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The Rise and Fall of ESPN (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Joe T
- Start date
rockaction
Footballguy
rockaction
Footballguy
facook
Footballguy
May not be the same thing, but I had to bow out of the covid thread. Was losing my mind, for reasons that do not need to be voiced here. My life is so much better not going in there.
rockaction
Footballguy
Don't blame you. I started to personally get annoyed by a poster there and said a not-over-the-line thing or two, but have thought way better of it and am just moving on also.
facook
Footballguy
Frankly I'm surprised I didn't get reported/blasted a while back. Only cause the guy I overreacted to is a good dude, we PMed, and it's all good. But yeah....just need to stay away.
Tom Servo
Nittany Beavers
Mr Anonymous
Footballguy
ESPN shunned again...
https://nypost.com/2020/04/10/drew-brees-picks-nbc-over-espn-in-monday-night-football-setback/
Hate to see it.
https://nypost.com/2020/04/10/drew-brees-picks-nbc-over-espn-in-monday-night-football-setback/
Hate to see it.
Tom Servo
Nittany Beavers
Layoffs coming to MSESPN
It sucks that good people are going to lose their jobs during the holidays because of Wokecenter.
It sucks that good people are going to lose their jobs during the holidays because of Wokecenter.
Doug B
Footballguy
Had no idea NBCSN existed. Granted I watch way less sports than in my single days ... but if more-than-casual sports fans have never so much as heard of your sports programming network, that would seem to be a problem.
I mean, was NBCSN even on any cable services, or dish services, or streaming packages, or anything?
MTskibum
Footballguy
It was on our comcast package, they occasionally had fishing shows on weekend mornings.
Eephus
Footballguy
It's in 80 million households
They showed NHL, Premier League soccer, NASCAR and lots of car auctions. NBC will still bid for sports programming and still have lots of places to put content but it's another sign that cable sports is on the decline.
ChiefD
Footballguy
Cowboysfan8
Footballguy
We watch horse racing on it. Especially on big stakes days Kentucky Derby etc they’ll have the earlier in the day races live before switching to NBC
Eephus
Footballguy
On the other hand, I don't know what the USA Network is or where it is on my dial. But I'll figure it out.
grateful zed
Footballguy
Wow this sucks NBCSN is like my favorite channel.
I watch pro cycling, tour de France, and all fisworld cup ski racing there.
Tons of other great stuff.
I watch pro cycling, tour de France, and all fisworld cup ski racing there.
Tons of other great stuff.
Corporation
Angry Bovine
Yeah NBCSN was a nice channel. Cycling and English Premier League the main attractions I think.
Eephus
Footballguy
Niche sports will probably get moved to Peacock with the occasional event like weekend TdF stages on a NBC cable channel.
We currently get Peacock with Xfinity cable but I assume NBC will charge extra for it at some point.
Manster
Footballguy
ESPN was fun back in the day.....Berman, Scott, Patrick, Olberman, Mayne, Cohn, to name a few.......I remember when catching sportscenter was a big part of my day.....
It ran its course, and they became more about social commentary....instead of being on the cutting edge of sports programming......too many other options.....and then Jemele Hill happened.
It ran its course, and they became more about social commentary....instead of being on the cutting edge of sports programming......too many other options.....and then Jemele Hill happened.
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FreeBaGeL
Footballguy
It's beyond patently obvious why people don't watch Sportscenter as much anymore now that they're carrying around unlimited free access to every game highlight and score in their pocket, but you go ahead and make sure you don't miss an opportunity to bring politics out of the politics forum.
Doug B
Footballguy
I don't think we have to think of it so much as "political stuff", even if it is. For the sake of making a superficial argument, we can just deem it "serious stuff" instead. As opposed to "fun stuff".
To make it short: the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network used to be a lot of fun to watch. Yes, having a jillion highlights and being able to catch up on sports in one short block was a huge draw. But they also kept that "E" in "ESPN" going for along while. Sure, at times, they'd punctuate broadcasts with more serious human-interest coverage ... but those pieces served to put the fun stuff in clearer contrast. In the 1980s and 1990s ... it seemed ESPN had just the right balance.
You're right that the ascension of cell phones and right-now sports info didn't work in ESPN's favor. I still think, though, that a bigger issue for a show like Sportscenter is that it lost that magic balance between "fun" and "serious". And maybe that 1980s-90s balance was something the network couldn't have credibly maintained without looking tone deaf to some audiences, not sure.
dino259
Footballguy
Game highlights/reviews were different. I think it was more of a review of the game. You actually got a better feel for what happened. Often now if I watched a game then watch sportscenter, their review of the game doesn't match up to my review of the game.
Also they don't include any box score stuff. I want stats and not just for the superstars they shove down our throats.
And get off my lawn!!!!
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
I can remember a lot - I mean, A LOT - of folks didn't like Mayne, Scott, Olberman, and some of others during ESPN's "Golden Age". "Stick to scores and highlights - leave the shtick at home".
So I think there's some revisionist history going on. And some of it's generational.
So I think there's some revisionist history going on. And some of it's generational.
wlwiles
Footballguy
Re; Stats - that's what my phone is for. In the fantasy era, i can check the app(s) and see who did what, but I would watch SC to see what happened in the game. Checking phone app shows me that Yankees beat the Sox by 2, Sox pitcher had 12 K's. Watching SC showed me that Stanton jacked a 3 run homer in the 7th to break up a no-no.
Re: superstars crammed down our throats - ugggghhhhh absolutely agree. I'm not an NBA guy, never have been, and I'd find SC almost unwatchable if LeBron scored 30+ on a random April Wednesday...
Doug B
Footballguy
Could well be.
Tell you what, though -- I watched Sportscenter religiously between high school and the birth of my first child (roughly 1987-2002). While the '90s guys had different schtick, I don't recall watching a schtick-free Sportscenter in the late '80s. The Chris Berman SCs were quite schticky ... just more Warner Wolf than John Stewart.
I can understand the general idea of people missing the "Sportscenter of their youth" and moving on. But I wouldn't agree with someone saying "leave the schtick at home!" about The Big Show era. Patrick and Olberman's schtick may have been different from Berman's, but there was always schtick.
Manster
Footballguy
The question was asked. And yes, the way we obtain information, and entertainment changed. That's prolly the biggest factor. But, having someone as controversial as her, when you're already struggling with viewership, does not help.
Doug B
Footballguy
That wasn't a welcome change, either. Sportscenter used to do a much better job with their breadth of coverage (talking 1980s here, though).
madshot31
Footballguy
It's all click bait video clips now and no content. It's sad really. I have had to turn to podcasts/youtube to get more scoops and real content instead of sports reporting.
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facook
Footballguy
There is still reporting - e.g. the Kimes/Passan reporting that brought down the Mets GM. However, it's almost entirely on the print/web side of things not tv. And it's FAR less than at The Athletic, imo, which has set the standard for sports reporting these days. Bob Ley is not walking back through that ESPN door, sadly.
Yenrub
Footballguy
It's an hour long show, what else are they supposed to show or talk about on a random Wednesday night in April?
Dr_Zaius
Footballguy
As someone who was a big fan of SportsCenter and NFL PrimeTime growing up, I think the move to infotainment and politics made things worse, but I think the downward slide happened before then. There used to be a focus on less random "highlights" and more an actual concise summary of the game, an area that would probably still fill a niche. If you missed a game, you could watch a 90 second summary of it and feel like you at least got the gist of the flow of the game (key turning points, etc.).
Sometime maybe in the early to mid 90's that started morphing into out of context "wow" moments - e.g., an NBA game where they show 5 dunks and then flash to the final score. I think that was a bad decision that technology has made even worse over time - if somebody makes a crazy catch in an NFL game, it's all over the internet instantly, so they're playing a game they can't win. But I think a super-condensed summary of the flow of a game would still fill a need. How many people who don't have time to watch 9 hours of football on a Sunday would watch a 30-45 minute show that gave them a reasonable facsimile of what they missed? Almost like a retroactive RedZone.
Sometime maybe in the early to mid 90's that started morphing into out of context "wow" moments - e.g., an NBA game where they show 5 dunks and then flash to the final score. I think that was a bad decision that technology has made even worse over time - if somebody makes a crazy catch in an NFL game, it's all over the internet instantly, so they're playing a game they can't win. But I think a super-condensed summary of the flow of a game would still fill a need. How many people who don't have time to watch 9 hours of football on a Sunday would watch a 30-45 minute show that gave them a reasonable facsimile of what they missed? Almost like a retroactive RedZone.
Capella
Footballguy
I ended up watching a SC last week since the Bucs were/are in the playoffs and it was fine? Lot of hockey highlights, they even had Melrose in to break stuff down, some decent NFL analysts and NBA stuff. What’s the beef? First time I had seen close to a full episode in forever but I liked it.
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Doug B
Footballguy
Circa 1987:
- the first round of the NBA playoffs. Either game coverage or storylines of upcoming games.
- either the NHL regular-season divisional races/playoff-bubble teams or the first playoff round (don't know the timing of NHL stuff down here
).- "Around the Horn" of the MLB schedule that night.
- NFL Draft would be coming up -- time to dust off Mel Kiper for a few feature segments
- PGA coverage (depending on when in April, could be Masters week)
- Tennis coverage (ESPN used to cover non-majors at least superficially)
- a montage of scenes/coverage from NCAA football teams' spring practices
- Boxing (used to be a lot more event boxing going on in general, though)
- non-Olympics major amateur competitions (e.g. US Track & Field, US Gymnastics, etc.)
With commercials, a human-interest story, and other miscellanea ... an hour goes by quick.
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Doug B
Footballguy
Yes, this. When Sportscenter started getting big in the '80s, it was a lot like George Michael's Sports Machine made bigger and wider.
Yenrub
Footballguy
Good list but I doubt the amount of time spent on say Jordan or Dr. J dropping 30 on that same night would be any different than the time devoted to covering Lebron now. Style wise would be different of course but the amount of time would be about the same.Circa 1987:
- the first round of the NBA playoffs. Either game coverage or storylines of upcoming games.
- either the NHL regular-season divisional races/playoff-bubble teams or the first playoff round (don't know the timing of NHL stuff down here
- "Around the Horn" of the MLB schedule that night.
- NFL Draft would be coming up -- time to dust off Mel Kiper for a few feature segments
- PGA coverage (depending on when in April, could be Masters week)
- Tennis coverage (ESPN used to cover non-majors at least superficially)
- a montage of scenes/coverage from NCAA football teams' spring practices
- Boxing (used to be a lot more event boxing going on in general, though)
- non-Olympics major amateur competitions (e.g. US Track & Field, US Gymnastics, etc.)
With commercials, a human-interest story, and other miscellanea ... an hour goes by quick.
nirad3
Footballguy
I guess I am a dinosaur because I get little to no highlight action on my phone or other "device". I will occasionally bring up a box score on my "Score" app, but that's rare and for a specific, fantasy-related reason most of the time. I use the MFL app for my fantasy football and the Yahoo! fantasy app for basketball (and football).
And more dinosaur.... I watch SportsCenter. Granted, it's usually while I'm nodding off to sleep at night, but after I've watched one of "my shows" (Amazing Race, for example) and I start to feel sleepy, I'll switch to ESPN and just catch some highlights before going to sleep.
I used to be a regular watcher of Around the Horn but that's no longer on my radar unless work is especially slow and I feel like hoppin' on my office futon to relax and will watch. Very occasional at most.
I can see how the demise has happened though.
And more dinosaur.... I watch SportsCenter. Granted, it's usually while I'm nodding off to sleep at night, but after I've watched one of "my shows" (Amazing Race, for example) and I start to feel sleepy, I'll switch to ESPN and just catch some highlights before going to sleep.
I used to be a regular watcher of Around the Horn but that's no longer on my radar unless work is especially slow and I feel like hoppin' on my office futon to relax and will watch. Very occasional at most.
I can see how the demise has happened though.
Doug B
Footballguy
Could well be. I'm speaking a bit from a position of ignorance, and extrapolating from what other people complain about. But could it be that while the Big Sports Story still gets about the same several minutes ... with less sports "action" and more "fluff" or "social concern" items on today's broadcasts (presumably), maybe the pure sports coverage looks all the more slanted?
It seemed to be less so in the late 80s ... but certainly by The Big Show era, Sportscenter coverage was very much star-driven.
parasaurolophus
Footballguy
I really like SVP. Watching sportscenter kind of became part of our nightly routine since my wife is a fan of his too. With him getting covid and being off for a while, we stopped watching. We replaced with some quality real housewives programming and Below Deck. Jemele Hill was actually in an episode. She had a cake that was shaped like a stinkhorn.
DallasDMac
Footballguy
Thanks to this thread, I feel compelled to go Google Jemele Hiil so I know what you guys are talking about.
Edit: That helped surprisingly little...
Edit: That helped surprisingly little...
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Tom Servo
Nittany Beavers
Deranged Hermit
Not cool & Pissed
Reading this thread reminds me just how little I have watched espn the past decade or so. I'll watch nfl games and the occasional baseball game, but I couldn't tell you the last time I watched Sportscenter or pardon the interruption or the like.
Honestly, if espn went off the air tomorrow, I wouldn't blink an eye.
Honestly, if espn went off the air tomorrow, I wouldn't blink an eye.
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3 hour lunch
Footballguy
I still like Sportscenter with SVP as they incorporate a lot of gambling stuff. Still watch some PTI but less than I used to. 30 for 30 is solid
Tom Servo
Nittany Beavers
⚡DEADHEAD⚡
Footballguy
Steven A. Smith says in 15 words what most could say in 10 and a smart person could say in 5. A big part of why I don't bother anymore actually.
TheFanatic
Footballguy
I made the comment in the 4K TV thread that Best Buy is like ESPN to me. I used to LOVE both of these entities and now, if they went away, other than the jobs lost, I honestly wouldn't care. Then again, I was in the same Fantasy Football league from 2000 to 2017 when I quit FFB forever (along with four other leagues). So things do indeed change.
TheFanatic
Footballguy
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