ESPN subscriber collapse/ratings

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tpstulane
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Playoffs were a TV ratings disaster for ESPN
The CFP semifinals on New Year's Eve recorded the lowest combined TV ratings in the playoff's history
https://www.si.com/college/2022/01/04/c ... range-bowl

I bet even less will watch an all SEC rematch in the final.


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tpstulane wrote: Wed Jan 05, 2022 7:40 am Playoffs were a TV ratings disaster for ESPN
The CFP semifinals on New Year's Eve recorded the lowest combined TV ratings in the playoff's history
https://www.si.com/college/2022/01/04/c ... range-bowl

I bet even less will watch an all SEC rematch in the final.
Absolutely—another SEC headbanger will lose much of the country viewership. They better get to at least a 12-team playoff asap, in order to keep the system financially afloat. It would also help ESPN to have all conferences represented in the playoff—which would add viewership throughout much of the playoffs. And all the while, the bowl system continues it’s nose dive—even many of the players don’t want to partake in that joke any longer.
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It was stupid to have the playoffs on NYE again. You would have thought they would have learned from the first time they did it when the ratings stunk then. But the Rose Bowl won't relent on its spot so they did so. They should have told the Rose they would no longer be in the rotation.
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The "rest of the Country" has failed to produce talent. Football is locked into the same decline as boxing & duelling. The national championship award should be awarded when the SEC is decided. It will save a lot of P5 school's cognitive dissonance.
Football as a sport is bleeding out & it's a beautiful thing to watch.
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tpstulane
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HoustonWave wrote: Wed Jan 05, 2022 8:01 am
tpstulane wrote: Wed Jan 05, 2022 7:40 am Playoffs were a TV ratings disaster for ESPN
The CFP semifinals on New Year's Eve recorded the lowest combined TV ratings in the playoff's history
https://www.si.com/college/2022/01/04/c ... range-bowl

I bet even less will watch an all SEC rematch in the final.
Absolutely—another SEC headbanger will lose much of the country viewership. They better get to at least a 12-team playoff asap, in order to keep the system financially afloat. It would also help ESPN to have all conferences represented in the playoff—which would add viewership throughout much of the playoffs. And all the while, the bowl system continues it’s nose dive—even many of the players don’t want to partake in that joke any longer.
No question!
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tpstulane
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winwave wrote: Wed Jan 05, 2022 8:16 am It was stupid to have the playoffs on NYE again. You would have thought they would have learned from the first time they did it when the ratings stunk then. But the Rose Bowl won't relent on its spot so they did so. They should have told the Rose they would no longer be in the rotation.
Yes. NYE is just an awful spot. I watched most of Bama vs Cincy but none of the 2nd game with UGA vs Michigan. NYD is definitely the sweet spot for watching FB.
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tpstulane wrote: Wed Jan 05, 2022 8:44 am
winwave wrote: Wed Jan 05, 2022 8:16 am It was stupid to have the playoffs on NYE again. You would have thought they would have learned from the first time they did it when the ratings stunk then. But the Rose Bowl won't relent on its spot so they did so. They should have told the Rose they would no longer be in the rotation.
Yes. NYE is just an awful spot. I watched most of Bama vs Cincy but none of the 2nd game with UGA vs Michigan. NYD is definitely the sweet spot for watching FB.
I agree, toss the Rose Bowl, kik off the first semifinal at noon central time on New Years day, the 2nd semifinal at 6pm central.....viewership on the west coast is terrible, at best
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golfnut69 wrote: Wed Jan 05, 2022 9:16 am
tpstulane wrote: Wed Jan 05, 2022 8:44 am
winwave wrote: Wed Jan 05, 2022 8:16 am It was stupid to have the playoffs on NYE again. You would have thought they would have learned from the first time they did it when the ratings stunk then. But the Rose Bowl won't relent on its spot so they did so. They should have told the Rose they would no longer be in the rotation.
Yes. NYE is just an awful spot. I watched most of Bama vs Cincy but none of the 2nd game with UGA vs Michigan. NYD is definitely the sweet spot for watching FB.
I agree, toss the Rose Bowl, kik off the first semifinal at noon central time on New Years day, the 2nd semifinal at 6pm central.....viewership on the west coast is terrible, at best
Golf you don't drink anymore. For those that do let it be 3 and 7. :cheers: :mrgreen:
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winwave wrote: Wed Jan 05, 2022 10:58 am
golfnut69 wrote: Wed Jan 05, 2022 9:16 am
tpstulane wrote: Wed Jan 05, 2022 8:44 am
Yes. NYE is just an awful spot. I watched most of Bama vs Cincy but none of the 2nd game with UGA vs Michigan. NYD is definitely the sweet spot for watching FB.
I agree, toss the Rose Bowl, kik off the first semifinal at noon central time on New Years day, the 2nd semifinal at 6pm central.....viewership on the west coast is terrible, at best
Golf you don't drink anymore. For those that do let it be 3 and 7. :cheers: :mrgreen:
i'll drink to that...anotha' ice tea for me please
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I'll add the NC game should be on a Saturday night. That's when prime time college games are played. The NFL gets a free minor league. The NCCA needs to tell them to fuck off and leave that window open are no more scouts on campus for practices or games.
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ESPN lost another 10% of its subscription base in 2021. Down to 75million from what was originally 100 million a few years back. Cord cutting is killing them.

https://www.outkick.com/espn-lost-8-mil ... iber-base/
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tpstulane
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RobertM320 wrote: Mon May 23, 2022 9:32 am ESPN lost another 10% of its subscription base in 2021. Down to 75million from what was originally 100 million a few years back. Cord cutting is killing them.

https://www.outkick.com/espn-lost-8-mil ... iber-base/
Wow. I wonder if Disney going to dump it.

This sounds like a Scott Cowen quote:
Of course he’s not prepared to do this. Because none of the models work. ESPN’s the Titanic and Chapek is essentially rearranging the deck chairs.
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ESPN is its own worst enemy. Just the sports…that’s all the folks want…just the sports.
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Houma de Wave wrote: Mon May 23, 2022 9:08 pm ESPN is its own worst enemy. Just the sports…that’s all the folks want…just the sports.
Yep
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Houma de Wave wrote: Mon May 23, 2022 9:08 pm ESPN is its own worst enemy. Just the sports…that’s all the folks want…just the sports.
Exactly. But of course, being owned by Disney what else can one expect.
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Appears that ESPN going to use ESPN+ price hike to fund future raises for its P group properties.
I will not help fund those P properties at the expense of the G’s. I will cancel my yearly subscription at that point.
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Surprised he's saying the money will go to the Pac-12. You'd think SEC and BIG. Interesting to see how it turns out.
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winwave wrote: Tue Jul 26, 2022 9:06 am Surprised he's saying the money will go to the Pac-12. You'd think SEC and BIG. Interesting to see how it turns out.
Yep. Advertisers probably will pay for the B1G and SEC. PAC-12 probably needs other funding in that regard.
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They are not looking to dump it. The article is clear that ESPN is making them a lot of money and the new investor believes by spinning it off they could make even more through a contractual relationship with ESPN.

"Disney is making more money from cable subscribers than any other company solely because of ESPN. ESPN and sister network ESPN2 charge nearly $10 per month combined, while Disney requires pay-TV providers to include ESPN as part of their most popular cable packages."
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winwave wrote: Mon Aug 15, 2022 12:43 pm They are not looking to dump it. The article is clear that ESPN is making them a lot of money and the new investor believes by spinning it off they could make even more through a contractual relationship with ESPN.

"Disney is making more money from cable subscribers than any other company solely because of ESPN. ESPN and sister network ESPN2 charge nearly $10 per month combined, while Disney requires pay-TV providers to include ESPN as part of their most popular cable packages."
It peaked in 2011. Been on the decline since. They looking to add sports betting so that might not jive with the typical Disney sub out there.
Yes spin-off sounds a lot better (Wall Street term) but they would keep it if they felt otherwise.

https://thestreamable.com/news/disney-e ... ff-of-espn
Could Disney dump ESPN? Reports say the entertainment giant is considering a split. According to Puck's Dylan Byers, “There are now conversations happening regularly at Disney about whether or not to spin off ESPN.”
Basically a spin-off means they going to dump it on the public with a stock offering. The cost of sports rights is out of control and Disney sees this. It would benefit their shareholders to spin it off to the public for sure.
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That’s not what that article says. See the quote above. He believes ESPN can make even more money for them because of the betting angle. They would contract with them to keep the money coming in. The article you cited is almost a year old. The new investor sees it differently.
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winwave wrote: Mon Aug 15, 2022 1:59 pm That’s not what that article says. See the quote above. He believes ESPN can make even more money for them because of the betting angle. They would contract with them to keep the money coming in. The article you cited is almost a year old. The new investor sees it differently.

5 billion in revenue but still losing money. 2nd Qtr earnings that came out last week.
Losing money due to higher costs for sports programming.
https://www.sportspromedia.com/news/dis ... s-revenue/
Operating losses increased by nearly US$800 million to US$1.1 billion. Disney said the bigger operating loss was due to a higher loss at Disney+, lower operating income at Hulu and, to a lesser extent, a higher loss at ESPN+.

Higher sports programming costs, partially offset by an increase in subscription revenue due to subscriber growth, were cited for ESPN+’s lower results.
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Convenient that you left this out that preceded what you posted:

Disney has released its third fiscal quarter results, with the ESPN+ sports streaming service seeing its total number of paid subscribers rising 53 per cent year-over-year (YoY) to 22.8 million.

The media giant’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) revenues for the three months ended 2nd July climbed 19% YoY to US$5.1 billion, while operating losses increased by nearly US$800 million to US$1.1 billion. Disney said the bigger operating loss was due to a higher loss at Disney+, lower operating income at Hulu and, to a lesser extent, a higher loss at ESPN+.
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winwave wrote: Mon Aug 15, 2022 6:48 pm Convenient that you left this out that preceded what you posted:

Disney has released its third fiscal quarter results, with the ESPN+ sports streaming service seeing its total number of paid subscribers rising 53 per cent year-over-year (YoY) to 22.8 million.

The media giant’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) revenues for the three months ended 2nd July climbed 19% YoY to US$5.1 billion, while operating losses increased by nearly US$800 million to US$1.1 billion. Disney said the bigger operating loss was due to a higher loss at Disney+, lower operating income at Hulu and, to a lesser extent, a higher loss at ESPN+.
Because it’s not the argument. ESPN still losing money in spite of that. The subscription revenue can’t match the cost of programming. Eventually they have to either cut programming costs or increase the fee to current subs. Gaining subs would seem to be difficult if they continue to raise prices. If Disney does spin it off their bottom line will improve. ESPN stand-alone would be quite interesting. They won’t have Disney’s deep pockets to pay those astronomical amounts to the P5’s if they go solo.
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