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

[Big Blitz]

Lol.

 

Realized 5 years ago we are headed for a dead zone of "talent" and quality in TV, movies (especially comedy) and music because you are being "policed."  

 

It's the 1950s in reverse.  Whoever made that Bible thumper comparison to the Woke crowd of 2020 is spot on.  

 

Almost everything is awful and the few things that are decent are often just short of being great because it had 75 writers, is forced to represent every demographic, and of course, has to be super PC.  

 

This all applies to ESPN.  It's not the content anymore.  Everything sounds and looks like a generic FM radio morning show to me.  

 

The best things I've seen on the streams movies (non marvel) or TV in the last 5 years I can count on one hand. 

[Orlando Tim]

ESPN screwed itself by making such huge jumps in pay for live sports. I think we will see some interesting negotiations for the NBA in a couple of years since I doubt they have the viewership in two years that they had 2 years ago.  But to fix it they must focus on sports and plays, not players and their lives.

[eball]

ESPN+ has been great for all of the live sports...I don't think I've watched an ESPN studio show in years.

[DrDawkinstein]

18 minutes ago, Mark Vader said:

 

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

 

 

It's on ESPN+

 

Dont get too excited. It's pretty disappointing. Boomer is old and slow to make calls and follow games. They swapped in Booger for Tom this year. Meh.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

I’m not picking on Booger, but he kind of clogs up the airways with a bunch of junk. 

[Coffeesforclosers]

ESPN isn't worth saving.  First it's like a retirement home for ex-Patriots.  IDGF, get real jobs. Second it's about chasing almighty dollars and almighty ratings, so whatever passes for programming is just a lapdance for big market teams and big personalities. Third, it's geared to hot takes and BS so it's x's and o's content is garbage.

 

Finally, I can build my own sports media environment of dedicated Bills podcasts and Bills YT channels, get what I want when I want, and for free.  

 

NBCSN's Premier League coverage smokes there's too, for the rare days I want to watch soccer.

[DrDawkinstein]

1 hour ago, Mark80 said:

 

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.

 

 

On that note, and not to defend ESPN, but the PRICE of highlights is astronomical compared to when they were starting out and in the glory years.

 

The NFL launched its own network and wants to drive viewership to it. Therefore, they charge ESPN millions of dollars for just the few highlights they get, and keep most of the deep highlights for themselves.

 

It's to the point that if you re-watch a show like PtI on streaming, they cut any/all of the highlights from the stream because it costs so much to show them.

[TBBills]

2 hours ago, dpberr said:

In the churn of election news, ESPN announced it would lay off 300 employees and not fill 200 empty positions.  

 

https://apnews.com/article/espn-300-layoffs-amid-virus-8db87b34e7c74585b8920c584b282773

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/05/sports/espn-layoffs.html

Do you want it fixed?

 

Espn was great when social media wasn't around, but now I can watch Bills highlight 5min after the game ends on YouTube.

Edited November 10, 2020 by TBBills

[RobbRiddick]

only thing about ESPN that's good is the 30 for 30 docs

[Mark80]

39 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

On that note, and not to defend ESPN, but the PRICE of highlights is astronomical compared to when they were starting out and in the glory years.

 

The NFL launched its own network and wants to drive viewership to it. Therefore, they charge ESPN millions of dollars for just the few highlights they get, and keep most of the deep highlights for themselves.

 

It's to the point that if you re-watch a show like PtI on streaming, they cut any/all of the highlights from the stream because it costs so much to show them.

 

Yeah, I figured that contractual obligations limit the amount of highlight time they can show and your thought is right along that line of though as well and probably more accurate.  There has to be a way to lower the cost per minute when you buy more minutes and when you buy less popular sports.

[Malazan]

Yes, it can be fixed. Almost anything can be 'fixed'. I can't speak so much for their TV as I haven't watched ESPN in many years, but I suspect it's much the same problem it had back then and the same problem they have on the web. 

 

I work for a company that runs a website and charges people a 'subscription'. It's a different world as we're a tech company who provides data, but the one thing I harp on is not mentally fatiguing users. Don't wear them with awful navigation, going to parts of the site and getting a "Oh, you need to pay money to see this", moving things around, different UI in different areas. Generally, a fragmented user experience. 

 

ESPN is the very definition of a fragmented experience. There's articles I can't read without a subscription. There's 'team based' section that look and act wholly different based on the team. One of the most maddening is that when I go and scroll through the articles, it's tough to find the content I was looking for...it's in chronological order, but then.. it's not. 

 

Over the years in the push to monetize, monetize, monetize everything, they've been haphazard with no clear vision and it's now mentally taxing trying to use their site. The only time I'm interested is when someone direct links something. They need to get someone in charge with a clear vision (even if that vision is not perfect and start unifying the overall experience. 

 

Then start investing in some better regular content.

[Irv]

The early SportsCenter announcers set the tone for the network:   Berman, Grande, Mees, Ley, Gumbel, Palmer, Steiner, Grande.  Fun apolitical, witty.  Then some egomaniac, political types got on and ruined it:   Olbermann, Eisen, Kilborn, Patrick, Roberts, Scott.  Unfunny political knobs. 

[Rochesterian Bills Fan]

I just want to add ESPN+ isn't going anywhere. A lot of fans of UFC, MLS, college sports etc will pay to see the sport they want. Obviously piracy is a thing but its probably not eating into it enough to make it untenable.

[atlbillsfan1975]

Go back to being a sports network. Take all the political content off, 30 for 30’s are fine. Consolidate your networks down to Espn  and Espn2. Cut down on shows from shock jocks. My 2 cents. And maybe that won’t work either. 

[sullim4]

ESPN's model is just out of date.  Their programming consists of...

 

- SportsCenter which has been replaced by the internet, where you can view highlights, see scores, read articles, etc.

- Opinion-based talk shows.  These have been replaced by sites like TBD, Reddit, etc.  Why listen to the national talking heads' opinions when you can shoot the bull with your team's fanbase?

- Pregame and postgame coverage.  Again, with all the reaction and analysis available online, for free, why sit through loud talking heads spouting off?

- Sporting events, live and taped.

 

So really, it's just the events themselves that make ESPN interesting.  ESPN is particularly valuable for NBA, MLB, and NCAA football/basketball.  If you aren't interested in any of that, and can give up the mediocre MNF matchups, why pay nearly $10 a month for this crap?

 

The business model is not sustainable and at some point the bubble is going to burst when TV customers are unwilling to pay ESPN's fees.  I strongly suspect a subscription-based future for ESPN, where they bundle other Disney properties together and force folks that must view live sports to pay for those.

[RobbRiddick]

I'd also like to use this thread to vent about the insanity of general sport discussion shows. I was looking for Bills related stuff on Youtube today and it was full of titles like "Stephen A Smith takes a huge ***** on Seahawks!" "keyshawn Johnson calls Josh Allen's girlfriend a ho!" complete with a screen grab of said 'expert' in mid shout.

 

And when you do click on one it's just a bunch of guys shouting at each other for five minutes. I get that I sound old, and I probably am, and I understand how clickbait works, but how about a show where people just discuss sports in an intelligent way. Disagreeing but not screaming? Would anyone watch such a show? There are a few out there that almost achieve this but I haven't seen many

[RichRiderBills]

48 minutes ago, RobbRiddick said:

I'd also like to use this thread to vent about the insanity of general sport discussion shows. I was looking for Bills related stuff on Youtube today and it was full of titles like "Stephen A Smith takes a huge ***** on Seahawks!" "keyshawn Johnson calls Josh Allen's girlfriend a ho!" complete with a screen grab of said 'expert' in mid shout.

 

And when you do click on one it's just a bunch of guys shouting at each other for five minutes. I get that I sound old, and I probably am, and I understand how clickbait works, but how about a show where people just discuss sports in an intelligent way. Disagreeing but not screaming? Would anyone watch such a show? There are a few out there that almost achieve this but I haven't seen many

Half the time you click and its not as advertised either.

Edited November 10, 2020 by RichRiderBills

[947]

Every point made in this thread is valid, but I'd say about 80% of the reason people don't watch ESPN anymore is the constant talk about politics & race. Depending on which hot-button current political event is happening, ESPN's coverage will be more about that actual sports. They've spent more air time on Kaepernick than anybody who actually still plays sports. If somebody digs up a questional tweet an athlete made when they were 16, it's a top story. A new coach gets hired, they'll talk more about race in coaching than the about the guy who was hired. Nobody cares about that stuff, people use sports as an excape from this crap in their daily lives, just cover on-field sports.

[Luka]

They need original content that centers around sports. 30 for 30s are good. Although campy, I enjoyed Peyton's Places. NFL Films used to cover seasons of Super Bowl winning teams, not sure if they still do that. Then you have all these professional athletes and ex coaches looking for jobs, where is some real film breakdown? It could even be done per market I'm sure. Plenty of unemployed ex players and coaches that I am sure would be willing to sit down and watch some film. They always do segments but a brief 30 second clip and generic comment about a play or two a game isn't real analysis. I think there are plenty of football nerds who would legitimately watch an hour of film breakdown a week.

And while the NFL is the most popular, this kind of expansive, in depth coverage could be carried over to hockey, basketball etc. They've gotten so generic and it's a shame, they've got the money to pay people that really know their stuff about a sport, not just a bunch of talking heads spouting off the same opinions you can read on a message board or Facebook.

[Mr. WEO]

4 hours ago, DrDawkinstein said:

Ignoring the controversies over content and politics.

 

It's a garbage station as far as production quality goes. You can tell they already laid off everyone who knows how to make a TV show run and function and have a bunch of amateurs behind the scenes. NFL Live is unwatchable. Rocko and Dino on 1990s Public Access had better production quality.

 

Whenever I do turn it on, it's all:

• the wrong highlights being played that dont match what the announcer is talking about. like, not even the right GAME.
• graphics being wrong or out of order
• cutting to the wrong person who is supposed to talk next
• mics not being turned on
• etc, etc

ESPN is done. It died when they took out Mike & Mike (imo). The only thing I turn it on for anymore is Pardon the Interruption, sometimes.

 

 

 

 

LOL, they've been "done" for years, right?....we heard this pre-Covid.  Disney (69 billion last year), like many conglomerates, is trimming the fat in lean times.

 

ESPN has had the 24hour sports network cornered since it began---it has no significant network competition.  This fact (and its dual revenue stream of subscription and ads) keeps Disney going with ESPN.

 

They aren't done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PromoTheRobot]

Not sure how ,much attention you all pay to local media but staff reductions and cutbacks are happening every couple months at iHeart, Entercom, Cumulus. I don't know how they keep these stations in the air with literally no one left. A few broadcasting companies like Saga and Beasley are fighting that trend

Edited November 11, 2020 by PromoTheRobot

[machine gun kelly]

Not to get sentimental, as my boys are now 21 and 19.  When they were little, my wife and I after she put up with me all day watching the ticket for the games, would let the boys jump in bed.  She’s Italian so she made a home aide macaroni and gravy (Italian ny for pasta sauce) for dinner, and they would climb into bed with us to watch PRIME TIME!   The boys and her would love how funny Boomer  was in explaining the game, like rumbling, bumblin, stumbling, etc.  

 

7-8 pm was so much fun.  Now, not so much.  It’s really too bad how ESPN has devolved.

[Jpsredemption]

ESPN got political and lost. Not to mention poor staffing decisions. 

[mjd1001]

Stop paying "top dollar" for personalities or stars who just media members. The media shouldn't be/isn't the star.  There is a lot of good, young talent out there that wont' require super high paying contracts.  Sure, some people tune in to see the 'names', but it is more about the sport itself...next the show/format, and last is the personalities who are their employees.

[par73]

I only watch live sporting events on ESPN. None of their other programming interests me.

[Mango]

A lot going on. But in 2020/2021 content is king and ESPN hasn’t produced good original content in some time. It’s not that First Take is terrible so much as every single show they produce is exactly the same thing. They’ve watered down their own product. 
 

They need to keep the bar high for 30:30 but they also need to produce more of them. It seems ESPN should have jumper on the NFL camp show forever ago. Now between hard knocks and everything else it may be over saturated. Unsure if there is an NBA version. But if they can make it compelling I am a casual fan so I would probably tune in. 
 

Also, instead of trying sue Barstool for PMT, they should have been able to create that content themselves. At this point it would be in ESPNs to try and buy syndication rights for Macafee and PMT and drop their 37th versions of the same show mid day. 

[NEbuff_fan]

So you turned a sports station into a Black Lives Matter commentary and basketball is pretty much the only sport you focus on. I’m sorry I forgot the question. How many actually want to listen or watch that? Not I. Get rid of politics start talking about hockey again and maybe. I’m not here to be force fed black liberal activists causes. As soon as you do that ....bye bye. 

[Nitro]

2 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Not sure how attention you all pay to local media but staff reductions and cutbacks are happening every couple months at iHeart, Entercom, Cumulus. I don't know how they keep these stations in the air with literally no one left. A few broadcasting companies like Saga and Beasley are fighting that trend

I have a friend here in Indy get canned by a radio giant.  People do not realize the staff run several stations.  Her job and several others around the nation were combined at corporate HQ.  She warns that local media is a thing of the past.  ESPN is the canary in the mine.  Stripped down operations on all levels.

[PromoTheRobot]

5 minutes ago, Nitro said:

I have a friend here in Indy get canned by a radio giant.  People do not realize the staff run several stations.  Her job and several others around the nation were combined at corporate HQ.  She warns that local media is a thing of the past.  ESPN is the canary in the mine.  Stripped down operations on all levels.

 

Companies like iHeart managed to turn being an on air personality into a sweat shop job.

[DuckyBoys]

My kids are 15 and 17 and have to no interest in sports  The demographic that is most interested in sports is the one espn continues to push away with their endless woke diatribe.  I know many many people who have completely tuned out sports let alone the sports news media. People want sports to be entertainment and escape from the stress of life 

[clayboy54]

The real question ought to be “Why would you want to fix ESPN?” Evaporation would be a better solution.

[sistersarah]

ESPN knows how to screw itself up. They pay big money to big mouths and messes up what folks like. For instance, changing the radio shows. I loved Golic and Wingo. They lost me when they changed their crew. Golic was I realized who I was listening to. It certainly wasn't Mike Greenberg. Did anyone listen to Greeny's show today? I about gagged when he talked about what he would have for his Master's dinner. One Buffalo wing you must eat with a knife and fork????? Did I hear that right???!!! And he throws shade at others choices...I vowed not to listen to him and I haven't watched his morning show.

I have been enjoying NFL Networks GMFB. Nice set of characters just having fun. Like ESPN use to be....

[Nitro]

3 hours ago, DuckyBoys said:

My kids are 15 and 17 and have to no interest in sports  The demographic that is most interested in sports is the one espn continues to push away with their endless woke diatribe.  I know many many people who have completely tuned out sports let alone the sports news media. People want sports to be entertainment and escape from the stress of life 

My children and their friends are apathetic towards sports.  This generation is more interested in TikTok and other social media platforms.  

[JMF2006]

Change the name to ABC Sports Channel just like CBS and NBC brand theirs.

 

Then you need a face of the franchise like NBC has with Mike Tirico.

 

Then you need to ditch the talk talk talk sure you need a few but not the 50 they have now.

 

Then buy up some affordable properties to take the place of talk talk talk.

 

Aussie Rules Football,  Sports Car Racing, maybe some Minor League Baseball and Hockey

 

[DrDawkinstein]

14 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

LOL, they've been "done" for years, right?....we heard this pre-Covid.  Disney (69 billion last year), like many conglomerates, is trimming the fat in lean times.

 

ESPN has had the 24hour sports network cornered since it began---it has no significant network competition.  This fact (and its dual revenue stream of subscription and ads) keeps Disney going with ESPN.

 

They aren't done.

 

Of course they arent done financially. They got that Mouse Money behind them.

 

But they are done as the leader in sports coverage, and the default go-to for sports entertainment and analysis.

[RichRiderBills]

9 hours ago, sistersarah said:

ESPN knows how to screw itself up. They pay big money to big mouths and messes up what folks like. For instance, changing the radio shows. I loved Golic and Wingo. They lost me when they changed their crew. Golic was I realized who I was listening to. It certainly wasn't Mike Greenberg. Did anyone listen to Greeny's show today? I about gagged when he talked about what he would have for his Master's dinner. One Buffalo wing you must eat with a knife and fork????? Did I hear that right???!!! And he throws shade at others choices...I vowed not to listen to him and I haven't watched his morning show.

I have been enjoying NFL Networks GMFB. Nice set of characters just having fun. Like ESPN use to be....

 

You lost me when you said you like Golic and Wingo.  Show was terrible from day 1. Wingo is a huge reason for ESPN demise. 

 

Mike and Mike was a good show, but ESPN radio was equally ruined by hot take guys. 

 

GMFB is a great show, and I agree. Get talented people and really allow chemistry to brew.

 

Many of the hot take shows on ESPN involve people waiting to speak and hear their own voice,  sitting at a highball table, shouting at each other, way too serious...no chemisty. Ego arrogance.

 

I cant stand shows like PTI or Around the Horn either. 

 

 

Edited November 11, 2020 by RichRiderBills

[Mr. WEO]

1 hour ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

Of course they arent done financially. They got that Mouse Money behind them.

 

But they are done as the leader in sports coverage, and the default go-to for sports entertainment and analysis.

 

Who is the leader?

[billsfan89]

The basic cable business model is evolving and ESPN has been getting caught in that for the last five years or so. The content they produce that gets big ratings (NFL and other mainstream live sports like the MLB and NBA) costs an arm and a leg and is at best a net neutral. Some of their fees aren't paying off as expected either. The content they produce that was hugely profitable (Sportscenter and other commentary shows) aren't getting the ratings and generating the profit margin they used to. ESPN's modern profit model in the 2000's and early 2010's was to sort of break even on the live sports broadcast but then make money on showing highlights and talking head shows which were cheap to produce but generated solid ratings. 

 

But Youtube and the internet have disrupted that. People still watch the live games but they tune out of the highlights since they can just watch them on Youtube or get other commentary on Youtube. ESPN is going to have to adjust their business model. They no longer can use the live sports as a loss leader and make money off of commentary. ESPN has tried to adjust with ESPN+ and putting up a lot of content on Youtube but there is just too big of a shortfall sadly.

[billsfan89]

18 hours ago, Nitro said:

I have a friend here in Indy get canned by a radio giant.  People do not realize the staff run several stations.  Her job and several others around the nation were combined at corporate HQ.  She warns that local media is a thing of the past.  ESPN is the canary in the mine.  Stripped down operations on all levels.

 

Sinclair will scoop up the remaining Boomer market because they value pushing a conservative agenda above the actual profit. Any other good independent local media will struggle to survive. Youtube makes it easier to be independent but harder to be localized.

[Nitro]

10 hours ago, billsfan89 said:

 

Sinclair will scoop up the remaining Boomer market because they value pushing a conservative agenda above the actual profit. Any other good independent local media will struggle to survive. Youtube makes it easier to be independent but harder to be localized.

Why go political?  This is not the time or place for that