ESPN -Dead Company walking?

[Mr. WEO]

50% of the tens of millions of new subscribers are people who say "i never watch ESPN"  lol

[The Jokeman]

20 hours ago, MJS said:

They've been a joke for awhile now.

Disney ruins everything. 

[WotAGuy]

48 minutes ago, FireChans said:

What are you, some kind of NERD?

I’ll have you know, Trekkies are proven to have much higher IQs than the average TV viewer.  We also have the lowest incidence of sexually transmitted diseases in the free world. Not really sure why.  

[JakeFrommStateFarm]

I watched ESPN last night. The Celtics vs heat game 7 playoffs.

 

Great game ! Did anyone else watch it ?

 

Then followed up with SVP post game show.

 

Good stuff

[unbillievable]

For the people arguing about why it's happening, it can be ALL the reasons mentioned so far. There is more than one way to lose an audience.

 

ESPN went political and hired more controversial hosts to produce clickbait headlines to draw younger viewers. What they failed to realize is that the social media generation won't tune in to hour long shows, but prefer 30sec tiktok clips.

 

 

 

 

[BillsFan4]

19 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.

$60 to $80 a month for cable? damn, where do you live? I want those prices! 😂

 

my cable bill is like $250/month. It’s $80+ alone just for the cable internet.

[SCBills]

1 hour ago, without a drought said:

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.

Its both.  A show like First Take was decent, given they refuse to not comment on social issues, when Will Cain was on it with Stephen A.  They legitimately have different world views.  
 

Now that show is just Max Kellerman, now JJ Redick, in agreement with every political take that is debated. 
 

Stephen A and Michael Wilbon almost hyperventilated and fainted when KD attacked Mayor Adams over his covid policy given what was going on with Kyrie.   Why on earth do the sports-watching public need to hear an entire segment devoted to ESPN analysts covid views? ..and of course, those views were all on one side. 
 

This comes across in all their programming.   Not even moderate left leaning people want to be inundated with this when they try to get away by watching sports.  

 

Sometimes you get it in game… Mark Jones types just randomly lecturing the audience in the 2nd Quarter out of nowhere. 
 

Yes.. there is a lack of talent on the network…for sure, but their politicization of sports certainly plays a part. 
 

I’ll watch Bills/Cuse games wherever they are, but if I see an NBA Playoff Game is on ESPN, I’ll probably check out.  If it’s on TNT, I’ll likely tune in.  I don’t care about the teams involved, but TNT is a good product. 
 

 

Edited May 30, 2022 by SCBills

[BillsFan4]

https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2022/03/espns-best-first-quarter-viewership-in-five-years-up-40-in-prime-time/
 

Quote

ESPN’s total day viewership in the first quarter of 2022 was up 32% vs. last year to an average of 812,000 viewers (P2+), the network’s best for the first three months of the year since 2017.  The increase was even more pronounced in prime time – up 40% to 2.068M viewers.  
 

In the target demo of adults 18-49, ESPN was up 23% in total day audience and led the second-place network by 74%.  In prime time, ESPN’s audience in the demo grew 36% and the advantage was more than double – up 111% – the next closest competitor.  

 

On the strength of the weekday studio show lineup, ESPN averaged 600,000 viewers from 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. ET, up 20% over 2021 and the best since 2017.  

 

🤔 

[NewEra]

20 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.

We cut the cord and save $75 a month.

YouTube tv = $65 month and I get all the channels I used to have minus HBO.  I found a promo and paid $75 for a year of HBO

Everyone and their brother shares Netflix accounts and when if they happen to fix that, then Netflix will lose even more subscribers. 

 

The espn+/Disney/Hulu bundle is $15 a month.  I share that with family all over the country and pay $5 a month.  

 

Most people have Amazon prime, so they have prime video.
 

If you haven’t found a way to save a good amount of money by cutting the cord, you’re doing it wrong. There is no doubt

[FireChans]

1 minute ago, NewEra said:

We cut the cord and save $75 a month.

YouTube tv = $65 month and I get all the channels I used to have minus HBO.  I found a promo and paid $75 for a year of HBO

Everyone and their brother shares Netflix accounts and when if they happen to fix that, then Netflix will lose even more subscribers. 

 

The espn+/Disney/Hulu bundle is $15 a month.  I share that with family all over the country and pay $5 a month.  

 

Most people have Amazon prime, so they have prime video.
 

If you haven’t found a way to save a good amount of money by cutting the cord, you’re doing it wrong. There is no doubt

Your mistake is thinking they won't raise those prices lmao.

 

Netflix was $7.99 a month 8 years ago. It's now $15.50. 

 

They will all continue to raise their prices, especially when a reasonable alternative no longer exists.

[TheCockSportif]

2 minutes ago, NewEra said:

We cut the cord and save $75 a month.

YouTube tv = $65 month and I get all the channels I used to have minus HBO.  I found a promo and paid $75 for a year of HBO

Everyone and their brother shares Netflix accounts and when if they happen to fix that, then Netflix will lose even more subscribers. 

 

The espn+/Disney/Hulu bundle is $15 a month.  I share that with family all over the country and pay $5 a month.  

 

Most people have Amazon prime, so they have prime video.
 

If you haven’t found a way to save a good amount of money by cutting the cord, you’re doing it wrong. There is no doubt

I can back this up as true.  We did this over Thanksgiving 2021, and could not be happier.  We use the newer Fire Cube for streaming, which I was told is a must for performance (we formerly had a gen1 Fire Stick).

 

Cable bill went down to $99/mo (Spectrum) for internet only.  And since I'm a "remote" employee, work pays for the internet connection (dial up, DSL, cable, fiber, whatever).

 

YouTube tv has been a great find.  We tried it vs Hulu and could not be happier.

 

We're not into the Disney bundle at this point, so nothing spent there.

 

In the end (cable bill for bundled services hit $280/month), we're spending about $125/mo for YouTube tv + Netflix + HBO.  So, that's a savings.  And even if work didn't pay for the internet, it would still be a savings.

 

 

[BillsFan4]

Just now, FireChans said:

Your mistake is thinking they won't raise those prices lmao.

 

Netflix was $7.99 a month 8 years ago. It's now $15.50. 

 

They will all continue to raise their prices, especially when a reasonable alternative no longer exists.

So, just like cable has done for decades?

 

At least with streaming services there’s competition. Everyone and their brother is coming out with their own streaming service.

 

Im sure eventually they’ll be weeded down, and prices may rise. But right now you can save a lot of money over cable for the same, or better, coverage. And better picture quality too.

 

I don’t see cable going anywhere any time soon though. If anything, maybe they’ll be forced to finally start offering better prices and not price gouging their long time customers while giving deals only to new customers.

 

cable companies finally have legit competition. That’s a good thing.

[TheCockSportif]

1 minute ago, BillsFan4 said:

So, just like cable has done for decades?

 

At least with streaming services there’s competition. Everyone and their brother is coming out with their own streaming service.

 

Im sure eventually they’ll be weeded down, and prices may rise. But right now you can save a lot of money over cable for the same, or better, coverage. And better picture quality too.

 

I don’t see cable going anywhere any time soon though. If anything, maybe they’ll be forced to finally start offering better prices and not price gouging their long time customers while giving deals only to new customers.

 

cable companies finally have legit competition. That’s a good thing.

 

Correct re: cable.  At least we're finally starting to get fiber up here in Maine, so there will be competition.  They are offering 1g internet for $79/mo where my current 400m internet costs $99.  Competition is always a good thing, and we agree on that as well.

 

And you're also right about the picture quality.  Even my dad, who's 85 and (sadly) losing his eyesight -- noticed the visible difference in picture quality.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

56 minutes ago, JakeFrommStateFarm said:

I watched ESPN last night. The Celtics vs heat game 7 playoffs.

 

Great game ! Did anyone else watch it ?

 

Then followed up with SVP post game show.

 

Good stuff

it’s a game. MUTE can be your friend 
The only way to be disappointed would be if you had a vested interest and lost.  

 

SVP isn’t bad.  Bonus points —— He’s not screaming to make his point 

[ColoradoBills]

6 minutes ago, NewEra said:

We cut the cord and save $75 a month.

YouTube tv = $65 month and I get all the channels I used to have minus HBO.  I found a promo and paid $75 for a year of HBO

Everyone and their brother shares Netflix accounts and when if they happen to fix that, then Netflix will lose even more subscribers. 

 

The espn+/Disney/Hulu bundle is $15 a month.  I share that with family all over the country and pay $5 a month.  

 

Most people have Amazon prime, so they have prime video.
 

If you haven’t found a way to save a good amount of money by cutting the cord, you’re doing it wrong. There is no doubt

 

Same with me but instead of YouTube TV I have Sling Blue for $35.00 a month.  I add Sling Orange for ESPN during football season.

I share that with a friend and he gives me Netflix, ESPN/Disney/Hulu bundle and Paramount+ in return.

I get Sunday Ticket from college students I know for the $99.00 for the season.

I went from $200.00 a month with DirecTV to about a total of $55.00 a month the streaming way.

 

Note for those who care:  I bought an indoor/outdoor OTA antenna and hooked in up to my old DirecTV cabling.  I now have all the

local channels on all 3 of my TVs for a one-time cost of $50.00.

 

As to the comments on streaming costing more in the future..............I'll worry about that when it happens.

[NewEra]

27 minutes ago, FireChans said:

Your mistake is thinking they won't raise those prices lmao.

 

Netflix was $7.99 a month 8 years ago. It's now $15.50. 

 

They will all continue to raise their prices, especially when a reasonable alternative no longer exists.

Did you really laugh your ass off?  Strange.  
 

And you’re missing the point.  I AM saving $75 a month.  I have been saving $75 for quite a long time.  It’s a real thing that is happening…. Why would I look take the future into consideration?  I can apply the thousands of dollars of savings I’ve accumulated to help pay the increase…..and STILL pay less than cable.  
 

Your point makes zero sense unless you’re just trying to prove a point that doesn’t actually exist.  
 

there are several ways to save decent amount of money each month AND have access to watch all the same channels and shows rather than paying for cable.  Be lazy.  Pay more.  
 

 

Edited May 30, 2022 by NewEra

[NewEra]

9 minutes ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

Same with me but instead of YouTube TV I have Sling Blue for $35.00 a month.  I add Sling Orange for ESPN during football season.

I share that with a friend and he gives me Netflix, ESPN/Disney/Hulu bundle and Paramount+ in return.

I get Sunday Ticket from college students I know for the $99.00 for the season.

I went from $200.00 a month with DirecTV to about a total of $55.00 a month the streaming way.

 

Note for those who care:  I bought an indoor/outdoor OTA antenna and hooked in up to my old DirecTV cabling.  I now have all the

local channels on all 3 of my TVs for a one-time cost of $50.00.

 

As to the comments on streaming costing more in the future..............I'll worry about that when it happens.

Awesome.  I looked into sling when we cut the cord initially but they didn’t offer all of the channels my wife and I were looking for.  But like YTtv, I’m sure they may have added  channels since I did my research.  
 

do you get NFLn with it?  
 

Like you, I’ll worry about the future price hikes when I’m not saving $75 a month. Til then, I’ll continue to save $ and still have access to everything I had prior to cutting the cord. 

[LeGOATski]

3 hours ago, HamSandwhich said:

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

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. 

You don't remember Outside the Lines with Bob Vey? It was one of ESPN's most popular shows in the 90s. Gave them a huge ratings boost. Talked about all the off-field social stuff around sports. Mon-Fri.

[NewEra]

5 minutes ago, LeGOATski said:

You don't remember Outside the Lines with Bob Vey? It was one of ESPN's most popular shows in the 90s. Gave them a huge ratings boost. Talked about all the off-field social stuff around sports. Mon-Fri.

One of the best shows in the history of Tv imo.  Bob Ley ftw.

[BillsFan4]

46 minutes ago, TheCockSportif said:

 

Correct re: cable.  At least we're finally starting to get fiber up here in Maine, so there will be competition.  They are offering 1g internet for $79/mo where my current 400m internet costs $99.  Competition is always a good thing, and we agree on that as well.

 

And you're also right about the picture quality.  Even my dad, who's 85 and (sadly) losing his eyesight -- noticed the visible difference in picture quality.

I wish they would bring fiber to my area! Verizon fios is in my city but not my area and afaik have no plans of coming to my neighborhood.

 

I get 200 mbps right now. Spectrum does offer 400mbps and 1gb speeds but I’ve been content with 200. It’s plenty for streaming. It would be nice to have GB speeds for downloads though.

[ColoradoBills]

30 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Awesome.  I looked into sling when we cut the cord initially but they didn’t offer all of the channels my wife and I were looking for.  But like YTtv, I’m sure they may have added  channels since I did my research.  
 

do you get NFLn with it?  
 

Like you, I’ll worry about the future price hikes when I’m not saving $75 a month. Til then, I’ll continue to save $ and still have access to everything I had prior to cutting the cord. 

 

Yes, NFLN comes with the Sling Blue.  Like I said i have to add the sling Orange package to get ESPN during the football months.

I get the ESPN+ from a friend for my Sabres hockey.

 

Sling is limited with channels compared to YouTube TV but it's fine with me for the money.

[FireChans]

40 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Why would I look take the future into consideration?

Um, because you're going to exist in the future.

[TheCockSportif]

11 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

I wish they would bring fiber to my area! Verizon fios is in my city but not my area and afaik have no plans of coming to my neighborhood.

 

I get 200 mbps right now. Spectrum does offer 400mbps and 1gb speeds but I’ve been content with 200. It’s plenty for streaming. It would be nice to have GB speeds for downloads though.

The keys, IMO, are two things:

1. Competition, which should bring pricing down
2. Upload speeds, which cable, unless you get a 400 mbps or higher package (which still sucks), is abysmal at

Fiber gives you symmetric performance, for the most part.  Not all people need it, of course, but I do, or at least it's preferable to have it, for work.

[HamSandwhich]

1 hour ago, LeGOATski said:

You don't remember Outside the Lines with Bob Vey? It was one of ESPN's most popular shows in the 90s. Gave them a huge ratings boost. Talked about all the off-field social stuff around sports. Mon-Fri.

No, I didn’t watch that, it was just in the mornings, sports center. Watched it on a loop, that’s all I cared about, highlights from the night before. 

[Coach Tuesday]

1 hour ago, NewEra said:

Did you really laugh your ass off?  Strange.  
 

And you’re missing the point.  I AM saving $75 a month.  I have been saving $75 for quite a long time.  It’s a real thing that is happening…. Why would I look take the future into consideration?  I can apply the thousands of dollars of savings I’ve accumulated to help pay the increase…..and STILL pay less than cable.  
 

Your point makes zero sense unless you’re just trying to prove a point that doesn’t actually exist.  
 

there are several ways to save decent amount of money each month AND have access to watch all the same channels and shows rather than paying for cable.  Be lazy.  Pay more.  
 

 

How do you watch the nfl games?  Once they move to streaming I’m doing exactly what you’re doing but for now I’m stuck with a slimmed-down directv package.

[Cash]

On 5/29/2022 at 2:39 PM, BillsShredder83 said:

When ESPN has, I dunno, actual sports on, it's a fine network. I like the ufc, boxing, hockey, they have baseball I'm sure pulls a lot of views.

 

SportsCenter was a huge piece of my childhood. Some of my favorite memories with my dad. NFL Primetime was elite.

 

They barely show sports, and everything during the day is race baiting. Flush it down the toilet and someone else will pick up the slack

Agreed. [EDIT: Except for the last paragraph.] I’ve aged out of their top demographic (males age 18-36), so they probably don’t care much about my opinion. But FWIW, I haven’t gotten ESPN for years and I don’t miss it. What would cause me to miss it? Exactly 2 things:

 

1.) Live sports

2.) Well-produced, curated highlights 

 

“#2 is stupid. You can see all the highlights on Twitter.”

 

That’s wrong, Argumentative Guy I Made Up. Yes I can find highlights of individual plays on the internet. And for NFL specifically, nfl.com’s highlight packages the next day are pretty good! (I mean the ones that are clips from the broadcast.) But even those don’t really tell me the story of the game. Back when I regularly watched NFL Primetime, Inside the NFL, and Sportcenter, it seemed like the point of the highlights was twofold. Show all of the coolest or craziest plays in a game, and recap the game for those who missed it. There was a narrative to the highlight reel, and that’s missing these days. 

Edited June 1, 2022 by Cash
Clarification. I didn’t want to send the message that I agreed with the entirety of the quoted post.

[RocCityRoller]

6 hours 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."

 

Good info. I appreciate some actual facts.

 

Silly question. Since Disney owns ESPN (or at least a controlling stake) is it offering ESPN+ as part of a Disney streaming deal?

How much of the growth is ESPN+ subscribers, vs a 'Disney Bundle' or Disney throwing ESPN+ in for free??

 

I'm not a fan of Disney stuff (No not even Star Wars) so I don't know too much about their subscription services and what gets bundled or not.

[stinky finger]

On 5/29/2022 at 2:08 PM, MJS said:

They've been a joke for awhile now.

Longer than I can remember. 

[Rico]

23 minutes ago, RocCityRoller said:

 

Good info. I appreciate some actual facts.

 

Silly question. Since Disney owns ESPN (or at least a controlling stake) is it offering ESPN+ as part of a Disney streaming deal?

How much of the growth is ESPN+ subscribers, vs a 'Disney Bundle' or Disney throwing ESPN+ in for free??

 

I'm not a fan of Disney stuff (No not even Star Wars) so I don't know too much about their subscription services and what gets bundled or not.

You get Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ in the bundle. I don’t think too many people are buying ESPN+ by itself, but I could be wrong.

[Orlando Tim]

4 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2022/03/espns-best-first-quarter-viewership-in-five-years-up-40-in-prime-time/
 

🤔

I am curious if that includes the ESPN+ numbers because with all the hockey I watched more ESPN outside of football season than I have in a long time. 

[ColoradoBills]

2 hours ago, Coach Tuesday said:

How do you watch the nfl games?  Once they move to streaming I’m doing exactly what you’re doing but for now I’m stuck with a slimmed-down directv package.

 

DirecTV Sunday Ticket Streaming App for college kids is the easiest.  $99.00 for the season and everyone can find a family/friends who have

a kid in college.  I give them a few bucks for the trouble (5 minutes) to sign up.

I watch it through my Roku Stick.  Works perfect.

[NewEra]

5 hours ago, FireChans said:

Um, because you're going to exist in the future.

I’m saving money right now…..while you are not……

 

I have the ability to switch back if it comes to a point where I’m not saving money anymore.  Logic is hard

3 hours ago, Coach Tuesday said:

How do you watch the nfl games?  Once they move to streaming I’m doing exactly what you’re doing but for now I’m stuck with a slimmed-down directv package.

I’m in Vegas, there are bars on every corner.   I watch the Bills games at my favorite bills backers bar.  YTtv has every channel that shows nfl games, so I watch the regional games in the afternoon. They usually show the best games, but if there’s a game I want to watch that isn’t on tv, I’ll hit 1 or the 10 bars within a 1 mile radius. They all have the package.  

[Mr. WEO]

4 hours ago, RocCityRoller said:

 

Good info. I appreciate some actual facts.

 

Silly question. Since Disney owns ESPN (or at least a controlling stake) is it offering ESPN+ as part of a Disney streaming deal?

How much of the growth is ESPN+ subscribers, vs a 'Disney Bundle' or Disney throwing ESPN+ in for free??

 

I'm not a fan of Disney stuff (No not even Star Wars) so I don't know too much about their subscription services and what gets bundled or not.

 

3 hours ago, Rico said:

You get Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ in the bundle. I don’t think too many people are buying ESPN+ by itself, but I could be wrong.

 

"Disney+ now stands at 129.8 million subscribers. That’s up from the 118.1 million subscribers it had at the end of the previous quarter, and nearly 35 million more than the 94.9 million subscribers it had a year ago.

 

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."

 

 

[GoBills808]

5 hours ago, Coach Tuesday said:

How do you watch the nfl games?  Once they move to streaming I’m doing exactly what you’re doing but for now I’m stuck with a slimmed-down directv package.

nflbite.com

[Mc1320]

The people running this network thought it was a good idea to put that gasbag A-Rod on their flagship  Sunday Night Baseball broadcast.

 

Same people are trying to shove Robert Griffin III down our throats during football season.

[Buftex]

On 5/29/2022 at 1:25 PM, 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. 

ESPN+ is a great deal...

[Doc Brown]

2 hours ago, wppete said:

YTD Disney is down over 30% on an almost $200 Billion market cap. They are getting hammered and it will probably get worse…… Definition of go woke go broke. 

Their revenue reported on 5/11/2022 is up 23% so far this year and they had a net income of about 470 million.  What are you talking about?

[TheBrownBear]

ESPN+ has a ton of good live sports content if you're at all a fan of college sports.  Now that they have PGA Tour Live it is a no brainer for me.  I almost never watch regular ESPN "programming", but ESPN+ is good stuff for the price.

[wppete]

10 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:

Their revenue reported on 5/11/2022 is up 23% so far this year and they had a net income of about 470 million.  What are you talking about?

YTD -30.26% This is not even arguable. Looks at the chart. 

[EasternOHBillsFan]

The main problem with ESPN is there are so many loud people on the network... they don't even need a microphone it can get ridiculous. The best watch is the morning with Get Up and then SVP at night... everything in between is just a lot of nonsense I don't need. 

 

It pains me to have to watch a game on ESPN during football season... the announcers are definitely not my cup of tea.