Is ESPN A Giant Bubble About To Burst?

[SpaceRaider]

I have to say cord cutting has a serious appeal....


by Clay Travis

Is ESPN A Giant Bubble About To Burst?

...if people start cord cutting -- the catch all term for individuals who decide they'd rather not pay for a cable or satellite subscription -- ESPN has by far the most to lose of any channel in the country. ESPN has become the most powerful sports company in the world because just about every single cable and satellite subscriber in the country pays in excess of $6 a month for ESPN. That's despite the fact that only 20% of cable and satellite subscribers would be willing to pay for standalone ESPN according to a 2013 Needham and Company report. As a result, four years ago ESPN netted somewhere in the neighborhood of $7.2 billion a year in subscriber fees when the network boasted 100 million cable and satellite subscribers. But something alarming has taken place in the past four years, the Wall Street Journal reported last week that ESPN has lost over 7 million subscribers. Even more alarmingly, the pace of cord cutting is accelerating, the past year alone has seen ESPN lose over 3 million subscribers. That means in the past four years ESPN's subscriber numbers have declined by 10%, driving down revenue projections.....

 

[MTFNBY5]

I had meant to start a thread in that I had seen a link to, and read, the WSJ article. It gave me just a little hope that the ESPNning of the sports world may be slowing. If TV viewing comes crashing down, or at least subscriptions to cable and satellite sports channels, there is some hope (just a little) that the obscene $$$s going to pro sports and "big-time" college conferences may come down as well.

Could we see a day when "amateur" sports at the college level are indeed amateur? One can hope.

 

[SpaceRaider]

 

[AustinLewis]

I briefly worked in cable sales and can attest to the numbers of people "cutting the cord." Even back 2012 when I worked for the cable company, I saw the writing on the wall and left the business. The monopoly of cable companies in some regions means the company can charge whatever they want (beyond the what the networks charge) for profit. The end result is that the consumer is left to pay outrages prices for poor service and a product they underutilize (a point that Clay Travis demonstrates in his article).

Cable television, however, is about to change. Sometime in the next year, Apple is set to offer a live streaming television package that is expected to include local channels and the most popular cable channels for $30-40 a month. There are some rumors that it may also allow for greater customization of the service (pick your channels) but talks between Apple and the content providers are ongoing.