a-hundred-employees-today-042617

Article by ESPN saying they will continue to bury their head in the sand. The comments are really good.
http://www.espn.com/blog/ombudsman/post/_/id/831/not-sticking-to-sports-the-right-move-for-espn

[confucius say]

this is actually a brilliant idea but I wouldn't pick Schilling. Definitely a white conservative male that doesn't care to speak his mind and say shit all the liberals will hate and pair him with Stephen A. **** your name is long Smith would be epic TV. Bill O'Reilly is looking for a job. Can you imagine the shitstorm those two would start

Bill actually had Stephen A on the factor several times in the last year and it was a good, respectful debate. Good tv for sure

[TimberBeast]

Good article by Clay Travis explaining the problem.
http://www.outkickthecoverage.com/espn-firing-over-a-hundred-employees-today-042617

Article by ESPN saying they will continue to bury their head in the sand. The comments are really good.
http://www.espn.com/blog/ombudsman/post/_/id/831/not-sticking-to-sports-the-right-move-for-espn

Yes the Clay Travis article is exactly right, and the second article from espn just proves it. They are doubling down on the leftist agenda and they will lose just like the presidential race. It's a beautiful thing to watch.

It's funny just here on this small message board how many people say they will not watch espn anymore because of them pushing the left crap, yet you STILL have the 2 or 3 with their heads in the sand saying that it's a tiny percentage. It's not, it's a large percentage, the NFL numbers this season show the exact same thing. You people with heads in the sand are the small percentage.

[smootness]

Yes the Clay Travis article is exactly right, and the second article from espn just proves it. They are doubling down on the leftist agenda and they will lose just like the presidential race. It's a beautiful thing to watch.

It's funny just here on this small message board how many people say they will not watch espn anymore because of them pushing the left crap, yet you STILL have the 2 or 3 with their heads in the sand saying that it's a tiny percentage. It's not, it's a large percentage, the NFL numbers this season show the exact same thing. You people with heads in the sand are the small percentage.

I don't agree with ESPN's politics for the most part, but I also don't really care about them because I don't watch ESPN outside of live sports. Most people over 25 don't. In fact, I would venture to guess that the majority of people in this thread complaining about ESPN's politics don't really watch enough of it to notice and wouldn't watch regardless. They just see who the anchors are for the 6pm SC and get all up in arms.

And in the Clay Travis article, he says the politics aren't helping and may be speeding up the crash, but he also admits it is a symptom of the problem, not the cause.

Anyone who thinks ESPN would just be chugging along like always were it not that they lean left on political issues is insane.

[DudyDawg]

Yes the Clay Travis article is exactly right, and the second article from espn just proves it. They are doubling down on the leftist agenda and they will lose just like the presidential race. It's a beautiful thing to watch.

It's funny just here on this small message board how many people say they will not watch espn anymore because of them pushing the left crap, yet you STILL have the 2 or 3 with their heads in the sand saying that it's a tiny percentage. It's not, it's a large percentage, the NFL numbers this season show the exact same thing. You people with heads in the sand are the small percentage.

NFL ratings had way more to do w trump and Hillary drawing ratings than being left wing.

[TimberBeast]

NFL ratings had way more to do w trump and Hillary drawing ratings than being left wing.

You forgot the **

[confucius say]

NFL ratings had way more to do w trump and Hillary drawing ratings than being left wing.

Uh, no. Maybe their night games the two times a debate was going on. But their Sunday noon and 3:15 ratings being down were not bc of the presidential election.

On ESPN, cord cutting is a huge problem. No question. But all you have to do is read the comments on the article shotgun linked and on message boards like this and it is obvious Espn is alienating its lead demographic, is consciously aware of doing so, and doesn't care. Anyone who thinks that is not hurting their bottom line is insane.

[GTHOM]

Is there a list to see who got laid off?

[Ari Gold]

I said this months ago the mother ship was sinking..
They fire some of these good one and the hire ****ing Rex Ryan.. you doing the math??? I am..

[Ari Gold]

Besdies the actual games themselves. Espn is the leader in 2 spots. College game day ( which is getting old) and college game day basketball ( they are the only game in town).

NFL Sunday .. they are behind NFL network for sure and Fox
MLB -well behind MLB network
NBA- TNT ( with Charles and crew ) not even close

[LilSebastian]

I won't let my kids just watch ESPN without it being a certain sporting event because of the garbage that's there, the exact same reason we don't watch news networks.

To be fair, I wouldn't let children listen braindead old morons drone on about team chemistry and locker room guys and momentum either.

Oh wait, you're just scared of the outside world -- that's a healthy approach to parenting.

[Pollodawg]

To be fair, I wouldn't let children listen braindead old morons drone on about team chemistry and locker room guys and momentum either.

Oh wait, you're just scared of the outside world -- that's a healthy approach to parenting.


Or, you know, he just wants to be a responsible parent and monitor what his children see on tv the best way he can without seeking your approval or any snark from you over it. I don't know why, but posts like this irritate the fire out of me.

[LilSebastian]

The ratings aren't the problem. They spent way too much on TV contracts and now have to make the math work. I like that everyone is complaining about ESPN being politicized while basically making this whole thing about politics.

[LilSebastian]

Or, you know, he just wants to be a responsible parent and monitor what his children see on tv the best way he can without seeking your approval or any snark from you over it. I don't know why, but posts like this irritate the fire out of me.

He didn't mention the content being appropriate, rather that he just disagrees with it -- that's the most weakwilled, snowflakeyest mindset I've ever heard.

[TimberBeast]

To be fair, I wouldn't let children listen braindead old morons drone on about team chemistry and locker room guys and momentum either.

Oh wait, you're just scared of the outside world -- that's a healthy approach to parenting.

Huh? We spend our life in the outside world, sports, fishing, grilling, everything we can. But yeah I could teach my kids to be a douchebag like you on espn and cnn, maybe a little protesting (rioting) instead of working. No thanks, we're doing good.

[BeardoMSU]

Huh? We spend our life in the outside world, sports, fishing, grilling, everything we can. But yeah I could teach my kids to be a douchebag like you on espn and cnn, maybe a little protesting (rioting) instead of working. No thanks, we're doing good.

Children always follow the orders of their parents, as I did, and I'm sure you did.***

[TimberBeast]

Children always follow the orders of their parents, as I did, and I'm sure you did.***

I rebelled against my parents at every turn, and I hope my kids do too. That's what being a kid is all about. However, when they grow up and get it together, if they were brought up correctly, they will know all the right things and have an enormous amount of knowledge, most of it taught and some of it learned on top of that. But the crazy media, espn included going on right now is not real life. It's made for TV. I don't keep my kids from it but we don't watch that garbage on TV at home. Espn is the sports version of cnn and they're both dying. It's a good thing.

[LilSebastian]

Huh? We spend our life in the outside world, sports, fishing, grilling, everything we can. But yeah I could teach my kids to be a douchebag like you on espn and cnn, maybe a little protesting (rioting) instead of working. No thanks, we're doing good.

You don't know anything about me. All I know is that you're scared of ESPN corrupting your children and that's pitiful snowflake logic.

[TimberBeast]

You don't know anything about me. All I know is that you're scared of ESPN corrupting your children and that's pitiful snowflake logic.

Well then say what you're for / against douche. I'm saying I don't want my kids to see the garbage produced by espn outside of the sports events that we have no choice of watching unless it's on those channels. My guess is you'll say the word snowflake again without actually putting forth any discussion.

[Todd4State]

I think ESPN should have as little politics as possible- left or right. I just don't want to hear politics when I watch sports.

[TUSK]

Bottom Line, Cats... the pendulum has swung and ESPN is gonna get clipped...

MESPNGA!

[TimberBeast]

Bottom Line, Cats... the pendulum has swung and ESPN is gonna get clipped...

MESPNGA!

Yep

[smootness]

The rise of websites to deliver the content is also because of the decline of ESPN and their decision to cater to the fringe instead of what built them. There is a demand out there that is anything but ESPN, just like some of the news networks. I won't let my kids just watch ESPN without it being a certain sporting event because of the garbage that's there, the exact same reason we don't watch news networks.

This, btw, is why it's not about their politics. You are as against them and their political stances as possible, yet you still subscribe.

The commenters on the article...are on ESPN and giving their time to them, and are almost certainly still subscribers.

[jumbo]

I don't know why nobody understand this. ESPNs numbers aren't tanking because of politics or social issues. ESPN shelled out ridiculous cash for broadcast rights and then passed that along to the viewer by jacking up their subscriber fee to the cable companies. Cable companies then raise their rates. Subscribers then cut the cord because now there are tons of options to watch everything you want without hemorrhaging your money to a cable company.

[Tbonewannabe]

This, btw, is why it's not about their politics. You are as against them and their political stances as possible, yet you still subscribe.

The commenters on the article...are on ESPN and giving their time to them, and are almost certainly still subscribers.

I would think it is a combination of cord cutting plus losing advertising dollars. Ratings in general are down for TV viewership with the rise of Youtube and Netflix. Now with all of the conference channels, you might not watch UCLA vs Cal when you can watch SEC Network+ on your tv. I watch all the MSU games no matter what so I end up watching less games of other teams. Also with DVR, I can catch up on different shows that I didn't watch during the week instead of leaving it on ESPN. I used to just have it on ESPN if nothing else was on but I can watch a DVR or On Demand show instead.

[smootness]

I would think it is a combination of cord cutting plus losing advertising dollars. Ratings in general are down for TV viewership with the rise of Youtube and Netflix. Now with all of the conference channels, you might not watch UCLA vs Cal when you can watch SEC Network+ on your tv. I watch all the MSU games no matter what so I end up watching less games of other teams. Also with DVR, I can catch up on different shows that I didn't watch during the week instead of leaving it on ESPN. I used to just have it on ESPN if nothing else was on but I can watch a DVR or On Demand show instead.

Advertising revenue represents a fraction of what subscription revenue is for ESPN. And sure, they want ratings...which is why you see shows like First Take becoming more and more prominent. It's also why you see so much fuss over things like Caitlyn Jenner. If some random women's college tennis player wins the Arthur Ashe award, who cares? If they give it to Caitlyn Jenner, boom...people go nuts, in both directions. Which is good for ESPN's business.

But these cuts have nothing to do with ad revenue losses and everything to do with subscription losses.

And SECN+ is an ESPN product.

[Political Hack]

Well then say what you're for / against douche. I'm saying I don't want my kids to see the garbage produced by espn outside of the sports events that we have no choice of watching unless it's on those channels. My guess is you'll say the word snowflake again without actually putting forth any discussion.

Calling people douches is grounds for banishment.

[confucius say]

This, btw, is why it's not about their politics. You are as against them and their political stances as possible, yet you still subscribe.

The commenters on the article...are on ESPN and giving their time to them, and are almost certainly still subscribers.

Except that several said they were not subscribing anymore.

It doesn't have to be just one reason why espn is failing. Like most things in life, there is more than one contributing factor.

[confucius say]

I don't know why nobody understand this. ESPNs numbers aren't tanking because of politics or social issues. ESPN shelled out ridiculous cash for broadcast rights and then passed that along to the viewer by jacking up their subscriber fee to the cable companies. Cable companies then raise their rates. Subscribers then cut the cord because now there are tons of options to watch everything you want without hemorrhaging your money to a cable company.

No doubt that's the driving factor. Also no doubt they have lost viewers and subscribers bc of their self proclaimed mission to infuse sports coverage with political/cultural issues. Their ratings are down even among non cord cutters, and advertisers know this.

[HereComesTheSpiral]

I think their subscription decline to their magazine and Insider is hurting more than cord cutters.

[Thick]

ESPN is laying off 100 people, including Ed Werder. They lay off legit reporters with perspective like Ed Werder while keeping PCs like Jemele Hill, yellers like Stephen A Smith, and offered millions to keep Skip Bayless last year.

I'm not sure I've seen an American business run themselves in the ground more by not understanding their demographic and playing in the political sand box as much as ESPN.

For someone that grew up watching the channel non stop, I now despise what they stand for.

^^^^This^^^^

[Liverpooldawg]

I saw an article that pretty much summed up the impact of ESPN's politics. It stated all the economic reasons that have been discussed here are hurting them, ESP chord cutting. It said that there is no way to quantify the impact of the politics but that it's never a good idea to give people who are already considering leaving you another reason to do so.

My personal takes on the politics: I don't want to hear about politics, social justice warrioring, or human interest stories of ANY kind when I watch sports. One of the reasons I watch sports is to escape from that stuff.

Chord cutting is going to make TV much more expensive in the long run, much more expensive.

[Dawg61]

Netflix affect. They are ****ing up a lot of companies that had become greedy and lazy.

[Tbonewannabe]

Advertising revenue represents a fraction of what subscription revenue is for ESPN. And sure, they want ratings...which is why you see shows like First Take becoming more and more prominent. It's also why you see so much fuss over things like Caitlyn Jenner. If some random women's college tennis player wins the Arthur Ashe award, who cares? If they give it to Caitlyn Jenner, boom...people go nuts, in both directions. Which is good for ESPN's business.

But these cuts have nothing to do with ad revenue losses and everything to do with subscription losses.

And SECN+ is an ESPN product.

I was just throwing out the SECN+ as what I am watching instead of having ESPN on. I think more than anything ESPN didn't have to compete and now there are other channels and the internet taking a good percentage of the pie along with people cutting cords.

[jumbo]

Also of note. FS1 lost over 100k more subscribers in February than ESPN did.

[shoeless joe]

ESPN radio is also a joke. When I'm around jcn I listen to it, mostly weekends, and it's horrible. Never thought I'd actually want to hear Freddie Coleman and his inability to actually speak English. Every time I listen it's two guys and a girl and they're joking about something that is slightly related to sports and anybtime actual sports are brought up they show their ignorance.

Also, I have no idea how jay Crawford lasted this long.

[Cooterpoot]

ESPN screwed me out of a lazy assed weekend dropping this damn draft during the week and spreading it out. I could always drink beer and take a nap. Not anymore...

[Dawg61]

To be fair, I wouldn't let children listen braindead old morons drone on about team chemistry and locker room guys and momentum either.

Oh wait, you're just scared of the outside world -- that's a healthy approach to parenting.


Huh? We spend our life in the outside world, sports, fishing, grilling, everything we can. But yeah I could teach my kids to be a douchebag like you on espn and cnn, maybe a little protesting (rioting) instead of working. No thanks, we're doing good.


He didn't mention the content being appropriate, rather that he just disagrees with it -- that's the most weakwilled, snowflakeyest mindset I've ever heard.


You don't know anything about me. All I know is that you're scared of ESPN corrupting your children and that's pitiful snowflake logic.


Well then say what you're for / against douche. I'm saying I don't want my kids to see the garbage produced by espn outside of the sports events that we have no choice of watching unless it's on those channels. My guess is you'll say the word snowflake again without actually putting forth any discussion.


Calling people douches is grounds for banishment.

You banned him for calling the other guy a douche after he told him how he should raise his own children? Savage

[Pollodawg]

Did they really ban someone for calling a douche a douche? Would he have still been banned if he shared your political persuasion? Lmao.

[Pollodawg]

Dude A: "I monitor what my kids watch"
Dude B: "Youre stupid."
Dude A: "You're a douche."

Dude A: Banned. Whatever commandant Klink. ������

[Dawg61]

Did they really ban someone for calling a douche a douche? Would he have still been banned if he shared your political persuasion? Lmao.


Dude A: "I monitor what my kids watch"
Dude B: "Youre stupid."
Dude A: "You're a douche."

Dude A: Banned. Whatever commandant Klink. ������

Haha the douche reaper lurks

[smootness]

Except that several said they were not subscribing anymore.

It doesn't have to be just one reason why espn is failing. Like most things in life, there is more than one contributing factor.

Eh, just not sure I believe them. I just have a hard time believing that a person who has cut their entire cable subscription due to ESPN's liberal stances would take the time to visit ESPN's site and maintain an account there.

[smootness]

I think their subscription decline to their magazine and Insider is hurting more than cord cutters.

No, it's definitely cord cutters. They're losing 10,000 cable subscribers a day.

[Reason2succeed]

I saw an article that pretty much summed up the impact of ESPN's politics. It stated all the economic reasons that have been discussed here are hurting them, ESP chord cutting. It said that there is no way to quantify the impact of the politics but that it's never a good idea to give people who are already considering leaving you another reason to do so.

My personal takes on the politics: I don't want to hear about politics, social justice warrioring, or human interest stories of ANY kind when I watch sports. One of the reasons I watch sports is to escape from that stuff.

Chord cutting is going to make TV much more expensive in the long run, much more expensive.

So you don't like Tebow or Dak's back story being talked about? The part many of you are missing is that ESPN and journalist have ALWAYS talked about the lives of athletes. The difference isn't as much in the coverage as it is in the actual athletes.

Jenner used to be an athlete. I didn't care for them giving him/her an award either but we are sitting here talking about it a year later which is exactly why they did it. I didn't care to watch Michael Sam kiss his boyfriend in the mouth but it is a moment I will never forget no matter how hard I try. That's just TV in general. Shock value sells.

The most interesting part is that the argument that PC is killng ESPN but espn just jettisoned the dead weight of people who didn't do it and kept those who did. Maybe just maybe they know those they are losing aren't their target demographic anymore anyway. My guess is they are going after millennials and women.

P.S. this liberal has learned his lesson about who gets banned around here and for what. Let's just say those who cry about people being PC sure try to keep this place their type of PC.

[Liverpooldawg]

So you don't like Tebow or Dak's back story being talked about? The part many of you are missing is that ESPN and journalist have ALWAYS talked about the lives of athletes. The difference isn't as much in the coverage as it is in the actual athletes.

Jenner used to be an athlete. I didn't care for them giving him/her an award either but we are sitting here talking about it a year later which is exactly why they did it. I didn't care to watch Michael Sam kiss his boyfriend in the mouth but it is a moment I will never forget no matter how hard I try. That's just TV in general. Shock value sells.

The most interesting part is that the argument that PC is killng ESPN but espn just jettisoned the dead weight of people who didn't do it and kept those who did. Maybe just maybe they know those they are losing aren't their target demographic anymore anyway. My guess is they are going after millennials and women.

P.S. this liberal has learned his lesson about who gets banned around here and for what. Let's just say those who cry about people being PC sure try to keep this place their type of PC.

Tebow, not really. Dak.....Maybe, but I like watching him play even more. The ONLY reason I am even remotely interested in Dak's is he is a MSU man. That's what MSU media is for, and Dallas media. Whatever happened to just enjoying The GAMES? Of those I mentioned the human interest stuff is the least objectionable by far. Politics and social justice engineering, of whatever stripe, when mixed with sports make me want to change the channel. That includes having females comment in what are generally considered male sports.

[LilSebastian]

Well then say what you're for / against douche. I'm saying I don't want my kids to see the garbage produced by espn outside of the sports events that we have no choice of watching unless it's on those channels. My guess is you'll say the word snowflake again without actually putting forth any discussion.

I think it's important to let kids be exposed to opposing view points, otherwise they end up being unable to think critically or intelligently.

[RougeDawg]

Hate to break it to you but everything isn't a PC culture war against you.

The decline of ESPN has more to do with the rise of the web and websites. You used to depend on ESPN to know scores and stats and what happened in a game but now you can just click to a website and get the highlights you want to see when you want to see it.

You used to have to watch sportscenter and wait for that 10 sec clip. And then they just played SC on a loop all day long until 6pm and have a new episode.

Wrong. Hate to break it to you that just about every American not stuck on either coast, does not turn in to sports to hear a liberal left political opinion. ESPN has just about turned every broadcast into an attempt to push a political agenda and talking points. I'm sorry you can't see this, but it's the main reason people are tuning out. You never see the Bob Costas segments during broadcasts? Just about always political.

Do you think the sudden drop in NFL viewers after Kapernikus' anti American Steve by and praises of the sports media( ESPN) was just coincidence? Come on man, get out of your bubble and start calling a spade a spade.

And what ESPN apparently cannot understand is the liberal millennial target they have shifted toward in the last 10 years, is the exact same portion of the country that is cutting he cables and does not see the need to pay for television. The stats and studies are there to prove millenials aren't paying for TV subscriptions, buying homes, cars, etc. my only guess is that the ideology ESPN is trying to shove down everyone's throats is blinding them from seeing reality.

ETA do you recall any player or team being vilified for supporting a presidential candidate? Why did they start doing this in last 6-12 months? Does political choice impact how well Tom Brady plays or how successful the patriots are? The media in this country has an agenda and the last 6-12 months should have proven that to everyone paying attention. If anyone has not come to the conclusion the media is pushing for one ultimate goal, then you either want that goal yourself, are mentally disabled, or completely oblivious to that which takes place around you. Cannot be any other answer because all bases are covered here.

[RougeDawg]

no bigger example of victim culture than the Right's interpretation of other's rights & views that have no effect on their personal lives as a personal attack.



enjoy your safe space



Yes, glad we can all agree Kapernick should have been more politically correct instead of expressing his politically incorrect views



the only snowflakes I see are the ones melting b/c their outdated source of sports information forces them to acknowledge the fact that straight white males aren't the only ones that represent American Sports. Women have opinions on basketball, gay dudes play football, illegal immigrants are baseball stars, people don't feel patriotic when they see their tax dollars paying for administrative leave for someone who just killed an unarmed citizen. Ignoring it and being constantly offended doesn't make it go away.

/

aside from the UCONN win & 2014 rise to #1 I haven't watched ESPN since the mid-2000s - not b/c I give ashit who or what they put on tv but b/c I can watch live sports & get real-time updates via an app & watch highlights on Twitter 30 seconds after they happen.

You do realize your entire post is text book snowflake deflect and attack, right? It's comical because the ones who preach tolerance and free speech, opinion, etc. are the very same ones who shout down or discredit speech they don't agree with. Comical I tell ya. Your response provided 0.000 evidence to disprove thenposts you don't agree with. You simply shouted them down and told them to go to a safe space. Typical left wing tactic. Deflect and attack, without providing a factual argument.

That's why there is ALWAYS an emotional attachment to left political agendas. You can't reform EPA regulations because "Children will die" and you don't want to be the reason children die, donyoy? . Can't reform health care, MediCare, or Medicaid because "old people will die". Surely you don't hate old people. . Everything they push is attached to some extreme emotional tie because the policies never work. To stay in power and push their agenda they strike fear in their voters minds that the other side hates women, children, old people, LGBT, Hispanics, monitories, etc.

If just for one second people would step back and look at the ridiculousness of these accusations. So only one political party likes women, is composed of some old people, minotories, actually has children and families? No. this is why we have divide in this country. One political party is hell bent on dumbing down society and striking fear in their voters in order to stay in power. Period.