"ESPN Loses Over a Half Million Subscribers"
- By T J
- Penn State Football
- 24 Replies
ESPN Loses Over a Half Million Subscribers
The Associated Press
by DYLAN GWINN30 Nov 2016
The Nielsen estimates revealed that ESPN lost 555,000 subscribers during the last month.
In other words, ESPN essentially lost the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico. This, coming on the heels of last month, the worst month in ESPN history, where the network lost 621,000 subscribers.
In the last two months, ESPN has lost 1,176,000 subscribers, a subscriber loss nearly the size of the city of Dallas, Texas. ESPN currently has just over 88 million domestic subscribers. In 2013, a mere three years ago, ESPN had 99 million subscribers.
That’s right, in the last three years, ESPN lost somewhere in the neighborhood of ten million subscribers, the rough equivalent of the combined populations of New York City and Phoenix.
Now, in fairness, ESPN has contested the subscriber estimates that Nielsen put forth, citing the omission of multiple factors, including streaming services and digital device numbers.
However, if the Nielsen numbers even remotely approximate the true subscriber loss, it means ESPN has lost hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue over the last three years alone and if the trend continues, is well on its way to collapse.
Certainly, the chord cutting phenomenon that has hit networks across cable television has a definite impact on ESPN. Though, that’s not the entire explanation for the network’s cratering subscriber base. ESPN Ombudsman Jim Brady, admitted that the network lurched way too far to the left in recent years, alienating many viewers.
There’s also evidence of that in these numbers. According to Deadline Hollywood, “Disney’s other sports channels fared better. ESPNU had 71 million subs, down 1.4%. ESPNEWS and SEC Network — not measured by Nielsen — were flat based on December data from SNL Kagan. The former had 70 million subs and the latter had 62 million.”
What do ESPNU, ESPNEWS, and the SEC Network all have in common? They are, by far, the least opinion-driven and ideological of all the ESPN channels.
ESPN’s slate of uber-opinionated, radically leftist programs such as Around the Horn, First Take, Pardon the Interruption, His & Hers, and others all appear on ESPN or ESPN2, the channels which have seen the greatest decline.
ESPNU, ESPNEWS, and the SEC Network primarily feature sporting events, simulcast radio shows, or straight news reporting with very little opinion, or, at least very little political opinion. Those channels have either marginally declined or stayed flat.
Something tells me there’s a message there.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter: @themightygwinn
OT: For "critical thinkers", why NFL viewership is down
- Penn State Football
- 117 Replies
first of all, this thread is solely intended for critical thinkers. if you do not have a critical thinking club card, you cannot read this thread. I am teaching you critical thinking skills because there are too many people today who will cherry pick data to support their confirmation bias. I do not do that.
I have a degree in engineering from Penn State, which means I am much much much much smarter than people who do not. that's a scientific fact I learned freshman year, you dum dums!!
So on to our critical thinking exercise to address why I believe that a man silently kneeling on the sideline has offended so many good and true patriots of the greatest nation on earth!!! and I am talking about USA USA USA! you thought I meant Russia since they won an election this year. FOOLS!!!
After reading several different articles on the subject from the biased liberal media, I can only conclude (logically of course) that they are covering up the "Kaepernick effect" . . . because most of them cite reasons like the recent national election, the Cubs world series run, peak saturation of TV markets, rapidly evolving alternative markets, a lack of iconic players, reduction on the quality of play (especially in larger markets), and a host of more reasonable explanations for this down tick in viewership.
My superior critical thinking skills can only lead me to believe that these sensible and reasonable explanations MUST BE WRONG since they do not conform with my pre-conceived world view and outrage!!
Now I will post 17 links and obnoxious graphs from dubious sources to support my arguments. thus endeth the lesson!!
For the win article
Sports Illustrated
The Atlantic
I have a degree in engineering from Penn State, which means I am much much much much smarter than people who do not. that's a scientific fact I learned freshman year, you dum dums!!
So on to our critical thinking exercise to address why I believe that a man silently kneeling on the sideline has offended so many good and true patriots of the greatest nation on earth!!! and I am talking about USA USA USA! you thought I meant Russia since they won an election this year. FOOLS!!!
After reading several different articles on the subject from the biased liberal media, I can only conclude (logically of course) that they are covering up the "Kaepernick effect" . . . because most of them cite reasons like the recent national election, the Cubs world series run, peak saturation of TV markets, rapidly evolving alternative markets, a lack of iconic players, reduction on the quality of play (especially in larger markets), and a host of more reasonable explanations for this down tick in viewership.
My superior critical thinking skills can only lead me to believe that these sensible and reasonable explanations MUST BE WRONG since they do not conform with my pre-conceived world view and outrage!!
Now I will post 17 links and obnoxious graphs from dubious sources to support my arguments. thus endeth the lesson!!
For the win article
Sports Illustrated
The Atlantic