Hello There, Guest! (LoginRegister)

Post Reply 
ESPN loses eight million cable and satellite subscribers in 2021 - CFB implications
Author Message
Edgebrookjeff Offline
1st String
*

Posts: 1,683
Joined: Oct 2008
Reputation: 28
I Root For: bearcats
Location:
Post: #161
RE: ESPN loses eight million cable and satellite subscribers in 2021 - CFB implications
(06-02-2022 11:28 PM)JRsec Wrote:  
(06-02-2022 11:14 PM)billybobby777 Wrote:  
(06-02-2022 06:34 PM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  
(06-02-2022 05:54 PM)billybobby777 Wrote:  
(06-02-2022 01:41 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  FWIW, though I am a bigger boxing fan than UFC fan, I like the UFC organizational situation way better. I like having one clear-cut champ, and I like when I tune in for a card, the fights happen on time, like clockwork. Dana White runs a tight ship.

In boxing, a star fighter basically calls the shots. He fights who he wants to, when he wants to, and even on fight night makes his way to the ring when he wants to. And the alphabet soup of sanctioning bodies, with their dizzying plethor of belts - "super" this and "interim" this and all that crap, just waters everything down.

I liked the day on one boxing champion too. Tyson was the heavyweight champ while Hagler was the middleweight champion.
Now it’s the WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO, WBF, IBC, NABF, USBA. The WBC super champion the WBC regular champion the WBC Continental champion etc etc. A guy just buys himself a belt. BS.

The 4 major belts are WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF.

If you hold a belt a sanctioning body receives a payout. This is why fighters choose to move up or vacate if they no longer need it for any marketing purpose.

That’s 3 too many. 1 belt. 1 champion.

Oh the irony! Men who wear tights or boxers fighting for belts! Golden Gloves at least made some sense.

They don't wear tights...It's the required uniform.
06-21-2022 06:11 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
quo vadis Online
Legend
*

Posts: 50,019
Joined: Aug 2008
Reputation: 2374
I Root For: USF/Georgetown
Location: New Orleans
Post: #162
RE: ESPN loses eight million cable and satellite subscribers in 2021 - CFB implications
(06-20-2022 06:48 PM)goofus Wrote:  I did a scan the other day and discovered I can now pick up 70 free channels on my local antenna in my upstairs bedroom. You don't even need internet, just a simple antenna. That's how I watched the NBA finals this year. Over the local ABC channel. More sports leagues should be looking into this local free channels to get their content on the air.

This is still hit-miss in a lot of areas though. After a hurricane last year wiped out cable service for several days, I bought a pretty nice antenna to pick up OTA channels should it happen again.

I live in a decent size city (not Chicago-size, but decent), and I can pick up maybe 5 channels, and not all of the four major networks. Not much, though I am sure I will appreciate anything if cable goes out again.
06-21-2022 06:29 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
goodknightfl Online
Hall of Famer
*

Posts: 21,110
Joined: Feb 2004
Reputation: 499
I Root For:
Location:
Post: #163
RE: ESPN loses eight million cable and satellite subscribers in 2021 - CFB implications
(06-21-2022 06:29 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(06-20-2022 06:48 PM)goofus Wrote:  I did a scan the other day and discovered I can now pick up 70 free channels on my local antenna in my upstairs bedroom. You don't even need internet, just a simple antenna. That's how I watched the NBA finals this year. Over the local ABC channel. More sports leagues should be looking into this local free channels to get their content on the air.

This is still hit-miss in a lot of areas though. After a hurricane last year wiped out cable service for several days, I bought a pretty nice antenna to pick up OTA channels should it happen again.

I live in a decent size city (not Chicago-size, but decent), and I can pick up maybe 5 channels, and not all of the four major networks. Not much, though I am sure I will appreciate anything if cable goes out again.

We have 60k where I live. I get 20+ over the air.
06-21-2022 07:12 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
CoastalJuan Offline
Business Drunk
*

Posts: 6,903
Joined: Sep 2014
Reputation: 517
I Root For: ECU
Location: Right near da beeach
Post: #164
RE: ESPN loses eight million cable and satellite subscribers in 2021 - CFB implications
(05-23-2022 04:38 PM)Transic_nyc Wrote:  I know a lot of you don't like Travis but I can't find much fault in his analysis of the situation.

https://www.outkick.com/espn-lost-8-mill...iber-base/

Quote:Streaming, in other words, was supposed to be the life raft that saved the cable and satellite business. The idea was that just as companies like ESPN were about to go under water, ESPN would just step from cable to streaming, which would be a new, reliable boat. The business would be fine.

But increasingly it’s looking like there are two sinking boats instead of one, both cable and streaming are taking on water. And all you’re doing as you attempt to step from one boat to the other is changing your view as you go down.

Worse than that, the shift to streaming may be hastening the decline in the cable business too because consumers only have so much money to spend on entertainment and in attempting to get them to sign up for streaming you are trading a profitable business for an unprofitable business. All the streaming services, instead of being life rafts for sinking cable businesses, are actually making both boats sink faster.

Huge tell on how he looks at the ESPN model from here forward. Here's the kicker:

Quote:So what does that mean? In the years ahead ESPN, at least if it isn’t purchased by someone like Amazon or Apple who can handle the losses thanks to offsets elsewhere, is going to have to give up top sports rights. (Why would Amazon or Apple buy ESPN when they can just buy the rights instead of ESPN? Maybe to get the existing rights ESPN already has? I think that’s probably the best case scenario for ESPN). Because otherwise at the same time that ESPN is going to become the most desperate to get the best sports rights, they’re going to have less and less money to be able to buy them with. Which means it’s going to be harder and harder to get people to subscribe to ESPN+.

The end result? From a business perspective ESPN is a dead, slow growth company that has begun its descent into oblivion. I suspect most intelligent Disney executives know this. But they are attempting to hide this fact by suggesting streaming will save the company somewhere in the future.

The problem is that just isn’t true. If anything, streaming is actually going to hasten the demise of ESPN, not save it. Because instead of just one company drowning, ESPN now has two, the legacy cable business and ESPN+.

We're going to see how much Travis is right when the details of the new Big Ten contract is released.

However, what I will also say is that this should be a warning to those who still worship the 4-letter network like a demigod of sports.

While he only focused on the financial aspects I should add that the political/social/cultural angles can't be overlooked. Why did E-Spin went all in on the SEC? Because it's much cheaper to reel 14 to now 16 different fanbases than try to cater to different tastes in different regions. But to gain the trust of those fanbases it was necessary to bring down the other conferences. Thus, the narrative construction, the attempt to give off the air of inevitability, the use of mindshare to influence casual viewers, etc..

What he did not cover is the fact that Disney still owns ABC, so they still have an over-the-air outlet in case they need to shift more games to where more people can view them. But Disney only owns one of 4 major networks and network television comes with considerable regulations.

The big question is what happens to the remaining college sports contracts as in the latter years of the new cycle.

Are they saying that streaming customers are actually declining? Not sure I buy that. I do however, buy an ESPN subscription.

If ESPN, or any of the other streaming platforms for that matter (some of which carry ESPN) want to fix things, they just need to fix the password sharing issue. Maybe switch to a lower, but more strict, per device rate. That way, you can't argue that your houses in NC, FL, and TX should all be on the same plan.
06-21-2022 07:52 AM
Find all posts by this user Quote this message in a reply
Post Reply 




User(s) browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)


Copyright © 2002-2024 Collegiate Sports Nation Bulletin Board System (CSNbbs), All Rights Reserved.
CSNbbs is an independent fan site and is in no way affiliated to the NCAA or any of the schools and conferences it represents.
This site monetizes links. FTC Disclosure.
We allow third-party companies to serve ads and/or collect certain anonymous information when you visit our web site. These companies may use non-personally identifiable information (e.g., click stream information, browser type, time and date, subject of advertisements clicked or scrolled over) during your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services likely to be of greater interest to you. These companies typically use a cookie or third party web beacon to collect this information. To learn more about this behavioral advertising practice or to opt-out of this type of advertising, you can visit http://www.networkadvertising.org.
Powered By MyBB, © 2002-2024 MyBB Group.