ESPN makes significant talent cuts

[Dawgpix]

Remember years ago when I mentioned in the 1970s Tech oughta develop their own local markets TV network . . . even it started out in showing "taped" delay games later at night.

Well . . . we're about 40 years behind.

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-world/national/article146882954.html

"The layoffs are an attempt by ESPN to evolve in the wake of a two-headed challenge: a declining subscriber base and skyrocketing rights fees. Over the past five years, the network has lost somewhere around 12 million subscribers as the viewing public looks for cheaper avenues for home entertainment. At the same time, the money ESPN has paid to the professional sports leagues to acquire their live events steadily climbed. Last year, the network’s new nine-year agreement with the NBA to televise pro basketball games took effect. The reported cost to ESPN: somewhere around $1.5 billion per year, a massive increase over the previous deal. That’s on top of deals the network already had with the NFL ($1.9 billion annually), various NCAA conferences and the College Football Playoff (well over $1 billion), and Major League Baseball ($700 million). Some of those deals will be up for renewal in the not-so-distant future."It’s the second round of layoffs at ESPN in less than two years. In October 2015, ESPN laid off around 300 people who worked behind the scenes. The network employs around 8,000 people in total."

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-world/national/article146882954.html#storylink=cpy"

[sportdawg]

ESPN isn't going anywhere.

They are trimming their budgets either because Disney told them to or because Disney is going to try to sell them to someone else.

They paid way too much for their content and are forced to cut.

You keep hearing about them losing millions of subscribers to streaming, etc. Those subscribers weren't viewers, but they could have easily made up for it by creating an OTT streaming component and charged $15-20 for ALL their content. I'm sure there are a lot of folks that only have cable to keep their sports and would have gladly paid for this service.

I think they should team up with the other Sports networks and create a sports only streaming service.

If you had ESPN Nets, FS1, FS2, all the FS Regionals, all Comcast Regionals, NBC Sports, CBS SPorts, Big 10, Pac 12 Nets, beIN Sports, MLB, NFL, NHL, Tennis, etc.

You could put a bundle together for $30-40 and make a lot of $$$.

[Dawgpix]

ESPN isn't going anywhere.

They are trimming their budgets either because Disney told them to or because Disney is going to try to sell them to someone else.

They paid way too much for their content and are forced to cut.

You keep hearing about them losing millions of subscribers to streaming, etc. Those subscribers weren't viewers, but they could have easily made up for it by creating an OTT streaming component and charged $15-20 for ALL their content. I'm sure there are a lot of folks that only have cable to keep their sports and would have gladly paid for this service.

I think they should team up with the other Sports networks and create a sports only streaming service.

If you had ESPN Nets, FS1, FS2, all the FS Regionals, all Comcast Regionals, NBC Sports, CBS SPorts, Big 10, Pac 12 Nets, beIN Sports, MLB, NFL, NHL, Tennis, etc.

You could put a bundle together for $30-40 and make a lot of $$$.

No, they're not going anywhere.

The question is. . . Are we going anywhere with our broadcast/streaming capabilities for all games (like sometimes it works fine and sometimes it buffers like forever)?

[DJDAWG]

Yep, it's just a bubble that is bursting on them (where subscribers that never wanted them are leaving cable). ESPN had/has tens of millions of subscribers, through the cable companies, that never watched their channel and never will. These people are some of the first to cut the cable because they can get their content elsewhere and cheaper. The cable companies are surviving due to the sports fanatics that don't want to lose all of the sports channels. As you know, that is now ending with ESPN being offered in other services than traditional cable and satellite
(By the way, what ever happened to Willie Satellite Totten and Archie Gunslinger Cooley. They didn't become nearly as rich as Jerry World Rice.).

[PawDawg]

I'll throw my usual 2 cents in...

There are many of us in the backwoods who have no wifi option other than a major cable carrier like Comcast.

[Dwayne From Minden]

I disagree -

This is the first crack in the bursting of the "sports bubble" - just like we saw the bursting of the "dot.com bubble" and "mortgage bubble" and we are also seeing the beginning of the implosion of the "education bubble"...

I fully expect this to have a far reaching effect especially at the collegiate level (the only one that won't suffer is the NFL in all likelihood) -

Programs have become bloated with excess revenues from overpriced tv contracts - especially at the P5 level where costs and infrastructure improvements are directly tied to these overpriced media right fees

[johnnylightnin]

we are also seeing the beginning of the implosion of the "education bubble"...

Yep...decades of tuition increases at 3x inflation are finally catching up to "Big Ed". Will be really interesting to see how it plays out. Could see big corporations like Google step in and create an alternative path to job prep.

[Bearpaw]

I disagree -

This is the first crack in the bursting of the "sports bubble" - just like we saw the bursting of the "dot.com bubble" and "mortgage bubble" and we are also seeing the beginning of the implosion of the "education bubble"...

I fully expect this to have a far reaching effect especially at the collegiate level (the only one that won't suffer is the NFL in all likelihood) -

Programs have become bloated with excess revenues from overpriced tv contracts - especially at the P5 level where costs and infrastructure improvements are directly tied to these overpriced media right fees

I honestly hope some of the more prudent schools with large media deals have been saving more of their profits rather than frivolously spending them like many I have heard, and that many have been using some of the money to improve research and academics, the purpose of the collegiate system...

[Dwayne From Minden]

I honestly hope some of the more prudent schools with large media deals have been saving more of their profits rather than frivolously spending them like many I have heard, and that many have been using some of the money to improve research and academics, the purpose of the collegiate system...

If you want an eye opener - read the footnotes to the LSU-BR footnotes in relation to the debt that the Tiger Athletic Foundation is "toting" for them, and this is one of the handful of schools who supposedly makes money from athletics - think about of the $100s of millions they have spent on capital improvements in the last five years and they are basically looking to pay it off with $22million a year over 20-30 years - lots of interest only payments being made, because all of the additional revenue generated is being sucked into massive administrative salaries and title ix costs

[Bearpaw]

If you want an eye opener - read the footnotes to the LSU-BR footnotes in relation to the debt that the Tiger Athletic Foundation is "toting" for them, and this is one of the handful of schools who supposedly makes money from athletics - think about of the $100s of millions they have spent on capital improvements in the last five years and they are basically looking to pay it off with $22million a year over 20-30 years - lots of interest only payments being made, because all of the additional revenue generated is being sucked into massive administrative salaries and title ix costs

Whelp, that's one way to overcome LSU for the state's top program, have less debt when the bubble bursts...

[Dwayne From Minden]

Whelp, that's one way to overcome LSU for the state's top program, have less debt when the bubble bursts...

This is the MAJOR point of separation between us and USL - they are hemorrhaging cash thru debt service and are basically tapped out...

Where compared to us, we are basically operating on a "pay as you go" basis, with reasonable debt-service where we do float bonds

[Tech77]

I won't weep for ESPN. They have basically lost me.

[nadB]

Much better NBA playoffs coverage on TNT. Especially evident last year when ESPN had one particularly SUCKO announcer (I forget his name)...............

[CARTEK]

...a lot of cuts...not sure about the talent!

[dawg1984]

...a lot of cuts...not sure about the talent!

ABSOLUTELY!!! Far too many of the "reporters," show hosts, etc. do nothing but tout the favorite or "traditional" programs, conferences, and franchises.

Edit: Remember Tim Brando calling out many in the sports media for being "drive by sports analysts" last bowl season?