What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

The Rise and Fall of ESPN (2 Viewers)

facook said:
I wouldn't watch him for a second on live tv (although I have seen his goofs on twitter videos), but I have to think a majority of "the masses" are watching him like I watch Duke and the Pats....out of total hate.
Click to expand...
I believe people are watching SAS because they have no other choice if they want to watch ESPN.

I believe a majority of the people, given a choice, would watch someone on ESPN other than SAS.

 
heckmanm said:
There are a few TVs in the work cafeteria, usually one tuned to ESPN.  Sat down at a table the other day and lasted about 5 seconds into a SAS rant before moving to a different table where a HGTV renovation show could drown out the noise. 
Click to expand...
Yep. It's terrible. Good move. 

 
rockaction said:
Yep. It's terrible. Good move. 
Click to expand...
They don't even show sports anymore.  It's all puff pieces and back stories.  Who cares?  One of the biggest problems is that ESPN is still seen by everyone else as the king.  So they try to copy them.  FS1 is littered with the same yelling match shows about Lebron v. Jordan.  And puff piece shows.  

 
TheIronSheik said:
They don't even show sports anymore.  It's all puff pieces and back stories.  Who cares?  One of the biggest problems is that ESPN is still seen by everyone else as the king.  So they try to copy them.  FS1 is littered with the same yelling match shows about Lebron v. Jordan.  And puff piece shows.  
Click to expand...
It's the format/tone of radio talk show screaming meeting the Olympics-style human interest story format. FS1 does indeed do the same thing, only worse. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
rockaction said:
It's the format/tone of radio talk show screaming meeting the Olympics-style human interest story format. FS1 does indeed do the same thing, only worse. 
Click to expand...
When FS1 came along, I was excited because I thought we'd get something else.  But they are an exact copy of ESPN.  So much, they poached their talent to start the exact same shows.  Sad.

 
TheIronSheik said:
When FS1 came along, I was excited because I thought we'd get something else.  But they are an exact copy of ESPN.  So much, they poached their talent to start the exact same shows.  Sad.
Click to expand...
Talk shots are dirt cheap to produce, get decent ratings during the daytime deadzone and can be used to cross-promote the networks' flagship properties.

Leroy Hoard said:
Someone needs to start a sports only network. No talk shows, just live and taped games. 
Click to expand...
There aren't enough live sports to go around with all the sports channels now.  I believe the networks only purchase limited re-broadcast rights so the content reverts to the original rights holder (usually the team or league) so ABC can't rebroadcast old MNF games without negotiating for the rights again.

The CBS Sports Network shows more niche sports and less studio shows than their ESPN and Fox counterparts.  CBS still runs an afternoon block of simulcast talk radio shows but their prime time schedule has stuff like bowling, sailing and strongman competitions.   This may be a springtime anomaly and they run more popular sports during college football and basketball seasons.  For all the complaints here, the ESPN talk shows pull higher ratings than Rodeo and Motocross on CBS.

 
Moe. said:
If you just want random events to throw on ESPN+ is great for that. 
Click to expand...
I think we'll see more live broadcasts of niche sports pushed up to the premium $ervices.  Broadcast channels will cater more to the casual sports fan who might watch SAS or Bayless shouting about Lebron but will click past rugby or motorsports.

 
Walking Boot said:
Just gonna vent here for a second.

So, let's say there's a scene where a character is wearing a Dallas Cowboys T-shirt with the team logo on it. The NFL would give us the right for 9 years, only. After 9 years, the parent company would have to re-negotiate the license for another 9 years in order to continue to show that episode in re-runs. Now, obviously, after 9 years, you can't just go back with the same actor and re-shoot that scene. You'd be stuck paying whatever price the NFL demanded.
Click to expand...
Oof. IP with respect to television and cinema/movies is a #####. Clearances are often troublesome. I wonder how many artistic visions were stopped by the stringency of our copyright and trademark laws.

 
Walking Boot said:
I became a huge fan of the USFL, long dead, but looked close enough for an out-of-focus TV in a background, and they couldn't make any demands on rights issues. Flat fee and you could use all you wanted. I'd just pick a random 30-year-old game and play it through the TVs all the time.
Click to expand...
Gary Cohen produced the weekly highlights package for the USFL games.  When the league folded, he was granted rights in perpetuity for the USFL film vault in lieu of payment for his services.  He claims to have averaged around $100K per year in licensing fees for the old footage.  That's small potatoes by NFL standards but pretty good for a league that folded 35 years ago.

 
rockaction said:
Oof. IP with respect to television and cinema/movies is a #####. Clearances are often troublesome. I wonder how many artistic visions were stopped by the stringency of our copyright and trademark laws.
Click to expand...
that's why shows like "WKRP" were held back from DVD sales for so long, iirc. they paid for the songs used in the background for original run and maybe syndication. they didn't want to pay the artists for the later DVD sales. they had to scrub the shows.

 
saintfool said:
that's why shows like "WKRP" were held back from DVD sales for so long, iirc. they paid for the songs used in the background for original run and maybe syndication. they didn't want to pay the artists for the later DVD sales. they had to scrub the shows.
Click to expand...
Yep. You're exactly right. Some of the licensing, which I'm not an expert on even though we had a class in law school on IP licensing (which I missed to take Accounting. Ugh.) probably ran out, too, and the rights probably had to be renewed at a new premium without much leverage for the show, much like Walking Boot points out with the NFL. 

Hey, you want your show? You'll have to fork over some cash for the rights to that. 

 
Walking Boot said:
Just gonna vent here for a second. 

I used to work in a tangential area, clearing footage for TV shows--say there's an episode of "NCIS" where they follow a suspect into a bar, and there's a football game on the TV in the bar. My job was to find the footage to play in the TV. And the NFL was the worst. Like, not only are the rights expensive... I get that. But, they did not, ever, license even the logos to be used for a period any longer than 9 years (IIRC). 

So, let's say there's a scene where a character is wearing a Dallas Cowboys T-shirt with the team logo on it. The NFL would give us the right for 9 years, only. After 9 years, the parent company would have to re-negotiate the license for another 9 years in order to continue to show that episode in re-runs. Now, obviously, after 9 years, you can't just go back with the same actor and re-shoot that scene. You'd be stuck paying whatever price the NFL demanded.

Rights on NFL were always a clusterf###. Hate those guys.

I became a huge fan of the USFL, long dead, but looked close enough for an out-of-focus TV in a background, and they couldn't make any demands on rights issues. Flat fee and you could use all you wanted. I'd just pick a random 30-year-old game and play it through the TVs all the time.
Click to expand...
Interesting insight. :thumbup:   

On the USFL stuff, who gets that money, with the league being long defunct? I saw you mentioned Getty. Is that where the USFL stuff lives, as a stock photo/video?

 
rockaction said:
Seems dystopic in a sort of ultra-rationalistic kind of way. I wonder if only bots will beat the system or if people with unique knowledge can. Just seems crazy to me.
Click to expand...
I'm totally out of touch and probably wrong but I don't see sports betting as a big enough growth area to justify a $10B investment. That was also a reason given for the AAF being shutdown although the dollars were a lot less.  In-game betting will start off strong but I think it'll level off as DFS has.

Bundling local network affiliates and sports will give Sinclair a strong hand for negotiations with cable carriers.

 
Mike Greenberg's latest hot take.  It's as if Michigan State basketball doesn't even exist.

Mike Greenberg‏Verified account @Espngreeny

I think the vacancy left behind at #Michigan is fascinating. They’ve been quietly the best team in the Big Ten the past decade. Interesting to see where they turn and the dominoes that follow.

 
I just stumbled across the cable guide's description of ESPN's "High Noon": "ESPN adds another debate-centered show to its programming lineup, joining a crowded field that includes the likes of "First Take," "SportsNation," "Pardon the Interruption" and "Around The Horn."

At first I assumed that the description was written by some cynical intern at Comcast, but it looks like the blurb was actually submitted by ESPN. LOL.

 
Joe Summer said:
I just stumbled across the cable guide's description of ESPN's "High Noon": "ESPN adds another debate-centered show to its programming lineup, joining a crowded field that includes the likes of "First Take," "SportsNation," "Pardon the Interruption" and "Around The Horn."

At first I assumed that the description was written by some cynical intern at Comcast, but it looks like the blurb was actually submitted by ESPN. LOL.
Click to expand...
Just giving those guys some reps to take over PTI.

 
Joe Summer said:
I just stumbled across the cable guide's description of ESPN's "High Noon": "ESPN adds another debate-centered show to its programming lineup, joining a crowded field that includes the likes of "First Take," "SportsNation," "Pardon the Interruption" and "Around The Horn."

At first I assumed that the description was written by some cynical intern at Comcast, but it looks like the blurb was actually submitted by ESPN. LOL.
Click to expand...
I would have added the words "yet another not asked for" to the middle of that.

 
From sports media reporter from Washington Post
 

Ben Strauss @benjstrauss

per ESPN, here is their current programming plan with sports cancelled

ESPN: live SportsCenter all day and night

ESPNEWS: video simulcasts of radio shows (First Take, Your Take, Will Cain) and taped programming to fill additional holes)

ESPN2: simulcast combo of ESPN/ESPNEWS
Click to expand...
:doh:

 
ESPN should air in mini-marathons, "best of" programs. Where they show a few of the Chicago Bulls championship games, Soccer (Maradonna's Hand of God cheat, etc), Olympics, MLB, whatever. They could fill a LOT of airspace with that, and I would watch a metric #### ton of it. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Does it bother anyone else right now that most of the readable content right now is stuck behind their ESPN+ paywall? right now their top posted articles require ESPN+ access. Their top front page video? Justin Bieber play the "floor is lava" game. 

Pathetic. 

 
Hopefully by having their ratings drop here, once things come back eventually they’ll realize people just want to watch sports and not all the other talk show garbage they run all day. 

 
IMAX 3D said:
Does it bother anyone else right now that most of the readable content right now is stuck behind their ESPN+ paywall? right now their top posted articles require ESPN+ access. Their top front page video? Justin Bieber play the "floor is lava" game. 

Pathetic. 
Click to expand...
Especially when places like the Athletic have made their content free for 90 days.

 
IMAX 3D said:
Does it bother anyone else right now that most of the readable content right now is stuck behind their ESPN+ paywall? right now their top posted articles require ESPN+ access. Their top front page video? Justin Bieber play the "floor is lava" game. 

Pathetic. 
Click to expand...
I actually just yelled the same thing to my GF as I was trying to open up an article. on their site  SUPER LAME.

 
Joe T said:
What was the point the started the downfall of ESPN? Sportscenter is now basically unwatchable.

Was it the Kaitlyn Jenner courage award? Was it when Disney bought ESPN? Was it the constant pressure for diversity among sports anchors? All of the above? Other? 
Click to expand...
Once it became a controlled network by ABC/Disney and the likes it changed everything.

I don't enjoy watching sports with a ticker constantly updating women's college basketball, etc...they went too far in trying to appeal to niche markets and took for granted that others would just keep watching because they are mostly the only game in town. FS1/Fox Sports is set up completely different. 

Huge Jason Whitlock fan if that tells you where I am at on the Sports Spectrum. 

Hate sports tickers that never stop while trying to watch a Top 10 College Football game Live...nothing could be more important to more people simultaneously than the game we are all tuning into, why ruin it with a ticker when so many websites can offer that info for those that desperately want to know what the LaCrosse team did earlier. 

 
ESPN just named Michael Jordan the greatest college basketball player ever.  Most people I know will tell you he wasn't even the best player on his own team (Worthy) and may have been behind Perkins.   But if nothing else I'm sure Ripleys is triggered so there's that.

 
Ramblin Wreck said:
ESPN just named Michael Jordan the greatest college basketball player ever.  Most people I know will tell you he wasn't even the best player on his own team (Worthy) and may have been behind Perkins.   But if nothing else I'm sure Ripleys is triggered so there's that.
Click to expand...
I think a lot of these things are meant to trigger people. 

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Ministry of Pain
Surprise visit from my son and tickets to the Miami-NYJ game at Hard Rock
Replies
7
Views
391
tommyGunZ
tommyGunZ
GroveDiesel
The end of Reddit?
2 3 4
Replies
178
Views
5K
mr. furley
mr. furley
S
Am I (we) the problem (AITA) - advice from the collective wisdom of the FFA
2 3
Replies
129
Views
3K
GroveDiesel
GroveDiesel

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 3 (members: 0, guests: 3)
Top