ESPN Lost 500,000 Subscribers in April

[heckmans]

I hated ESPN 20 years ago because their football broadcasts were so packed with promos they were just miserable to watch. It was the sports network that cared about itself more than it cared about your game.

I hated them because ESPN came to represent everything wrong with sports. And then the Sandusky scandal and ESPN's lies and sanctimoniousness gave all of us another big reason to hate them.

But have to say, now that ESPN is the favorite whipping boy of Breitbart, neo-Fascists and white supremacists, it kind of takes the fun out of hating ESPN. You hate ESPN now, you're in the company of scoundrels. It won't make me stop hating ESPN but it does give me pause.

Don't worry, commie pinkos hate ESPN too, only for different reasons. Hate away
Also, FTR, every major case of fascism this world has seen, has emanated from the left. Your Breitbart comment suggests you are labeling "neo-fascist" as a right of center thing. It is not, and has never been.

 

[heckmans]

The people who are rooting for ESPN to fail are either not sports fans or crazy. I know into which
category the OP falls.

Are you suggesting that only ESPN wants to broadcast sports? Once the cable cartel is broken, there will be more sports available through more providers for (probably) less money.

 

[Nitt1300]

So maybe the idea the network had of forcing politics into sports wasn’t such a great idea?

It may upset some snowflakes, but that can't account for the numbers.

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

Kinda amusing to observe the dichotomy of views on the travails of the BTN and ESPN. Neither are good for PSU athletics.

I think this is the elephant in the room for all B1G members.

 

[Nittany Ziggy]

I hated ESPN 20 years ago because their football broadcasts were so packed with promos they were just miserable to watch. It was the sports network that cared about itself more than it cared about your game.

I hated them because ESPN came to represent everything wrong with sports. And then the Sandusky scandal and ESPN's lies and sanctimoniousness gave all of us another big reason to hate them.

But have to say, now that ESPN is the favorite whipping boy of Breitbart, neo-Fascists and white supremacists, it kind of takes the fun out of hating ESPN. You hate ESPN now, you're in the company of scoundrels. It won't make me stop hating ESPN but it does give me pause.

So your saying you quit hating ESPN because the article that reports a fairly well known fact about them comes from an outlet that doesn’t share your political view(s)? That’s pretty interesting.

 

[ivan brunetti]

Don't worry, commie pinkos hate ESPN too, only for different reasons. Hate away
Also, FTR, every major case of fascism this world has seen, has emanated from the left. Your Breitbart comment suggests you are labeling "neo-fascist" as a right of center thing. It is not, and has never been.

These guys are neo-fascist and are certainly right of center.

 

[PAgeologist]

Yes, and I am not sure how they made such a dumb move. There had not been a great deal of interest in the NBA since the mid 1990s. In fact I would say that interest fell off a cliff at the end of the Bulls’ run and never returned.

I think part of the reason is that they ran away from hockey after the last work stoppage.

 

[PAgeologist]

I guess technically I'm a subscriber...ESPN is included with my PSVue streaming package. I'm even about to dump that and go to the $20 Sling package during the football off-season.

That being said, I have not watched a minute of ESPN (outside of PSU related sporting events) in years. I say that proudly.

Die, you evil son of a b1tches, die!!!

I watch them for PSU games and the NCAA wrestling championships- which they actually do a great job with.

Unfortunately they also picked up Formula 1 racing this year. All they do is rebroadcast a live stream of the event. They frequently cut to commercial during exciting and important parts of the race. The live stream doesn't take breaks, so they will cut to commercial mid sentence and pick it back up in a totally different conversation. It's borderline unwatchable.

 

[T J]

These guys are neo-fascist and are certainly right of center.

Meanwhile back in reality...

 

[Osprey Lion]

I don't agree with that. Just because a network covers sports doesn't mean you have to like them. And just because you like some sports doesn't mean you have to like all of them.

I have disliked ESPN for a long time, long before the political stuff started, and the reason is their coverage just plain stinks, both of actual events and their "talk" shows. And part of the problem is that they are ALWAYS marketing and selling instead of just covering and analyzing.

Can anyone tell me why, in the age when everybody has access to all info at all times, ESPN has to have stuff constantly going across the bottom of the screen when you're watching a college football game? And it's not only college football scores, but every other sport. So when you're watching a college football game you're subjects to pre-season NBA coverage and Ryder Cup or whatever else is going on.

Know why? BECAUSE ESPN IS SELLING EVERY SPORT 24/7. They extra sell events that are or will be on their networks (which at this point is ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN Classic, ESPN News, ABC and maybe others), but they sell them all.

When I tune into Game X, why is it unreasonable for me to expect good coverage of Game X?

But at least you get to watch the events. For example before ESPN, you could only see a few NCAA
Basketball Tournament games. ESPN was the first to bring extensive coverage of that event to TV. Once it proved to be popular, other networks became involved and now every game is shown. I was able to see every PSU match of the NCAA Wrestling Tournament on ESPN. Some of you
are willing to cut off your nose to spite your face.

 

[Osprey Lion]

Are you suggesting that only ESPN wants to broadcast sports? Once the cable cartel is broken, there will be more sports available through more providers for (probably) less money.

You think that will happen. I doubt it.

 

[Op2]

You think that will happen. I doubt it.

You think if ESPN won't give us sports then nobody else will? The market takes care of such things. ESPN got big because they provided something people wanted. And then they got bigger by forcing people to pay for stuff they didn't want in the form of cable monopolies making people pay for 100 channels even if they only wanted 10.

Now that monopoly is being broken up a bit and I'm not the least big scared. ESPN is the bloated dinosuar that brought us something good back in the day but now is complacent and coasting off past success. They need to either get lean or get out.

 

[Osprey Lion]

And those people are being subsidized by cable subscribers who have little or no use for ESPN and outnumber them by a large multiple. So when the day comes, and it's coming fast, when ESPN is offered to you at an unsubsidized price and you still find it "indispensable," knock yourself out.

I subsidize many networks I don't watch but I'm not a crybaby about it.

 

[Op2]

I subsidize many networks I don't watch but I'm not a crybaby about it.

Okay, if you don't mind subsidizing things you don't use, how about start sending me a monthly check?

 

[Art]

I subsidize many networks I don't watch but I'm not a crybaby about it.

No, you're just a fvcking fool, but we know that already.

 

[Osprey Lion]

You think if ESPN won't give us sports then nobody else will? The market takes care of such things. ESPN got big because they provided something people wanted. And then they got bigger by forcing people to pay for stuff they didn't want in the form of cable monopolies making people pay for 100 channels even if they only wanted 10.

Now that monopoly is being broken up a bit and I'm not the least big scared. ESPN is the bloated dinosuar that brought us something good back in the day but now is complacent and coasting off past success. They need to either get lean or get out.

The history of markets in America has shown a decided trend towards monopolies. I have less
faith in them than you.

 

[masterbaker65]

Couldn’t happen to a nicer network.

 

[Osprey Lion]

No, you're just a fvcking fool, but we know that already.

I would hate to have your kleenex bill.

 

[Art]

I would hate to have your kleenex bill.

Not a problem. You'd love to have my cable bill. You'd shit in your pants if you saw it. Actually, from what I've heard, you wouldn't need to see it to do it.

 

[Osprey Lion]

Not a problem. You'd love to have my cable bill. You'd shit in your pants if you saw it. Actually, from what I've heard, you wouldn't need to see it to do it.

How do you hear anything over your constant wailing? And I believe you have a small
cable bill because you appear to be a cheap crybaby.

 

[MtNittany]

So your saying you quit hating ESPN because the article that reports a fairly well known fact about them comes from an outlet that doesn’t share your political view(s)? That’s pretty interesting.

Actually, it's pretty ****ing stupid.

 

[Art]

How do you hear anything over your constant wailing? And I believe you have a small
cable bill because you appear to be a cheap crybaby.

Damn, Walter, is that the best your pathetic little brain can do when it's not pre-occupied with cleaning up after yourself? Given the magnitude of the task, yes, it is.

 

[JonZ]

ESPN Lost 500,000 Subscribers in April

ESPN lost half-a-million subscribers in the month of April, adding to a massive hemorrhaging of customers which now hovers around 14 million over the last seven years.

While the numbers were catastrophic across the board for the national networks, only NBCSN lost more households than ESPN.

These are not out-of-season drops, but drops at a time while those networks have some of their best content. So there are certainly some things to worry about there.”

Those worries are exacerbated by the fact that ESPN launched their brand new morning show Get Up! in April. A show which takes place in a studio that reportedly cost $35 million to build, and is hosted by three personalities who make nearly $15 million a year.

Most networks consider launching an expensive new show while losing 17,000 subscribers a day, to be less than ideal.

http://www.breitbart.com/sports/2018/05/02/espn-lost-500000-subscribers-april/
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I am one of those 500,000 in April thanks to y'all. I don't ever watch TV except for 12 Saturdays in the fall, but my wife does. We were able to get U-verse Basic for $19/month and internet for $30. She bought 2 Roku devices and pays $11.99/month for Hulu and is very satisfied. I guess when September rolls around I will have to get U-verse 200 for 3 months and then go back to U-verse Basic until next season unless y'all may have a better suggestion. Is there anything other than U-verse 200 that I can get using the Roku that would give me ESPN, BTN and ABC?