ESPN -Dead Company walking?

[BADOLBILZ]

3 hours ago, FireChans said:

 Cord cutting is a scam.

 

we are all going to get screwed. Rather than 60 or 80 bucks a month for cable, you’ll be paying $15 for Netflix, $15 for ESPN+, $12 for Hulu, $15 for HBO max, etc etc etc. 

 

And of course, it takes way longer to find something you want to watch by switching these streaming services.

 

We have been hoodwinked.

 

 

Yeah people who think any of the actual board room objectives of streaming services are to save you money versus cable/satellite are total sheep.

 

[f0neguy]

Supposedly Dead and Co. are touring this year for the last time (heard this before…).   Wondering if I should catch them just in case they’re actually done.

[PromoTheRobot]

4 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

ESPN+ went up 66% in 2021 to 17 million subscribers.  Get ready to figure out how to download ESPN+ onto your TV in five years for MNF. 

 

Cable companies are what are dying. ESPN is cutting out the middleman and going direct to the consumer. Sorry, haters.

Edited May 29, 2022 by PromoTheRobot

[aristocrat]

This is going well 

[DrW]

While I enjoy ESPN+, the ESPN cable/satellite channels just do not show enough "real" sports (well, they show Formula 1; finally, Ferrari is back). I just cannot warm up to cornhole, axe-throwing, or their X games. Perhaps I would change my mind if the would show eukonkanto (wife-carrying, a Finnish specialty).

Edited May 29, 2022 by DrW

[HamSandwhich]

2 hours ago, LeGOATski said:

ESPN has sucked for a long time. I stopped watching 14 years ago, even though I was at peak sports fandom in my 20's/30's. You really wanna call it ppolitical? That's comical. It's just crappy programming since the early aughts. 

You stopped watchful 14 years ago is probably why. It has become much more political since. 

1 minute ago, BUFFALOBART said:

 ESPN's content sucks, and the staff wears knee pads emblazoned with the Patriots logo.

Politics has nothing to do with it..

Perhaps for you, but for me, and others on here it seems, it was the politics. I’d think we are not the only ones and there is likely a large contingent of fans that were turned off by the constant discussion of political issues. 

[Mr Wild]

Honestly I was done with ESPN when the NFL draft every story was how someone in their life died.  His uncle dies at 6... We do we need to bring this up on what is supposed to be the best day of his life.

[buffblue]

5 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

ESPN+ went up 66% in 2021 to 17 million subscribers.  Get ready to figure out how to download ESPN+ onto your TV in five years for MNF. 

Bingo.

 

And imho, the service as it stands right now is an absolute bargain for a sports nut like myself. Just a few days ago I watched the Bandits-Rock NLL semifinal. I catch every Sabres (or other NHL game) on the platform. Not to mention every UB game, football or basketball. And for 5.99 per month? Yes please!

Edited May 29, 2022 by buffblue

[Mr Wild]

6 minutes ago, Mr Wild said:

Honestly I was done with ESPN when the NFL draft every story was how someone in their life died.  His uncle dies at 6... We do we need to bring this up on what is supposed to be the best day of his life.

 

 

Go to 1:23:41.... He is literally walking to the stage.  Before they even mention he was a 4 year player or any of his stats.  They spend his whole time walking to the stage talking about how his Grandfather was accidently killed by cops 8 years ago...  That is not what we want to watch

 

 

[hemma]

They bury us in redundant content then amplify the problem with ‘strong personalities’.

I avoid tv, but do look at stats, box scores, etc on the web because you can see multiple sports of interest with a click.  

No sound helps.

[GoBills808]

9 minutes ago, Coach Tuesday said:

Somehow this thread dog-whistled the fascists, great…

 

ESPN is bland corporate similac that has been huffing its own reputational fumes for over a decade.  They haven’t adapted well to new technologies or new content and seem stubbornly stuck in the past.  But bundling with Hulu and Disney+ was a smart move, “something for everyone in the family” and they’re not wrong.  Rarely watch any of their shows but have enjoyed getting hockey games for the price of my kid’s Mandalorian fix…

This. Complaining about the politics at ESPN is like complaining about the ambience at Burger King.

[WotAGuy]

18 minutes ago, Mr Wild said:

 

 

Go to 1:23:41.... He is literally walking to the stage.  Before they even mention he was a 4 year player or any of his stats.  They spend his whole time walking to the stage talking about how his Grandfather was accidently killed by cops 8 years ago...  That is not what we want to watch

 

 

 

Watch this video so I can show you “this is not what we want to watch”. 

[Mr Wild]

4 minutes ago, WotAGuy said:

 

Watch this video so I can show you “this is not what we want to watch”. 

 

Its called an example

[Beerball]

28 minutes ago, Mr Wild said:

 

 

That is not what we want to watch

 

Define we.

[nedboy7]

35 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

This. Complaining about the politics at ESPN is like complaining about the ambience at Burger King.

dude now I have a sinus infection w a side of wine

[PetermansRedemption]

I won't watch ESPN because Stephen A Smith might be on. Not many people I want to listen to less than that guy. 

[Canadian Bills Fan]

I only use them for Fantasy Football. I never use ESPN for anything else 

[djp14150]

6 hours ago, Chandler#81 said:

22,000 viewers/day leaving the network. Once the premiere sports network, has become a complete waste of sports fans time. Granted, streaming is killing cable, but this show has been dying for years. Aside from Wilbon & Cornhieser (which I don’t watch anymore either), I literally can’t stand any of their talking heads. Stephen A?, Keyshawn? Steve Levy? Bayless? Irvin?

 

Fuggetaboutit !

 

 

 

 

i am unfamiliar with who this is.

 

FYI… peop,e are cutting the cord and going to streaming services thinking it’s cheaper.

 

FACZt…8wont be in a few years when you have to pay $25+ a month fir all these subscription streaming services.

 

has sports popularity changed?  There might be some shifting between sports. I don’t think the market has changed.

 

 

remember customer loses can come from

 

1. person moves from own home to senior / retirement home where cable is provided. They are not a direct customer

2 you have the creation of couples/ roommates from single. It could come as a lost customer even though it’s not

3 people died

4 people switch providers 

5 people go to streaming from cutting the cord

6 kids still living at home in their 20s so they aren’t adding as customers to cable or streaming counts.

7 newer apartments come with built in cable as part of rent.

 

 

 

 

the issue has been on cable sports channels is what can we run during the daytime to get viewers.  This is why nbc sports died and FOX sports hasn’t done well either.

 

idont watch sports talk shows during the day on espn.  I do watch live sports on them 

 

I don’t watch streaming sports online. I’ve watched things like Netflix on my TV.

 

 

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

If ESPN is too woke for you, you are probably in a coma. You probably avoid mayonnaise because it's too spicy.

[Pete]

Video killed the radio star and Disney killed ESPN

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

7 hours ago, First Round Bust said:

yep

you cannot just quit espn channels a la carte - this is called cord-cutting where subscribers drop service tier(s) or service all together.

what is being discussed is thinly veiled politics which should be blocked but has not because the mods have not yet noticed or are tolerating...

 

6 hours ago, FireChans said:

 Cord cutting is a scam.

 

we are all going to get screwed. Rather than 60 or 80 bucks a month for cable, you’ll be paying $15 for Netflix, $15 for ESPN+, $12 for Hulu, $15 for HBO max, etc etc etc. 

 

And of course, it takes way longer to find something you want to watch by switching these streaming services.

 

We have been hoodwinked.

 

Agree kind of. This video was titled 22,000 people quitting ESPN.  They aren't leaving ESPN, they are dumping cable which means bye bye ESPN too.  Think the idea of moving everything to ESPN+ where all you need to do is pay for that could work for them, who knows.

 

Agree too about paying for Netflix, Hulu, etc does add up.  I have You Tube TV as gives me access to many cable stations like ESPN, but also give me access to live TV, i.e. local network channels.   I have two houses, my primary residence have an antenna with a TIVO for all the local channels.  2nd home antenna reception isn't very good, so use You Tube TV there for locals and in both locations use You Tube for ESPN, etc. All around saving some money but not a whole lot.

 

The one thing I do miss with either DTV or cable is the ability to turn on TV and everything is immediately  there to watch.  No time wasted exiting Hulu, then starting Netflix or You Tube.  Granted it's not much time, but watch less things on ESPN these days as don't want to bother switching things.

[SCBills]

ESPN literally turned into The View prior to the NBA Playoff Game after Uvalde.  Thirty minute round table demanding “common sense gun laws”.   No matter how you feel about the issue, that’s a made up political term.  It means nothing and solves nothing. 
 

Just my own anecdotal self, but I turned it off and went to the gym. 
 

I don’t watch any of their shows outside of the occasional NFL Live.  When people like me (mid-30’s male) are also turning off their live sports.. that’s a problem.  
 

 

Edited May 30, 2022 by SCBills

[Milanos Milano]

5 hours ago, LeGOATski said:

ESPN has sucked for a long time. I stopped watching 14 years ago, even though I was at peak sports fandom in my 20's/30's. You really wanna call it ppolitical? That's comical. It's just crappy programming since the early aughts. 

It’s like the History channel for me. History channel used to be awesome, now it absolutely sucks. It was nice learning about history and things like modern marvels. Now is just trash. 

1 hour ago, WhitewalkerInPhilly said:

If ESPN is too woke for you, you are probably in a coma. You probably avoid mayonnaise because it's too spicy.

For me its not even the political leanings. It’s just a junk channel now, it used to be great like the History channel. Most programming on TV has been trash for years. MTV used to be awesome as well, back when music videos were dominant and you actually discovered bands. 

[HappyDays]

The viewer numbers for literally every TV channel looks just as bad or worse. Television is dying out. Streaming and digital content will represent 100% of entertainment in the near future.

[ALLEN1QB]

I enjoyed Mike n Mike then just Mike every day. I refuse to listen to the current lineup highlighting Keyshawn. If ESPN chooses to roll with him they will definitely will not have me on board. I can't believe they chose to make the switch huge mistake. Shut em down!

[Jim]

9 hours ago, Chandler#81 said:

Oh yeah! You’re gonna work out GREAT here! May I introduce you PPP? 
😏

 

I've been here for a long time. I just usually don't post.

 

And I especially don't post a political slanted topic in the Bills section. Perhaps I could introduce you to PPP? I think Randy Travis' politically charged ESPN hot takes would fit better over there perhaps?

[Richard Noggin]

F Clay Travis. 

[SydneyBillsFan]

1 hour ago, Doc Brown said:

So you do watch ESPN when it talks politics.

 

We don't have the full gammut of options in our part of the world. If you follow the NFL down here, you're watching ESPN - whether you like it or not.

[CSBill]

What, ESPN is still on?

[Beast]

6 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

F Clay Travis. 

Leave your sexual desires out of this.

[Matt_In_NH]

I watch ESPN when the Bills are on only ESPN.  NFL Network is way better for NFL coverage and I mostly dont care about the other sports anymore.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

What?

 

Exceedingly 

Shittty 🏈 

Programs of

Nothingness 

the George Costanza effect.  
steals the Jerry Seinfeld concept 

A show about nothing 

[Mr. WEO]

Another "ESPN is dead" thread?  The leaves has bloomed and summer is officially almost here!

 

Here's what actually is going on: https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/disney-hulu-espn-q1-2022-subscribers/

 

 

"Hulu, ESPN+, Disney+ continue to gain subscribers.  The Walt Disney Company has released its earnings for its first quarter of 2022, and with it we get a new look at the state of the streaming services that fall under the larger Disney umbrella. Things were good across the board, with gains for Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu.

 

"ESPN+ increased to 21.3 million subscribers, up from 17.1 million the previous quarter, and from 12.1 million from the first quarter of 2021."

[HamSandwhich]

10 hours ago, BUFFALOBART said:

You see what you want to see...

Flip side, you’re ignorant of what you want to be ignorant of. 

10 hours ago, LeGOATski said:

That's just your political recency bias. The fact is that ESPN has discussed the political issues around sports since its inception through the 80s, 90, 00s. They just haven't adapted well and their programming sucks.

I remember nothing of the sort, just sports center rolling clips in the 80s and 90s. I would watch them every morning, over and over again. Just fun quips and sports. That was the hay day. 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

7 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

Another "ESPN is dead" thread?  The leaves has bloomed and summer is officially almost here!

 

Here's what actually is going on: https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/disney-hulu-espn-q1-2022-subscribers/

 

 

"Hulu, ESPN+, Disney+ continue to gain subscribers.  The Walt Disney Company has released its earnings for its first quarter of 2022, and with it we get a new look at the state of the streaming services that fall under the larger Disney umbrella. Things were good across the board, with gains for Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu.

 

"ESPN+ increased to 21.3 million subscribers, up from 17.1 million the previous quarter, and from 12.1 million from the first quarter of 2021."

 

 

[fergie's ire]

11 hours ago, LeGOATski said:

That's just your political recency bias. The fact is that ESPN has discussed the political issues around sports since its inception through the 80s, 90, 00s. They just haven't adapted well and their programming sucks.

You're claiming that someone like Keith Oberman would be political?!  Crazy talk.

 

[SCBills]

Bills Games

Cuse Games

NFL Live (Orlovsky and Kimes are good)

College Gameday 

 

I stick to those.. anything else on ESPN that I attempt to watch has a high probability of annoying me.

 

It should viscerally bother ESPN execs how much better TNT’s coverage of the NBA is. 

[without a drought]

And here I thought people were giving up the NFL for their political stand and had already given up ESPN because of their crappy programming, kind of like trying to watch MTV for music videos.

[FireChans]

15 hours ago, WotAGuy said:

 
Go to the library and take out a book and read it.  Free. 

What are you, some kind of NERD?

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

You