Cord-Cutters are Winning? ESPN is losing?!

[Vanimal46]

I cut the cord on cable almost 4 years ago, with no intention of ever going back to buy a traditional cable subscription. The fact is there are so many alternatives in the market like over-the-air TV, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Sling TV, etc. that I don't know why I would ever go back to cable. I'm waiting for a time when it all becomes a-la-carte at a reasonable price, and maybe we're getting closer to that time. 

Nothing makes me more happy than to read that ESPN has lost 7 million subscribers over the last 2 years; among the highest in the industry, and the most costly. If BIG Cable giants like ESPN are starting to feel the heat, then I am hoping others are too. 

[TheLeviathan]

ESPN is second on my list for places I want to suffer - a distant second behind Comcast.

 

I hope those *@%@#$ get really screwed.

[Vanimal46]

I remember ESPN being at the top of their game in the 90's, and Baseball Tonight was my favorite show to watch as a kid. If the Vikings or Twins are on, I will watch that, but the quality in their other programming has declined so sharply that it's lost all of my interest.

It's a pick your poison proposition for all internet/cable providers. Internet is internet to me, and once the promotional rate is over, I'm switching to another provider instantly.  

[TheLeviathan]

When baseball tonight fell off in quality that was the end of my watching ESPN.  I only watch it now if there is a rare game i want to see.  

 

I want Comcast to suffer because, for many of us, we don't have an alternative for cable or internet and those *@$%&@ sure make us pay for that.

[Vanimal46]

So I just read an article that ESPN is planning to expand on e-sports (competitive video game league) as a way to get subscribers back... Good luck with that ESPN. 

[biggentleben]

ESPN was incredibly slow (and in many ways still hasn't) to jump into the subscription based systems online, and it's killed them. They tie their WatchESPN app to cable subscription and they still don't have a stand-alone subscriber-based system. I'd love to be able to watch live sports now and then, but I'm not paying for cable just to get it. Now they're at least partnered with Sling TV, but still you cannot get into things like ESPN Classic or ESPN U or anything like that.

[bluechipper]

I think ESPN is worth it to watch all of their live college games.

[Vanimal46]

I think ESPN is worth it to watch all of their live college games.

To each his own.. ESPN is still very profitable today because of purchasing the rights to the power conferences' basketball and football games in college, MLB and Monday Night Football.

 

For me personally, I don't care to watch basketball, and the network treats my favorite winter sport hockey like it does not exist.

[biggentleben]

 

To each his own.. ESPN is still very profitable today because of purchasing the rights to the power conferences' basketball and football games in college, MLB and Monday Night Football.

For me personally, I don't care to watch basketball, and the network treats my favorite winter sport hockey like it does not exist.

 

Which is too bad because ESPN used to have some of the best hockey analysts and coverage you could find, even when they didn't have live games.

[Vanimal46]

 

Which is too bad because ESPN used to have some of the best hockey analysts and coverage you could find, even when they didn't have live games.

And arguably the best theme song of all sports... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfOB3jzfpoU

Sad, really... Now all they have is Barry Melrose who's brought in to talk about the Penguins or Blackhawks game for 15 seconds. 

[twinsnorth49]

Which is too bad because ESPN used to have some of the best hockey analysts and coverage you could find, even when they didn't have live games.

Meh, they had some good play by play guys, Emrick (not my cup of tea), Kelly and Hughson. Never cared for most of their analysts, Clement was smart and knew his stuff and JD could be ok, but the rest were pretty dull.

 

ESPN hockey broadcasts never kept my interest much.

[twinsnorth49]

And arguably the best theme song of all sports...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfOB3jzfpoU

 

Sad, really... Now all they have is Barry Melrose who's brought in to talk about the Penguins or Blackhawks game for 15 seconds.

HNIC will always have the best theme song, if only because of longevity.

[twinsnorth49]

Meh, they had some good play by play guys, Emrick (not my cup of tea), Kelly and Hughson. Never cared for most of their analysts, Clement was smart and knew his stuff and JD could be ok, but the rest were pretty dull. Espo was a self aggrandising idiot.

 

ESPN hockey broadcasts never kept my interest much.

[biggentleben]

So, Robert Flores has now announced he's leaving ESPN. They've lost both of their Football Today podcast hosts in less than a month. They keep trying to play it off, but they're losing the good people they have and hemorrhaging money. It's going to be a hard fall without some action fast.

[mikecgrimes]

 

I cut the cord on cable almost 4 years ago, with no intention of ever going back to buy a traditional cable subscription. The fact is there are so many alternatives in the market like over-the-air TV, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Sling TV, etc. that I don't know why I would ever go back to cable. I'm waiting for a time when it all becomes a-la-carte at a reasonable price, and maybe we're getting closer to that time. 

Nothing makes me more happy than to read that ESPN has lost 7 million subscribers over the last 2 years; among the highest in the industry, and the most costly. If BIG Cable giants like ESPN are starting to feel the heat, then I am hoping others are too. 

 

It would be so easy if I was a Twins fan out of state.  Just about every penny of my cable bill is because of the Twins OK more like 45% Twins 45% College hockey 10% everything else.  I can go long periods without watching Netflix because I binge everything I love so quickly but the fact it's always there as an option still makes it worth it

[Badsmerf]

I plan on cutting the cord this year. Might wait until baseball is over, we'll see. I'm coming up on my year with direct tv, so prices are going to jump in a few months. if there was no black out on mlb tv, I never would have signed back up with direct tv. It's only a matter of time until that is lifted. The days of big cable are behind us.

[Mike Sixel]

I don't have cable, haven't for years.

 

With everyone offering streaming now, or very soon, you can choose your channels now, and see almost anything (other than sports). Even Netflix is likely to lose my business soon, as Amazon and (soon) BBC America will have me covered.

 

Netflix's one advantage at this point is its ability to recommend quirky comedies that I otherwise would never find. And that's a big advantage.

 

btw, does HBO Now have the worst app ever? On the Roku, I saw no way to say "show me this series"....it never figured out I was watching GoT or Sonic Hiways, ever.

[Vanimal46]

 

btw, does HBO Now have the worst app ever? On the Roku, I saw no way to say "show me this series"....it never figured out I was watching GoT or Sonic Hiways, ever.

Yes they do have the worst app ever. I did the 2 week free trial period to see if it's worth $15/month, and experienced several problems. One, it did not work on all devices. Had the hardest time getting it to load properly on the Roku. I also had problems with the app crashing during the middle of a show. 

I like the idea HBO has to go rouge from the cable subscription, but their app needs a remodel before I spend $15/month on it. 

[Mike Sixel]

Ya, I just cancelled HBO. will bring it back when GoT's season is over this year, to watch that.

[Vanimal46]

Kevin Draper of Deadspin wrote another article this morning about ESPN continuing to lose subscribers. The number is now 10 million lost subscribers over the last 3 years. All cable networks are starting to feel the heat from cord-cutters. 

[gunnarthor]

 

Kevin Draper of Deadspin wrote another article this morning about ESPN continuing to lose subscribers. The number is now 10 million lost subscribers over the last 3 years. All cable networks are starting to feel the heat from cord-cutters. 

 

 

How much do you think you pay for internet, hulu, netflix, amazon prime and HBO Go monthly?  

[Mike Sixel]

 

How much do you think you pay for internet, hulu, netflix, amazon prime and HBO Go monthly?  

 

Well, I have internet whether I use it for streaming or not, so I'm not sure that should be in the calculation. I can go with HBO Go for 1-2 months after GoT is out, not all 12 months. I pay for PRIME for other stuff, not just streaming. I don't have hulu, or anything like it.

 

So, for me, the numbers are netflix + prime + HBO Go (free for a year, then I will go to 2 months a year).

 

But, I get your point. 

 

Do people with cable not have internet, or Netflix or PRIME generally? I have no idea.

[gunnarthor]

 

 

 

Do people with cable not have internet, or Netflix or PRIME generally? I have no idea.

Our cable bunches TV and internet together so we get 60m internet speed for $50/month but it would be $60 if we got rid of the TV.  I'm not sure if that's a good deal but I live in a semi-rural area and it's the best deal I can find on internet.  The only other provider would charge us $25 but the internet speed is only 20m.  

[TheLeviathan]

I've considered cord cutting, but by the time I add up all those other things and the fact that I get so much bundled into my dish service, it really doesn't make much of a difference.  Especially when you factor in that having that service gives me access to so much more live and available content.  

 

It's just not worth the extra $20 a month to patch it all together.

[Vanimal46]

 

How much do you think you pay for internet, hulu, netflix, amazon prime and HBO Go monthly?  

Internet for me is around $45 a month... Usually rotate back and forth between Time Warner and AT&T U-Verse when the promotion rates expire. 

As of the start of the football season, I'm now paying for Playstation Vue that's $35 a month. 

Amazon Prime I guess I don't notice, since I use that more for ordering items. 

 

The others (Hulu, Netflix, HBO) is used for short periods of time and cancelled once or twice a year. 
 

[nicksaviking]

Forgive me for being a complete idiot when it comes to this stuff, but if we went away from cable (or Direct TV in our case) there aren't options for my wife to watch her current shows on HGTV or E! and I wouldn't be able to watch current shows on AMC or USA or sports on TBS or ESPN right?

[Vanimal46]

 

Forgive me for being a complete idiot when it comes to this stuff, but if we went away from cable (or Direct TV in our case) there aren't options for my wife to watch her current shows on HGTV or E! and I wouldn't be able to watch current shows on AMC or USA or sports on TBS or ESPN right?

There are a couple of options now to stream the channels you're used to with a traditional cable package. 

Sling TV or PlayStation Vue 

Both are compatible on a number of devices (Roku, Fire stick, Chromecast, etc.) And with both, you can cancel at any time. 

[diehardtwinsfan]

I'm pretty much a Netflix only guy at the moment.  Cut the cord many years ago, tried again for a promo a few years back and cancelled exactly a year later when my rates skyrocketed.  I don't really feel sorry for ESPN... perhaps if they weren't so east coast biased I could do it... and perhaps if they had more content (since all their shows are nothing more than rehashes of what you see in sports center).

 

I just buy GoT when the DVDs come out and catch a few episodes on business trips. Westworld is interesting, but didn't have that 'instantly hooked' moment like GoT S1E1 did.

[Vanimal46]

Concur, diehard. ESPN is feeling the hurt of lost subscribers the most, but it's an industry wide problem. From the article I linked earlier:

"Eighty-two of the 119 networks measured by Nielsen lost subscribers last month, and almost all have lost millions over the last few years. Potential subscribers are dropping cable altogether, trading down to smaller packages, subscribing to services like Sling TV and PlayStation Vue, or streaming illegally."

I don't feel bad for ESPN or any of the networks... With ESPN specifically, they have not adapted to the changing landscape of watching sports. They have not been innovative when it comes to presenting sports in a long time.

 

The days of watching SportsCenter hoping to catch the highlights of a Minnesota Twins game are long gone. Hell, the avenue we take to watch live sports are ever changing too with Twitter, Yahoo, and other outlets streaming games. 

[Willihammer]

How much is cord cutting and how much is declining interest in sports generally? Either way, doesn't look good for ESPN/Disney.