ESPN says ESPN viewership was down 4% In 2015

[11NCs]

http://awfulannouncing.com/2015/espn-ratings-have-dropped-10-percent-overall-in-2015.html

but only after adjusting for the lack of certain high-viewership content (eg world cup, nascar) from 2014. A whopping 10% pre-adjusted. And it lost 7M subscribers over the past two years (@ $6+ per subscription). The annual loss of $47M in cash from subscriptions alone (offset, in part, by cash from new broadcast channels) is more than a tiny blip. Arguably it is the equivalent of a loss of nearly $0.5B in value. They're not out of the woods yet.

 

[perseverare]

I thought ESPN was cancelled?

 

[Toby Smart]

ESPN has now wandered in to the world of social commentary and predictably their commentary is always in sync with the left. Viewers notice. Viewers tune in then tune out. By now, the NBA , Lebron, and the Warriors are all just white noise to me, but ESPN keeps on bringing it. I tune in then tune out. I see uninformed analysts making "informed" commentary. With that said, I do really like the "30 for 30" series and of course, all the college football and baseball. You just have to pick your poison. Actual athletic competition is a yes. Any segment involving social commentary is a resounding no. If I hear one more time these dopes lump Notre Dame in with Baylor, even inadvertently, I'm going to punch the TV. How about the big discussion about the future of Corey Robinson, his dad's money, and whether he made the right choice. If they did the bare minimum research, even assigning an intern to do the research, they would have known and mentioned Corey''s academic success and his election as president of the student body. No small endeavor. Corey will be way way better than fine. Never heard that mentioned though. These guys would rather talk to Barkley about Lebron for an hour.

 

[MTIrish98]

They're going to continue to drop. People are cutting the cord left and right. It'll be interesting to see where the revenues will be at in a decade.

I think J. Swarbrick might have foreseen this, avoiding the "ND Network" idea when UT and all of the conferences were signing up for it. The more flexible a league, team or university can be in the future, the better off they'll be IMHO.

 

[schadenfreude]

They're going to continue to drop. People are cutting the cord left and right. It'll be interesting to see where the revenues will be at in a decade.

I think J. Swarbrick might have foreseen this, avoiding the "ND Network" idea when UT and all of the conferences were signing up for it. The more flexible a league, team or university can be in the future, the better off they'll be IMHO.

Yes. Swarbrick opted for flexibility and adroitly left millions on the table.

 

[chaseball]

ESPN isn't dieing, the business model is. They are holding on to an antiquated way of doing business because it's extremely profitable, they just need to adjust.

Streaming devices (phone, computer, roku, etc.) is the future, with a la carte subscriptions to whatever networks you watch separate of the cable company.

But cable companies actually own all of these popular networks, so they'll still be getting wealthy, just by a different means.

 

[perseverare]

once TV's are better adapted to internet then the shift from current type providers with take place
BUT J.Q. never wins! The ala cart menu charges coupled with data restrictions and excessive fees and taxes will surely just screw us all! Been there - done that!

 

[Izo]

Does anybody know which ESPN shows , other than actual contests , rank the the worst ?Some of these ESPN sports talk shows are just plain bad.I no longer watch talk shows or sports analysts . Just watch the college football ,basketball and other games(soccer,LAx ,etc.

 

[schadenfreude]

4% ain't great but I wouldn't go writing them off just yet. I think they are trimming something like 10-15% this year. I think they will be around for the foreseeable future.

 

[MTIrish98]

4% ain't great but I wouldn't go writing them off just yet. I think they are trimming something like 10-15% this year. I think they will be around for the foreseeable future.

I think they will always be around, but I'm not sure the payouts for the TV deals will always be the same. Eventually they are just dividing the same sized pie into smaller pieces. If more pieces doesn't attract more advertisers and subscribers then the $$$ drops.

 

[onlyonenow]

Yes. Swarbrick opted for flexibility and adroitly left millions on the table.

with you its always about money, Sad.

Better to have left money YOU DON'T NEED on the table then get tied down to a possibly sinking ship at a time when things are very uncertain.