ESPN Profit Plummets As Network Turns Left

[DaddyChad]

I’ve never understood these companies that think it’s a good idea to piss off at least half of their customers.

It’s like, there is absolutely no benefit to wading into petty politics. Just not saying anything means keeping the vast majority of the base happy, yeah a few yahoos on twitter might complain about not taking a stand but then they’ll just turn around and complain if you do take a stand and don’t go as far as they’d like.

Seriously, I don’t understand it. Just shut up and sell your products

It’s not just half though. You piss off the right by leaning left but you piss off part of the left by not leaning far enough left. There’s a reason why politics are best left out of most social interactions bc it’s an easy way to alienate people quickly.

They do have to cover some topics like the player protests during the anthem or Michael Sam, etc. Just don’t beat it to death and don’t use every opportunity to show how progressive and woke you are as a network.

 

[DaddyChad]

Just when you think ESPN can’t be any dumber, they go and totally redeem themselves.
Stephen Jackson is not having it and the 2 white ladies are convincing him (obviously a black man) why the term owner is racist. Just stop already.

Obviously they’ve really turned down the social justice warrior politics. Lol. ESPN will never change.

 

[Nerwen Aldarion]

It’s not just half though. You piss off the right by leaning left but you piss off part of the left by not leaning far enough left. There’s a reason why politics are best left out of most social interactions bc it’s an easy way to alienate people quickly.

They do have to cover some topics like the player protests during the anthem or Michael Sam, etc. Just don’t beat it to death and don’t use every opportunity to show how progressive and woke you are as a network.

You can take a neutral stance on those issues, showing both sides of the argument. But yeah, keep it at a minimum

 

[Lawrence Wright]

It’s not just half though. You piss off the right by leaning left but you piss off part of the left by not leaning far enough left. There’s a reason why politics are best left out of most social interactions bc it’s an easy way to alienate people quickly.

They do have to cover some topics like the player protests during the anthem or Michael Sam, etc. Just don’t beat it to death and don’t use every opportunity to show how progressive and woke you are as a network.

The opposite also applies to Fox News when my guy Shep Smith gets criticized for calling out the president when it's warranted.

 

[Nerwen Aldarion]

The opposite also applies to Fox News when my guy Shep Smith gets criticized for calling out the president when it's warranted.

Not going to disagree. There’s a lot of problems with people wanting to just hear what they want and not listen to the other side.

Granted I can’t watch Shep Smith without giggling over the memory of him botching a live high speed car chase report. That and his infamous J-Lo slip up.

 

[Lawrence Wright]

Not going to disagree. There’s a lot of problems with people wanting to just hear what they want and not listen to the other side.

Granted I can’t watch Shep Smith without giggling over the memory of him botching a live high speed car chase report. That and his infamous J-Lo slip up.

I agree most people nowadays would rather be validated than educated on a differing point of view. It’s one of the reasons I enjoy posting on rival message boards. It’s good to have an understanding and appreciation for different points of view, whether you agree with them or not.

And back off of Shep...he’s the best thing going on Fox News.

 

[Nerwen Aldarion]

I agree most people nowadays would rather be validated than educated on a differing point of view. It’s one of the reasons I enjoy posting on rival message boards. It’s good to have an understanding and appreciation for different points of view, whether you agree with them or not.

And back off of Shep...he’s the best thing going on Fox News.

Yes but I can’t watch him without thinking of this:

 

[Lawrence Wright]

All the more reason to watch...

 

[05_never_again]

More garbage from Clay Travis. They're losing viewers for a lot of reasons, but dragging politics into the mix is the moron reaching for something to write. If anything, ESPN has not really changed as much as the country is becoming more polarized and each side cannot stand to think they're getting the other sides view. Travis is as guilty of that as anyone. Twitter has been so much more bearable since unfollowing him.

Clay Travis is a pot-stirrer who exaggerates to get attention, but most of the time his general point is accurate. One thing I noticed is that he says different things to different audiences. They aren't altogether different, but he'll change details or the rationale behind a certain opinion. On Twitter and for the most part on his OtC site, he's big on claiming ESPN is losing viewers because they went liberal. That never made sense to me for a variety of reasons, all of which have been discussed here.

I got his book "Republicans Buy Sneakers Too" for Christmas and it was actually a good read. Early in that book, he lays out a very logical (and correct, IMO) case that myself and others have made for a long time that ESPN's core shows have become irrelevant and unnecessary over the last several years, and going political was a (dumb) part of a strategy in order to make them relevant again. He didn't touch the "they're losing viewers because they're liberal!" narrative at all. In fact, ESPN is liberal because they lost viewers, not the other way around.

In a medium like a book that is a little more thoughtful and researched than Twitter, he does get it correct. The more politically-charged stuff he says on the internet is there to attract eyeballs.

 

[n_huffhines]

Yes but I can’t watch him without thinking of this:

That was a great moment, but I like this one more. It's another gaffe, but it reveals who he really is. Shep Smith is cool because he actually has convictions. He's not just a shill who is going to say whatever a network wants him to, which is why he's a moderate liberal on a conservative news channel.

 

[RDU VOL#14]

That was a great moment, but I like this one more. It's another gaffe, but it reveals who he really is. Shep Smith is cool because he actually has convictions. He's not just a shill who is going to say whatever a network wants him to, which is why he's a moderate liberal on a conservative news channel.

Oh damn. Shep was pissed. I’ve never seen any of these before.

 

[Nerwen Aldarion]

Clay Travis is a pot-stirrer who exaggerates to get attention, but most of the time his general point is accurate. One thing I noticed is that he says different things to different audiences. They aren't altogether different, but he'll change details or the rationale behind a certain opinion. On Twitter and for the most part on his OtC site, he's big on claiming ESPN is losing viewers because they went liberal. That never made sense to me for a variety of reasons, all of which have been discussed here.

I got his book "Republicans Buy Sneakers Too" for Christmas and it was actually a good read. Early in that book, he lays out a very logical (and correct, IMO) case that myself and others have made for a long time that ESPN's core shows have become irrelevant and unnecessary over the last several years, and going political was a (dumb) part of a strategy in order to make them relevant again. He didn't touch the "they're losing viewers because they're liberal!" narrative at all. In fact, ESPN is liberal because they lost viewers, not the other way around.

In a medium like a book that is a little more thoughtful and researched than Twitter, he does get it correct. The more politically-charged stuff he says on the internet is there to attract eyeballs.

I enjoyed his book too, it really explained the mess ESPN has gotten itself into with their licensing contracts.

I agreed, they went liberal in a bad attempt to stop the floodgates. The problem is that it only made people leave faster.

ESPN has to adjust like pretty much every network on TV to the world of streaming. The problem is that by going political, they’ve lost viewers who would have followed them after cutting the cord.

 

[05_never_again]

I enjoyed his book too, it really explained the mess ESPN has gotten itself into with their licensing contracts.

I agreed, they went liberal in a bad attempt to stop the floodgates. The problem is that it only made people leave faster.

ESPN has to adjust like pretty much every network on TV to the world of streaming. The problem is that by going political, they’ve lost viewers who would have followed them after cutting the cord.

ESPN changed the format and style of their non-live sports shows to cater to a younger, hip, trendy demographic that they perceive to be the future of their network. Mostly males 18-35. Their big problem is that same demographic is the one primarily doing the cord cutting. They were and still are between a rock and a hard place - there really isn't anything they can do, IMO, to make those shows more relevant. They aren't going away tomorrow, but they're also stale and aren't driving any growth. The people who do want a left-leaning sports analysis show don't consume it via cable TV at 2:00 in the afternoon. The market for stuff that like that, to the extent which it exists, I think lies in the podcast or streaming area.

ESPN's long term game, and I think Pitaro knows this, is to bide time until they can get out from underneath some of these millstone licensing contracts (like with the NBA) and really get into streaming, which they are doing now. The revamping of something that is already stale isn't going to work. The folks who watch the non-live sports shows aren't progressive; the progressive people they're trying to appeal to with those shows are cord cutting.

 

[Nerwen Aldarion]

ESPN changed the format and style of their non-live sports shows to cater to a younger, hip, trendy demographic that they perceive to be the future of their network. Mostly males 18-35. Their big problem is that same demographic is the one primarily doing the cord cutting. They were and still are between a rock and a hard place - there really isn't anything they can do, IMO, to make those shows more relevant. They aren't going away tomorrow, but they're also stale and aren't driving any growth. The people who do want a left-leaning sports analysis show don't consume it via cable TV at 2:00 in the afternoon. The market for stuff that like that, to the extent which it exists, I think lies in the podcast or streaming area.

ESPN's long term game, and I think Pitaro knows this, is to bide time until they can get out from underneath some of these millstone licensing contracts (like with the NBA) and really get into streaming, which they are doing now. The revamping of something that is already stale isn't going to work. The folks who watch the non-live sports shows aren't progressive; the progressive people they're trying to appeal to with those shows are cord cutting.

Exactly, the people who aren’t cord cutting are people like my inlaws who still have cable and sports packages. But they most certainly are not progressive. So they have actually been watching sports less since this huge surge in politics, hence how ESPN is hurting its bottom line by isolating and angering the ones who would have stayed loyal.

 

[05_never_again]

Exactly, the people who aren’t cord cutting are people like my inlaws who still have cable and sports packages. But they most certainly are not progressive. So they have actually been watching sports less since this huge surge in politics, hence how ESPN is hurting its bottom line by isolating and angering the ones who would have stayed loyal.

Yes, huge miscalculation on ESPN's part, which is why Skipper and other execs who made that decision are gone. The insertion of SJW politics into the coverage didn't really appeal to the folks it was directed at (because they don't watch cable TV, by and large) and it pissed off people who do watch a lot of ESPN, by a large.

There's a big lesson to be learned here - make decisions based on the world as it exists, not the world as you want it to be. ESPN made decisions based on what they thought their target demo wanted, not what their actual viewers wanted.

 

[Pacer92]

Yes, huge miscalculation on ESPN's part, which is why Skipper and other execs who made that decision are gone. The insertion of SJW politics into the coverage didn't really appeal to the folks it was directed at (because they don't watch cable TV, by and large) and it pissed off people who do watch a lot of ESPN, by a large.

There's a big lesson to be learned here - make decisions based on the world as it exists, not the world as you want it to be. ESPN made decisions based on what they thought their target demo wanted, not what their actual viewers wanted.

The world that exists and the corporate owned world, such as ESPN portrays, are mostly at odds...

There is no subtle agenda in these times...it’s in your face...force fed...

Thus, it’s plain to see...and easy to reject..

 

[XknoxvolsX]

I’ve never understood these companies that think it’s a good idea to piss off at least half of their customers.

There was this one news sportscaster that called the fans of a team trailer trash because they were mad their QB did not win the Heisman. And, their fans still watch the same companies channel when their team is on.

 

[05_never_again]

The world that exists and the corporate owned world, such as ESPN portrays, are mostly at odds...

There is no subtle agenda in these times...it’s in your face...force fed...

Thus, it’s plain to see...and easy to reject..

I meant it from the perspective of ESPN tried to cater to an audience that they wanted to watch their programs, not the audience that actually watches their programs.

Cord cutting (led by Millennials) is occurring because they don't want to pay for the big cable packages. Millennial sports fans want to watch the live sports ESPN airs, not SportsCenter and the various debate/shout shows. They made SportsCenter and the shout shows politically progressive in an attempt to appeal to cord cutters, but they cord cutters left anyway, and the people who actually do watch those shows don't want to hear the SJW politics. Just a lose-lose situation all the way around for ESPN.

Their way out, and it is a long-term proposition, is to get out from underneath some bad licensing contracts they have with the sports leagues and really focus on their streaming business. Fortunately for them, their new head (Pitaro) seems to understand that.

 

[TheDeeble]

There was this one news sportscaster that called the fans of a team trailer trash because they were mad their QB did not win the Heisman. And, their fans still watch the same companies channel when their team is on.

Well, that's not actually what he said.

 

[Boca Vol]

There was this one news sportscaster that called the fans of a team trailer trash because they were mad their QB did not win the Heisman. And, their fans still watch the same companies channel when their team is on.

If only that's actually what was said...

 

[Lawrence Wright]

What did he say?

 

[Boca Vol]

Wha did he say?

Paraphrasing but Fowler said that UT fans were whipped up into a "trailer park frenzy" after Woodson won the Heisman.

Since then it has become: Trailer trash, white trash, white trailer trash, etc.

 

[Tennesseefan2019]

Paraphrasing but Fowler said that UT fans were whipped up into a "trailer park frenzy" after Woodson won the Heisman.

Since then it has become: Trailer trash, white trash, white trailer trash, etc.

Trailer Park Frenzy pretty much is calling Tennessee fans Trailer Trash

 

[Boca Vol]

Trailer Park Frenzy pretty much is calling Tennessee fans Trailer Trash

That's up for debate.

 

[RDU VOL#14]

Wasn’t there also a commercial that never aired with Tennessee fans that bring their pig around the ESPN studios? I think the pigs name was Rocky Top.