Latest round of ESPN layoffs: How would you fix ESPN? Can it be fixed?

[JaCrispy]

How would I fix ESPN? Leave politics at the door...

[ProcessAccepted]

4 minutes ago, Mark80 said:

I would go back to a similar style of programming they did when they were at their peak. 

 

1.  Less Talk Shows - there used to be basically only one talk show, Up Close.  That was it. The weekends also had the Sports Reporters.  Now, they are running talk shows all day on multiple networks.  They all need their own sets, own on air and off air staff, and all the other expenses that come from doing a show....and they are mostly terrible.  Just put the 2am SportsCenter on Repeat on the morning.  Save a ton and be better programming.

2.  On the note of SportsCenter - More freakin highlights.  They used to play highlights of basically every game in every major sport.  At a minimum they would show the score.  Now, they talk about the same 1 or 2 teams per sport every f'n day all f'n year long.  I want to see action, not the same crap day after day after day.  Highlights, Stats, next game, highlights stats, next game, etc. Maybe a few player / coach interviews thrown in there.  Get rid of the freaking pundits talking for 75% of the show.

3.  More weird sports - Why cant they show some of the more obscure sports in the mid-afternoon?  How much would it really cost to show it?  Strongman, lumberjack games, scotland games, ping pong, badmitton, so much out there and there are amazing athletes doing stuff we never see.

4.  Get out of politics.  Enough already.  I am there for sports and sports alone.

5.  Stop force feeding me the WNBA and NCAAW.  They are terrible, no one cares, it is so freaking boring.   You give me these highlights but I can't get an NHL game, or F1 coverage, or decent soccer coverage???

^^^ and stop making a couple of players and teams your sole focus. You should be able to have a segment on a team without somehow linking it to Tom Brady. 

 

I only look at ESPN for live games and UFC events. No interest in the Steven A Smiths and Nick Wright's of the world pontificating and trying to generate clicks.

[PaattMaann]

I LOVE ESPN+

 

just came in to say that. dont care about espn going kaputz, I just enjoy seeing the college bball games on ESPN +

[thenorthremembers]

15 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

ESPN+ was a mistake IMO.  

 

Why every network is trying to build out their own paywall is beyond me.  Its a turnoff to viewers, and sports content just isn't in demand enough due to wide spread availability to warrant a pay wall.  

 

Yes, they have 30 for 30, and excellent series.  But that series already has so many episodes now, its not enough to really command a pay wall.  The bulk of their exclusive stuff just isn't good enough to consume a lot of of it all the time and warrant the paywall.  

 

I pay for it in a bundle package with HULU, Disney+, and ESPN+.  But honestly, the ONLY reason I do is because I was already paying for HULU and the upgrade was not that much and I wanted to get the Disney+ for the Mandalorian.  Outside of Mandalorian and 30 for 30, I literally don't watch any other of the content behind the paywall.  There is just WAY too much content on all the other platforms I have like Netflix, HULU, Prime, HBOMAX to feel compelled to search ESPN+ or Disney content (I have no kids) for something else to engage in.  

 

If I was ESPN, I wold focus on going back to just being the sports network, scale down the endless amounts of additional ESPN's, and take away the pay wall.  Also, they need to get better sports shows, the Stephen A's and Skip Bayless type shows are mind numbingly stupid.  Its literally the same show every day.  First Take spend 2 hours on the air with an hour of it discussing the Cowboys almost every day of the year.  These shows barely discuss real sports news, its just loud noise every morning.  

 

30 for 30 should be a series on ESPN, not a VOD paywall for example.  I mean once they tucked it and other original behind the paywall, all that was left on ESPN were Sportscenter replays and garbage shows like First Take with some less watched sports peppered in through the day.  

Agreed.   I got Disney Plus for streaming some of the newer movies coming out because the theater wasnt an option.  Kids were thrilled when some of the new movies came on and we could make an experience of something at home.  Then Disney got even more greedy and you needed to have Disney+ Premium to watch the new movies.

 

ESPN is the same way.  Peyton's Places was a great show, but I sure as hell wasnt paying extra money to watch something when I already pay 200 a month for cable.   The problem is greed, its never enough.

 

[PetermansRedemption]

I only watch ESPN for Monday Night Football. Their football coverage is, IMO, garbage. They have nonexistent hockey coverage. I think they are doomed to fail because they aren’t the best at anything they do. If I want football news, I have NFL network, NHL has NHL Network, MLB and NBA also have their own networks which are far better at their respective coverages. 

[thenorthremembers]

40 minutes ago, D. L. Hot-Flamethrower said:

Really good post I agree with a lot of it especially the last paragraph. When they left the old 80s-90s platform and started going to the "Star" system of hiring big name ex-jocks and reporters it lost me. I remember when guys like Vitale, Raftery et al where no names and became stars on ESPN. Instead of grooming their own talent, they decided to hire the names. 30-30 is one of the best things on TV.

Exactly.  Where are the Boomers, and Stuart Scott's of the world?  I miss old ESPN.   Love 30-30 and E60, go beyond the actual game and tell the stories.

[PaattMaann]

3 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

I didnt even realize they are putting that kind of stuff behind the paywall too. I think the bigger point is you are probably in the minority of being happy to use a pay wall to watch college baseball.  That content is exactly what should be on their networks, not hidden behind a paywall.  I am not even sure I can think of a single person I know thats ever told me they were watching a college baseball game unless it was like the college World Series and they were gambling on it.  I get people must be watching it, just saying the demand is not enough to build their subscriber base for the pay wall. 

 

by bball I meant basketball, sorry, I thought people would understand thats what I meant by using "bball".

 

Theres lots of college BASKETBALL on TV for sure, but by paying 4 dollars a month I can watch all of the UB BASKETBALL Games. I have no problem paying for this, and I know several of my friends who use it for this purpose as well. 

[co_springs_billsfan]

A lot of great points in this thread re: politics, hot takes, lack of highlights, focus on certain teams, etc.

 

I would also add that Disney takes the cross marketing to a nauseating level.  Why is the top story on your website "Which NBA All Star is most like each Marvel Avenger?"  By no means am I saying you can't use cross marketing, but scale that crap back.

Edited November 10, 2020 by co_springs_billsfan

[BuffBillsForLife]

As someone who used to watch ESPN all the time, I definitely don't do that anymore.  Now I just watch MNF and read the NFL articles on their website.

[Nextmanup]

ESPN is sort of a metaphor for societal transition taking place, in general, right now.

 

When ESPN was invented and popular, tuning into the TV "highlight show" was how we got sports information.

 

That day is now long gone and people who are THAT into sports have a cell phone glued to their hand 24/7 and most news is disseminated in tiny tweets and sound bytes....and for sports, most of the time, that is GOOD ENOUGH.

 

I agree with someone up-thread who said ESPN should focus on the history of sports; they should focus on anything they can offer that is not being done better elsewhere. That means continue with live game broadcasts, well done documentaries, history of the game, maybe an in-depth interview show now and again with a big sporting name....but the notion that people are going to get their sports news from watching TV is now a dated and losing proposition.

 

 

[Alphadawg7]

4 minutes ago, PaattMaann said:

 

by bball I meant basketball, sorry, I thought people would understand thats what I meant by using "bball".

 

Theres lots of college BASKETBALL on TV for sure, but by paying 4 dollars a month I can watch all of the UB BASKETBALL Games. I have no problem paying for this, and I know several of my friends who use it for this purpose as well. 

 

My bad, and yes bball should have triggered BASKETBALL in my mind as me and my friends love playing and watching basketball and always refer to it as bball.  But for some reason I thought I saw the word "baseball" and I dont know why hahaha.

 

I do get the demand for college basketball, just not sure its still enough to grow its subscriber base enough, especially given how much college basketball is still readily available outside of the paywall.  

 

Anyway, sorry for misreading that

[Freddie's Dead]

Can I still get The Ocho?

[PaattMaann]

Just now, Alphadawg7 said:

 

My bad, and yes bball should have triggered BASKETBALL in my mind as me and my friends love playing and watching basketball and always refer to it as bball.  But for some reason I thought I saw the word "baseball" and I dont know why hahaha.

 

I do get the demand for college basketball, just not sure its still enough to grow its subscriber base enough, especially given how much college basketball is still readily available outside of the paywall.  

 

Anyway, sorry for misreading that

 

oh for sure, I guess I wasnt commenting on how good of a system it is, just that I really enjoy the advent of ESPN + because it gives me access to college basketball games that they arent showing on TV. It would be great if they would, but there arent enough ESPN channels to show allllll of the local games. I understand the sentiment about not wanting to pay for even more stuff after you already pay for cable and what not, I just dont really care that much about 4 bucks a month. 

[RichRiderBills]

35 minutes ago, JaCrispy said:

How would I fix ESPN? Leave politics at the door...

 

This is a huge factor. No matter how you slice your politics, you cant deny its there, and that at least 50 percent of the country disagrees with everyone else.

 

I know politics have been embedded with sports for a long time, now and then, but largely people watch sports to escape.

Edited November 10, 2020 by RichRiderBills

[DaggersEOD]

I have to agree that the constant politics in your face is a huge turnoff. I guess they just can't help themselves.

 

SJWs are this generation's Bible Thumper. And just as much fun to talk to...and have mixed in with your sports.

 

I miss the Boomer/NFL Countdown days. I would look forward to that show all day!

 

If they got back to their roots, I would probably come back. While all the different league specific channels (NFL Network, MLB Network, etc) are good, ESPN was really the only place you can go to get a little something from everywhere. I would actually get a little interested in other sports from their highlights, something that wouldn't have happened without Sportscenter. And I think there is still a market for something like that.

 

They just need to get away from the "stars", return to growing non-athlete reporting talent, stop producing shows like they're tabloids and get rid of the non-sports talk.  Is that asking too much??

[Estro]

Get woke, go broke as Clay Travis puts it.

 

Its fine to cover sports and politics, but you need to be honest about it.  When you cover sports, and pretend you don't dip your toe in politics but half of your listeners realize you always disparage one side of the spectrum you lose viewership.

 

Thats what happened to ESPN in a nutshell.  Its fine they're entitled to run whatever programming you want, but people will tune out if they don't like your stuff.

 

And its not just politics, watching that Monday Night game last night was brutal.  That 3 man booth is awful and it's tough to even leave the volume up.  They were a running parody on my twitter account last night for some of the dumb stuff they were saying.

[RichRiderBills]

17 minutes ago, DaggersEOD said:

I have to agree that the constant politics in your face is a huge turnoff. I guess they just can't help themselves.

 

SJWs are this generation's Bible Thumper. And just as much fun to talk to...and have mixed in with your sports.

 

I miss the Boomer/NFL Countdown days. I would look forward to that show all day!

 

If they got back to their roots, I would probably come back. While all the different league specific channels (NFL Network, MLB Network, etc) are good, ESPN was really the only place you can go to get a little something from everywhere. I would actually get a little interested in other sports from their highlights, something that wouldn't have happened without Sportscenter. And I think there is still a market for something like that.

 

They just need to get away from the "stars", return to growing non-athlete reporting talent, stop producing shows like they're tabloids and get rid of the non-sports talk.  Is that asking too much??

 

You are dead on. The anchors used to be stand up comics...they were great, talented, guys/ gals. They drove ESPN, along with a few athletes who were good chemistry guys, not necessarily stars. So many of these athletes or coaches are terrible...also killing NFL radio on Sirius as well. Guys like Brett Favre and Charlie Weiss are horrible. 

 

I recall the product watering down when sportscenter splintered into the 24/7 ESPNews cycle, suddenly the anchors were boring, apart from a few examples. 

 

From an NFL standpoint, Wingo really hurt them. Then they phased out NFL gameday...to primetime and just never had the talent to replenish. Why not keep Dan Patrick? 

 

Now its gotten so bad....the programming way to gaudy, woke, or loud. Meanwhile GMFB is awesome. Great chemistry.

 

Also, hitching a wagon to Steven A Smith was a huge mistake. I generally think they overrated the appeal of the hot take shows too.

 

Edited November 10, 2020 by RichRiderBills

[Alphadawg7]

11 minutes ago, PaattMaann said:

 

oh for sure, I guess I wasnt commenting on how good of a system it is, just that I really enjoy the advent of ESPN + because it gives me access to college basketball games that they arent showing on TV. It would be great if they would, but there arent enough ESPN channels to show allllll of the local games. I understand the sentiment about not wanting to pay for even more stuff after you already pay for cable and what not, I just dont really care that much about 4 bucks a month. 

 

Yeah, I get that.  As far as the $4 a month, I think its less about the $4 for ESPN+ and more about not enough content on their networks.  I guess my only point is that I don't know if they will gain enough revenue off the pay wall to justify reducing and restricting that better content on their actual networks.  Its substantially more expensive to run those live networks than a VOD service.  

 

So for me, I think their bigger issues is that not enough people are watching their networks anymore.  So for that model to work, they would need to make up that revenue with ESPN+ subscriptions increases.  That is really what I am more saying in terms of the model I think may be a mistake for them.  

 

I am like you, I don't really care about the $4 so much so I still have it even though I barely watch the ESPN+ stuff.  But, I think where they are really losing money is on viewership on their cable/satellite networks, and by hiding some of their better content behind a pay wall, they are seeing a sharp decline in ratings on their more expensive cable/satellite channels.

[stevewin]

1 hour ago, Mark80 said:

I would go back to a similar style of programming they did when they were at their peak. 

 

1.  Less Talk Shows - there used to be basically only one talk show, Up Close.  That was it. The weekends also had the Sports Reporters.  Now, they are running talk shows all day on multiple networks.  They all need their own sets, own on air and off air staff, and all the other expenses that come from doing a show....and they are mostly terrible.  Just put the 2am SportsCenter on Repeat on the morning.  Save a ton and be better programming.

2.  On the note of SportsCenter - More freakin highlights.  They used to play highlights of basically every game in every major sport.  At a minimum they would show the score.  Now, they talk about the same 1 or 2 teams per sport every f'n day all f'n year long.  I want to see action, not the same crap day after day after day.  Highlights, Stats, next game, highlights stats, next game, etc. Maybe a few player / coach interviews thrown in there.  Get rid of the freaking pundits talking for 75% of the show.

3.  More weird sports - Why cant they show some of the more obscure sports in the mid-afternoon?  How much would it really cost to show it?  Strongman, lumberjack games, scotland games, ping pong, badmitton, so much out there and there are amazing athletes doing stuff we never see.

4.  Get out of politics.  Enough already.  I am there for sports and sports alone.

5.  Stop force feeding me the WNBA and NCAAW.  They are terrible, no one cares, it is so freaking boring.   You give me these highlights but I can't get an NHL game, or F1 coverage, or decent soccer coverage???

I agree with almost all of this.

 

My biggest thing is I wish they would just go to more straight ahead reporting and less over the top yuk-yuk crap by the 'personalities' trying so hard to be 'entertaining'.  There are some Sportscenter anchor teams I literally cannot watch - just give me the highlights and introduce some stories - so many of them with their ridiculous non-stop senseless 'banter' - god shut up.  The classic old school Sportcenter guys knew the nuance of how to incorporate humor and commentary into the highlight/story without overtaking it - today it's mostly just idiotic, forced, unnecessary conversation between two nitwits,

 

Semi-related - I am so thankful that NFL Network has gone back to just straight ahead highlight show with single host.  For some reason for a while the thing that was in vogue was having 4 ex-players nonsensically grunting and babbling over the top of the  highlight - I absolutely could not stand that.  It was like they wre told - "OK - when the highlight is running just make noises - that makes it so much more entertaining"  How clueless are the people producing some of this crap.

Edited November 10, 2020 by stevewin

[Mark Vader]

My days of watching ESPN every day are long gone, and I'm not all that crazy about the alternatives.

 

ESPN is still the best when it comes to college sports. Especially football & basketball.

 

I love College Gameday, but it does not need to be 3 hours long.

 

I miss what NFL Countdown used to be, and if NFL Primetime were still on, I would watch that too.

 

I agree with whomever mentioned that ESPN would be wise to add more history of sports. Remember when they would air all of those great NFL Films Specials? More stuff like that would be a lot of fun.

 

Please get rid of the political blowhards who do nothing but yell all of the time, and cut back on the redundant talk shows.

 

Have shorter pregame shows, but longer post game shows. On Sportscenter, cover more sporting events of the day, and have more post game coverage.