ESPN has lost 10 million subscribers since 2013

[pdxgreen]

It's not even about sports any more. It's about feeding egos and talking smack. They don't even discuss baseball any more. It's basically football, basketball and F-ck You. I'm sorry if I don't give a sh*t about daily updates on whether the Raiders are moving to Vegas or whether Nick Saban likes Satellite Camps. They don't understand their viewership and that's a killer.

[TuscanyTile2]

2nd page of comments and no mention that ESPN fired their single most talented person - Bill Simmons.  Surprised.  I know he probably  doesn't account for the entire drop in ratings but I would guess a pretty significant amount. 

[Adoni Beast]

8 hours ago, JETSfaninNE said:

I have no issue with anything else stated here but the bolded is such an ignorant point of view. (I'm sure it was said just to troll and catch the attention of someone like myself but here comes the rant!)  Putting a box under your TV and engaging in passive entertainment with price gouging monopolistic archaic models just isn't sustainable in todays always connected society.  Its not because cable cutters are terrible at life or don't want bills, they don't want all the fat associated with getting a cable package.  If you want ESPN, you need to buy a package of 40 other bullsh*t channels you will never watch.  Why ESPN hasn't moved to an online only package model is unbelievable at this point when customer who want to watch baseball will buy a MLB package online, people that want to watch NHL will buy an NHL package online, people that want NFL package (like myself) will buy an international package or DirectTV Sunday Ticket online package in order to stream games online.  No one really wants to watch a bunch of passive personalities reading scripted entertainment about sports anymore when you can come on a message board or twitter or reddit and interact and engage with like minded individuals about the topics and interests they want to, without the advertisement bombardment of TV.

I cut cable back in February and it was the best thing I ever did.  Incredibly hard to do and was long overdue and the first few weeks felt weird but then it became liberating, now I consume what I want when I want at the price I'm willing to pay.

TLDR: ESPN Sucks! but so does all cable!

It was said in jest. I'm 32...

[Adoni Beast]

5 hours ago, Miss Lonelyhearts said:

What's a millennial?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennials

 

[PCP63]

Can't even remember the last time I watched ESPN or MTV, or seen a Disney movie. All three have gone severely downhill. Just a bunch of degenerate trash on those channels now.

[Obrien2Toon]

6 hours ago, pdxgreen said:

It's not even about sports any more. It's about feeding egos and talking smack. They don't even discuss baseball any more. It's basically football, basketball and F-ck You. I'm sorry if I don't give a sh*t about daily updates on whether the Raiders are moving to Vegas or whether Nick Saban likes Satellite Camps. They don't understand their viewership and that's a killer.

 

I remember Cowherd always saying that they have research saying nobody wants to talk about baseball. All they care about is football and basketball.

All local shows talk about is baseball and their ratings are great. Maybe people only care about their local team though.

I think ESPN only aims at the 15-30 "urban" demographic. 

[BowlesMovement]

8 hours ago, Miss Lonelyhearts said:

What's a millennial?

Basically the end of America as we knew it

[BowlesMovement]

8 hours ago, T0mShane said:

I'd like to attribute its collapse to its poor content, idiotic on-air talent, and its willingness to sh*t on journalistic ethics, but then I see Fox News getting monster ratings and my critique falls apart. 

 

I will say, though, that cable news channels like ESPN have hit the ******* skids, and I think it's due to the fact that every "reporter" is now 26 years old and got hired because they're telegenic and have a firm handle on hashtags. Gone are the days of actual journalists leaving their chairs to investigate a story by culling sources, interviewing the principals, objectively sorting through the tedium of fact-finding. Now it's been replaced by one halfwit RTing another halfwit, who got the morsel of the original story from an anonymous tip phoned in by a biased agent or attorney. It's pretty gross out there.

Yeah, cause CNN and the rest of them are just full of high quality, highly ethical journalism.....

[EM31]

Dirty cord cutters

[Jolot]

37 minutes ago, Obrien2Toon said:

I remember Cowherd always saying that they have research saying nobody wants to talk about baseball. All they care about is football and basketball.

All local shows talk about is baseball and their ratings are great. Maybe people only care about their local team though.

I think ESPN only aims at the 15-30 "urban" demographic. 

You just nailed it , it's the pink elephant nobody wants to bring up , ESPN is 100% targeting young black males as its audience . Years and years of doing this and they have lost and turned off a big part of the audience that they were built on . I hope nobody takes offense to my comment , It just seems obvious. 

[The Crusher]

13 hours ago, Jetdawgg said:

Because the TV sports rights bubble has officially popped

http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/outkick-the-coverage/espn-loses-1-5-million-subscribers-as-cord-cutting-accelerates-052816

 

So they switched to scout.com too?

[The Crusher]

12 hours ago, JETSfaninNE said:

I have no issue with anything else stated here but the bolded is such an ignorant point of view. (I'm sure it was said just to troll and catch the attention of someone like myself but here comes the rant!)  Putting a box under your TV and engaging in passive entertainment with price gouging monopolistic archaic models just isn't sustainable in todays always connected society.  Its not because cable cutters are terrible at life or don't want bills, they don't want all the fat associated with getting a cable package.  If you want ESPN, you need to buy a package of 40 other bullsh*t channels you will never watch.  Why ESPN hasn't moved to an online only package model is unbelievable at this point when customer who want to watch baseball will buy a MLB package online, people that want to watch NHL will buy an NHL package online, people that want NFL package (like myself) will buy an international package or DirectTV Sunday Ticket online package in order to stream games online.  No one really wants to watch a bunch of passive personalities reading scripted entertainment about sports anymore when you can come on a message board or twitter or reddit and interact and engage with like minded individuals about the topics and interests they want to, without the advertisement bombardment of TV.

I cut cable back in February and it was the best thing I ever did.  Incredibly hard to do and was long overdue and the first few weeks felt weird but then it became liberating, now I consume what I want when I want at the price I'm willing to pay.

TLDR: ESPN Sucks! but so does all cable!

Good post but you forgot plus Netflix.

[Jetdawgg]

3 minutes ago, The Crusher said:

So they switched to scout.com too?

Lol

[drdetroit]

15 hours ago, Fibonacci said:

ESPN stopped catering to sports enthusiasts a long time ago. They are a watered down TMZ employing the likes of Stephen Screaming Smith and other idiots. 

Exactly.

 

ESPN's programming outside of actual sports games is horrible.  It's become a wannabe MTV.  

 

[Raideraholic]

ESPN has become too political correct, and it makes me sick.  You can do all the fag pieces on Michael Sam etc, and really don't care about things like that.     Curt Shilling or some other on air personality  has opinion on important subject, and they fire him.( too much pushing a certain agenda).

Only time will watch ESPN is when my main man Charles Woodson is on. ( best hire they have made in sometime.

[rillo]

Not surprised, I just watch for the sporting events. Even their website is hot garbage, however I do enjoy their 30 for 30 series.

[Jetmech]

So if I'm understanding is cable/satellite subscribers are essentially dropping to very basic packages? ESPN was almost always included in a standard package whereas Fox was part of maybe sports package with others like NFLN, SNY, MLBN. I don't get such a large disparity?

[Fibonacci]

While discussing ESPN, can anybody suggest a good website where I can track sports headlines? I am not on twitter and I rely on sports websites and ESPN has gone crap and other sites I find are click baits. I am in serious need of simple sports coverage. Any good site out there?

[drdetroit]

1 hour ago, Raideraholic said:

ESPN has become too political correct, and it makes me sick.  You can do all the fag pieces on Michael Sam etc, and really don't care about things like that.     Curt Shilling or some other on air personality  has opinion on important subject, and they fire him.( too much pushing a certain agenda).

Only time will watch ESPN is when my main man Charles Woodson is on. ( best hire they have made in sometime.

They fired Schilling because he was making $2.5 million to do nothing.  The political stuff was pretext

 

 

ESPN is losing viewers because it's programming outside of MNF and sporting event broadcasts is horrible. Also, MLB Network and NFL network have better, more substantive content.

[drdetroit]

1 hour ago, Fibonacci said:

While discussing ESPN, can anybody suggest a good website where I can track sports headlines? I am not on twitter and I rely on sports websites and ESPN has gone crap and other sites I find are click baits. I am in serious need of simple sports coverage. Any good site out there?

Google news the sports section 

[drdetroit]

1 hour ago, rillo said:

Not surprised, I just watch for the sporting events. Even their website is hot garbage, however I do enjoy their 30 for 30 series.

They need to clean house. Stephen A Smith and Skip Bayless?  Gone.  Mike and Mike? Gone.  That big fat black lady Jamel or whatever? Gone.  Cancel PTI or at least get new hosts.  Wilbon looks burnt out and Kormheiser is an idiot.  

 

 

[peebag]

15 hours ago, Larz said:

sports center was must watch every night way back when

I haven't watched it in years

I haven't had ESPN for over 7 years....don't miss it a bit.

[David Harris]

I love PTI - they're 2 old school kinda guys who seem genuine buddies - the only ESPN I watch

[rillo]

55 minutes ago, drdetroit said:

They need to clean house. Stephen A Smith and Skip Bayless?  Gone.  Mike and Mike? Gone.  That big fat black lady Jamel or whatever? Gone.  Cancel PTI or at least get new hosts.  Wilbon looks burnt out and Kormheiser is an idiot.  

 

 

Hard to argue with any of this. 

[JETSfaninNE]

9 hours ago, Adoni Beast said:

It was said in jest. I'm 32...

I figured, but the post was repped so I feel people needed that soapbox rant

[Ex-Rex]

19 hours ago, faba said:

ESPN became an entertainment site awhile ago not a sports site

It is called Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. I am surprised that it is only 10 million subscribers. I never became a subscriber because I know it is a waste of money and that is what espn is all about these days.

[Jet Fan RI]

1 hour ago, Ex-Rex said:

It is called Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. I am surprised that it is only 10 million subscribers. I never became a subscriber because I know it is a waste of money and that is what espn is all about these days.

Are you sure you're not a subscriber? If you have a cable or satellite package that includes ESPN, you're a subscriber even if you don't watch it. It's the only reason I am a subscriber. Sure hope they go to to an "a la carte" subscription basis, so I can not sign up for ESPN. I am even a subscriber to the awful New England Sports Network (NESN), for which I am charged a few extra dollars per month even though I never watch it. I called and asked if I could drop it. Answer: No.

[Jet Nut]

1 hour ago, Ex-Rex said:

It is called Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. I am surprised that it is only 10 million subscribers. I never became a subscriber because I know it is a waste of money and that is what espn is all about these days.

Where do you buy cable or satalite without ESPN included as part of every basic package? 

Sounds like they're losing subscribers the same was cable and satalite.  To streaming services, people getting their pay channels via different methods. 

Sounds like a whole lot of nonsense. 

[Miss Lonelyhearts]

7 hours ago, Raideraholic said:

ESPN has become too political correct, and it makes me sick.  You can do all the fag pieces on Michael Sam etc, and really don't care about things like that.     Curt Shilling or some other on air personality  has opinion on important subject, and they fire him.( too much pushing a certain agenda).

Only time will watch ESPN is when my main man Charles Woodson is on. ( best hire they have made in sometime.

Approved topics:

1. Evolution denial

2. Trans bashing

3. Fags

4. Stuff Curt Schilling likes

This is good. More please.

[batman10023]

22 hours ago, Mainejet said:

ESPN lost me years ago as a subscriber. Sure, I still tune in every now and again, but I really haven't found anything as useful and to the point as ESPNEWS, and of course they did away with that.

you are a subscriber.  a subscriber is someone who has it on their cable package.  you are a casual viewer as well.

[batman10023]

21 hours ago, Shadetree said:

I watch NFL Network all the time..I never turn on ESPN. 

If I want NHL, I watch NHL network.

if I want MLB, I watch MLB network.

Short Disney.

i heard Fatcessa talking about how sports were going to eventual be ala crate and ESPN will suffer. Made sense.

edit: I would never short Disney cuz, you know, Star Wars and sh*t, but if ESPN continues to lose cable deals and viewership declines, disney will suffer.

star wars is good no doubt but espn drives a good deal of dis revenues and profits.   in 5 years people will  be able to get good packages without espn and sports.  and people are going to stop paying for it.  i bet they lose another 20mm subs.  

[BroadwayJets]

Good

[Hitman Harris]

Honestly, they moved to cater to women and gays mostly because sports corporations are so damn greedy they are fully willing to destroy and water down their own product to shove ads in your face to as many people. I don't give the slightest of fux about their faux outrage and pink ribbons and feel good crap. They don't even touch hockey, the only true sport left.  They are about one step from having specials on who is dating who. 

[HessStation]

On June 1, 2016 at 6:49 PM, Fibonacci said:

ESPN stopped catering to sports enthusiasts a long time ago. They are a watered down TMZ employing the likes of Stephen Screaming Smith and other idiots. 

I wish I could rep this more than once.

[Matt39]

10 minutes ago, HessStation said:

I wish I could rep this more than once.

They cater to Twitter, which is basically the worst thing you could do longterm.