Posted on 07/11/2015 6:54:59 AM PDT by jimbo123
Despite holding the television rights to nearly every sport that anyone wants to watch, ESPN apparently is not the cash cow that it once was for parent company Disney, which reportedly is demanding that the all-sports network slash its budget over the next two years.
In Wednesday’s story about Keith Olbermann’s impending departure from the network, the Hollywood Reporter says Disney is forcing ESPN to cut $100 million from its budget next year and a staggering $250 million from its budget in 2017. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that ESPN has lost 3.2 million subscribers in more than a year and that ESPN’s reach in U.S. households has fallen 7.2 percent since 2011. Last month, Bloomberg reported that operating income dropped 2 percent at Disney’s media networks division, which includes ESPN.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I don’t even watch ESPN once a month.
They just don’t do sports very well. Their announcers are usually terrible.
I quit watching back in the 80’s. Glad to see people are finally joining me. ESPN is an extension of the democRAT party.
I hear Olbermann is going to Telemundo.
With an interpreter.
At least they were smart enough to bash Trump and lose all of his viewers.
Pray America is waking
That’s what happens when you try to politicize sports.
People just are not buying the FAKE ESTABLISHMENT LINE.
The money then walks. Hence, the cuts at ESPN.
Olberman is quitting? I thought he was big into sports before he got into politics.
My son says ESPN stands for “Endlessly Self Promoting Network.” Their announcers are horrible because they forgot its about the game, not about them. And their “news” is thinly veiled propaganda. With the rise of the regional Fox Sportsnet and CSN networks, ESPN has become irrelevant.
Sick and tired of all sports and entertainment figures trying to become social and political commentators. Bob Costas, though not on ESPN, is automatic mute button material along with any others who want to pontificate and moralize about non-sports subjects.
People don’t tune into sports events and news to hear some self-righteous blowhard moralizing about social and political issues.
Hordes of people are cutting the cable and revenue is down 11%. There was an article in Friday’s Wall St Journal. TNT is down, CNN is down, AMC, etc.
Pssst....hey Disney, this whole ESPY courage award to Bruce Jenner nonsense will lose more subscribers.
Drag racing is just about it except for some college football.
100% correct. You just summed up the reason for their decline in one sentence.
Some years ago ESPN was part of the basic package on DISH network. Now its a higher cost premium package to get them but I’m not paying it. No biggie...
The Verizon optional sports tier must be working.
http://www.multichannel.com/news/content/verizon-adds-10-sports-pass-tier-fios-tv/358835
I only watch it when college football or lacrosse is on. I shall have it muted when the football games are on, because it’s hard to listen to the announcers. My 9 year old son can do better commentary than a lot of those clowns.
Down 3.2 million subscribers.
They will go the same way MSNBC went, because they are ALL democrats, and EVERYTHING is politics. It’s who they are, what they do. It’s why they are in TV. Change the world! Make a difference!
Next up: NASCAR
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