Posted on 04/02/2017 9:41:32 AM PDT by blam
As reported extensively by Breitbart News, ESPN has suffered severe losses in cable subscriptions over the last few years, the repercussion of which will rear its ugly head in the form of significant cutting of on-air talent in the near future. According to comments made Thursday by ESPN’s Jim Miller on SI Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch, dozens of employees will soon join the unemployment lines.
“The way that I’ve heard it—and I’ve kind of run the numbers on it, I think we’re looking at between 40 and 50 people,” Miller said. “And look, there’s a lot of uncertainty about who it’s gonna be and why. Remember, this is not quantum physics, so it’s not an exact equation.”
The plight of ESPN is no trivial matter for entertainment giant Disney, the parent company for the “Worldwide leader in sports entertainment.” In February, The Wrap reported, “Cable networks, particularly ESPN, have been an albatross on Disney’s stock price even as the company’s two other major prongs, movies, and theme parks, continue to perform well.
“As cheaper TV alternatives began to proliferate, ESPN hemorrhaged subscribers during the course of 2016 and is now at less than 88 million, compared with a peak of 100.1 million in 2011. At an estimated $7 per subscriber, that dip has been a substantial hit to Disney, especially considering media networks made up 49 percent of Disney’s profits during fiscal 2016.”
Miller presented a potential revised line up for the beleaguered network:
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
They will all be re-hired sooner and in greater numbers than our unemployed scientists and engineers will be.
"on-air talent"? Is that what they call that bunch of blow-hards they drug out of a Connecticut bar somewhere?
Apparently, he is not familiar with the uncertainty principle.
Dang! You beat me to it.
("If you are going to 'name-drop', at least be familiar with the person/concept!")
"Paging Mr. Heisenberg, paging Mr. Heisenberg!"
I can’t believe they actually referred to them as “talent.”
Talent only if you think screaming “They came to play” into a camera constitutes talent.
The most annoying channels on cable.
They should have a rule to stop more announcers then players.
Well, yes, that is true.
But since I have been in the “Arts” for over half a century, and look at “Entertainment” the old fashioned way...I engage in my art to ENTERTAIN people.
And make a little money at the same time. LOL! :-)
“They’ve decided they would rather do LIBERAL politics than sports.”
That is the bottom line and it is costing them viewers.
I kept cable for years only due to sports. I cut the cord and tuned out ESPN when they started adding social commentary and announcers advocated liberal politics. For me sports were an escape for a few hours. When they started infusion politics, they lost the dynamic. I miss sports, but not enough to buy cable, or ala carte ESPN. They worked hard to lose me as a customer.
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