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ESPN loses over 3 million subscribers over the past year

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K

Kinsella

Banned
From the Wall Street Journal:

The company, majority owned by Walt Disney Co., has lost 3.2 million subscribers in a little over a year, according to Nielsen data, as people have “cut the cord” by dropping their cable-TV subscriptions or downgraded to cheaper, slimmed-down TV packages devoid of expensive sports channels like ESPN.
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ESPN sees talent as one area where it can control its costs, and it has been taking a hard line in negotiations.

On Wednesday, the company said it was parting ways with star host Keith Olbermann. That followed the exit in May of Bill Simmons, another big name. While Mr. Olbermann’s tendency to make controversial statements sometimes landed him in hot water with ESPN and some of its business partners, including the National Football League, the decision was a financial one, a person with knowledge of the decision said.
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Since July 2011, ESPN’s reach into American homes has dropped 7.2%, from more than 100 million households—roughly the size of the total U.S. pay-TV market—to 92.9 million households, according to Nielsen data.
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The financial stakes are especially high for ESPN because it earns the most carriage fees of any TV channel, about $6.61 a month per subscriber, according to SNL Kagan.
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If ESPN offers its channel as a direct-to-consumer streaming service, some pay-TV operators have the contractual right to boot ESPN out of their most widely-sold channel packages and sell it a la carte, according to people familiar with the matter.

ESPN would have to charge about $30 a month per customer in an over-the-top offering to make the same money using that model, analysts say. But those distributors would have the right to undercut ESPN in their retail pricing, the people said.
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N

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
This is the inherent danger in rooting yourself so firmly in a static business model when there are signs decades in advance of what's to come.
 
P

Patryn

Member
It's the double-edged sword of getting so much for each subscriber. Yes, you benefit greatly for each subscriber gained.

But it also hurts a lot more for each subscriber lost.
 
T

theSlacker

Member
I figured Olbermann would be on the way out after his show got cut to 30 minutes. Most of it was just highlights that sportscenter already does and does better without any extra commentary at all anyway.
 
J

JABEE

Member
And Pro Sports television rights continue to rise as they are seen as a pre-requisite and driver of subscriptions. It's going to be difficult to control costs long-term.

Keith Olberman's show was stupid from the beginning.
 
U

U2NUMB

Member
I will be cutting the cable this month... scary as I have had cable for 20+ years but I feel ready and the bill just upsets me every month when I get it and have watched so little.

So add me to the number here soon ESPN, you steaming pile of turds.
 
NeOak

NeOak

Member
I mean, I have ESPN because it is bundled.

Only care for it when I can't watch the FIFA World Cup on Univision.

But I'll be likely be skipping 2018 and 2022 anyway.
 
K

Kuroyume

Banned
Lebron and NBA 24/7

And shit shows like Sports Nation. And then shows which were once good like PTI are no longer good because of instead having Tony and Mike there they have Jason Whitlock and Dan Lebatard on all the time. It's SHIT.
 
F

Fuchsdh

Member
The downside of the cable sports model is how interconnected everything got—you could get those other 200 channels for cheap because you were paying the huge fees to the big sports networks, which sort of subsidized a lot. As soon as you offer a la carte options your business model is dead, it's just a matter of how long it'll take.

Wondering how this will end up shaking out. The only reason to pay the huge fees is if you like watching live games... and I'm not sure the number of people who are so invested in that can make up for the massive losses they're taking.

Amazing that Disney makes 1/4th of their profit off ESPN though. No wonder they're being so aggressive about diversifying.
 
O

OctoMan

Banned
A espn subscription service would single handily destroy cable. That's seriously all that is stopping the rapid death of cable.


Charge 20 bucks a month. Espn is worth about 5 now off your cable bill.

The sports leagues won't let it happen soon though.
 
entremet

entremet

Member
Kuroyume said:
Lebron and NBA 24/7

And shit shows like Sports Nation. And then shows which were once good like PTI are no longer good because of instead having Tony and Mike there they have Jason Whitlock and Dan Lebatard on all the time. It's SHIT.
Click to expand...

Part of the reason they cover the NBA so much is due to their contract with it.

Same with the NFL.
 
Halcyon

Halcyon

Member
The only reason I miss espn is for Monday night football and watching sportscenter for 20 minutes in the morning.
 
G

Gonzalez

Banned
I just want to watch my local sports franchises without needing to really keep up with another city's team. Hopefully MLB, NBA, and the NFL will figure this out, and not charge me for a 1000 other games I'm not planning to watch.
 
D

Drifters

Junior Member
ESPN is literally so top heavy it's time they crumble.

I've cable cut since 2010 and quite frankly, they need to get with the streaming times. Go for the throat and offer $4.99/month every ESPN network and you'll have 5+ million subscribers over night. Sadly, they're run by dinosaurs.
 
D

droggg

Member
ESPN has become almost a parody of itself, basically TMZ for sports. Sportscenter in particular for me is pretty much unwatchable at this point, and I used to watch ESPN religiously. PTI remains the greatest sports show on TV though.
 
G

Gonzalez

Banned
Kuroyume said:
Lebron and NBA 24/7

And shit shows like Sports Nation. And then shows which were once good like PTI are no longer good because of instead having Tony and Mike there they have Jason Whitlock and Dan Lebatard on all the time. It's SHIT.
Click to expand...

Hey I understand Whitlock, but leave LeBatard alone, man.
 
P

PeskyToaster

Member
I don't really watch sports on ESPN except during the World Cup it was fantastic. Football is mainly on the network channels when I want to watch it so ESPN really isn't that big of a deal. I don't watch sports new at all.
 
McHuj

McHuj

Member
Good.

I'm one of them.

All I want is the MNF and college football games to watch. I don't need their "coverage". It's free and better elsewhere on the internet.
 
IISANDERII

IISANDERII

Member
Mid 30`s, been watching sport all my life and i feel like I've seen it all. Plus the trash that is NFL conduct made it easy to cut cable. Been a year and don't miss it at all. For the rare things i do want, i can watch online.
 
Allforce

Allforce

Member
I'm a big sports fan and cord cutter and haven't missed ESPN a bit. When I do catch it on at a bar or someone's house the entire network just feels like a parody of a sports network anymore.

If I want highlights I just go to the respective league websites and watch their recaps anymore.
 
McHuj

McHuj

Member
Just read this in the article as I had been thinking about trying sling in the fall:

When Disney struck a deal to put channels on Dish Network Corp.’s Sling TV service, it negotiated the right to terminate the deal if ESPN lost three million Nielsen households after May 2014—a threshold that has now been crossed, according to people familiar with the matter.
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Ban Puncher

Ban Puncher

Member
Let me just pay for entire codes of sport or just the team(s) I want to follow.

MLB
and WWE
seem to have got digital mostly right.
 
U

U2NUMB

Member
Gonzalez said:
What's with all the love for MNF? They haven't covered a relevant game on that program in years.
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I agree with you but ... I think for me at least in my late 30's its just what I have always done on Monday night for the better part of my life.

I think I would be totally fine without it and will find that out soon, I think its mainly habit but you are right, the games have sucked for years for the most part.
 
C

codhand

Member
omgonozkt6.gif~c200
 
G

gutshot

Member
My guess is in the future all sports/leagues will offer their own streaming package (a la MLB.tv) where you can purchase all the games or only one teams games. There will still be broadcasting rights sold to OTA channels like Fox, CBS, NBC, etc. but cable nets (if they even still exist then) will get nothing except possibly really niche sports. ESPN will have to adapt and become a streaming network that specializes in highlights and news.
 
U

U2NUMB

Member
gutshot said:
My guess is in the future all sports/leagues will offer their own streaming package (a la MLB.tv) where you can purchase all the games or only one teams games. There will still be broadcasting rights sold to OTA channels like Fox, CBS, NBC, etc. but cable nets (if they even still exist then) will get nothing except possibly really niche sports. ESPN will have to adapt and become a streaming network that specializes in highlights and news.
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As long as this includes getting rid of local blackouts then I am all for it... that is the part that still sucks big time with TV still having that power.
 
T

twinturbo2

butthurt Heat fan
As long as they keep employing Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless I see no need to watch ESPN.

Fox Sports 1 has the funny Canadian dudes. I'm sticking with them.
 
D

deadlast

Member
The only time I actually care for ESPN is during the NFL combine/draft, other than that the channel is nothing but trash.
 
C

CharlieDigital

Banned
Nirolak said:
This is the inherent danger in rooting yourself so firmly in a static business model when there are signs decades in advance of what's to come.
Click to expand...

Decades?

I don't think so.

People forget that the revolution started by the iPhone is less than a decade old (2007).

I don't think anyone could have predicted this pace of advancement and shift in terms of how we consume media.

Those business models are not easy to change nor is the in-built infrastructure. Look at how long it took for the music industry to embrace MP3. Look at how long it took them to ditch DRM. Look at how long it took them to get to streaming services when we were all streaming MP3's on Napster way back at the turn of the millennia.

They are moving about as fast as you can expect these giant tankers to move.
 
G

gutshot

Member
U2NUMB said:
As long as this includes getting rid of local blackouts then I am all for it... that is the part that still sucks big time with TV still having that power.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the local blackouts would be a thing of the past under this scenario as there wouldn't be some cable net needing to protect their investment.
 
G

gutshot

Member
CharlieDigital said:
Decades?

I don't think so.

People forget that the revolution started by the iPhone is less than a decade old (2007).

I don't think anyone could have predicted this pace of advancement and shift in terms of how we consume media.

Those business models are not easy to change nor is the in-built infrastructure. Look at how long it took for the music industry to embrace MP3. Look at how long it took them to ditch DRM. Look at how long it took them to get to streaming services when we were all streaming MP3's on Napster way back at the turn of the millennia.

They are moving about as fast as you can expect these giant tankers to move.
Click to expand...

HBO, the long-cited "other" reason to own cable and a company that was seemingly just as entrenched in the cable infrastructure as ESPN, moved pretty quickly to launch an over-the-top solution.

ESPN has to have known this day was coming but they don't seem to have prepared for it as well as they should have.
 
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