ESPN lays off employees, with more cuts to come

[4Corners]

19 minutes ago, ladypanther said:

. This article details the development of ESPN from its founding in 1978, and its history since the channel's launch on September 7, 1979.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_ESPN

 

The well-liked and well-respected Soltys is an ESPN lifer having worked for ESPN for 98% of the network’s history. ESPN’s founder Bill Rasmussen brought him on board in 1980 as an unpaid intern. 

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2023/04/24/Media/mike-soltys-espn-layoffs.aspx

A bit of Charlotte history and lore - I believe the Rasmussen dudes and a couple others pitched the idea of 24hr sports network (ESPN) to the guys at Raycom in Alabama and Charlotte and they laughed them off and passed. 

meanwhile, ESPN is ESPN and Raycom Sports is just about finished. 

[Icege]

52 minutes ago, CamWhoaaCam said:

No because if I want to watch the off the court stuff I can turn on CNN. Im here for sports and sports only.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there is never going to be "sports and sports only." It's an irrational desire that's only going to lead to frustration and disappointment. Sports aren't some cartoon ostrich that can bury its head in the sand to avoid the same socio-cultural issues that influence it.

Don't get me wrong: I'd love to focus more on the strategy, skill, techniques, etc that are on display. Unfortunately, entertainment sells advertising space better than it does education. Engagement is even more important to marketing, and few things create as much engagement as outrage.

Edited July 5, 2023 by Icege

[NanuqoftheNorth]

Truth is, ESPN's old business model is broken. 

The network has been part of most premium cable packages across the nation for decades and subscribers paid for the privilege of having ESPN, whether they watched it or not.  Unfortunately for ESPN, over the last several years cable companies have lost more than 25 percent of their subscribers to internet streaming services.  Consumers are no longer required to subsidize expensive networks like ESPN that they never watch.  

[NanuqoftheNorth]

Prior to the age of the internet, ESPN was one of the few ways for sports fans to view game highlights other than evening news broadcasts.  All things considered, it is amazing that ESPN has endured as long as it has.

Edited July 5, 2023 by NanuqoftheNorth

[DJ feed me moore]

3 hours ago, 4Corners said:

ESPN, like MTV, are so far gone from their original foundation it’s borderline unwatchable. A lot of people whine about ESPN being “too liberul” or a bunch of “librul agenda” …I vote that way and can’t stand ESPN. If it weren’t for live sports broadcasts like ACC basketball I would never watch the network. It’s just bad programming. 
 

even the gems of the network like College Gameday, NFL Live, and Sportscenter are garbage now. 
 

the best show on ESPN is Fantasy Football Now that airs like 2 hours before kickoff on Sundays but since Matthew Berry is gone now it will be interesting to see what happens. 

they moved all of that to ESPN + a couple years ago. major bummer because it pretty much won me my fantasy football ship. ESPN does need to be totally burnt to the ground. get some unknown JOURNALIST in there, see what they can do.

[LinvilleGorge]

It's hilarious watching Stephen A. Smith wallowing about this. Last year he was "underpaid". Now his "colleagues deserved better than these times". Dude... clowns like you and Skip Bayless created these times. It turns out that idiots screaming at each other over mildly sports related topics had a shelf life.

[mrcompletely11]

6 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

It's hilarious watching Stephen A. Smith wallowing about this. Last year he was "underpaid". Now his "colleagues deserved better than these times". Dude... clowns like you and Skip Bayless created these times. It turns out that idiots screaming at each other over mildly sports related topics had a shelf life.

He made it a race issue the other day.  He is pathetic 

[TheSpecialJuan]

2 hours ago, NanuqoftheNorth said:

Prior to the age of the internet, ESPN was one of the few ways for sports fans to view game highlights other than evening news broadcasts.  All things considered, it is amazing that ESPN has endured as long as it has.

Spot on. I personally haven't watched ESPN since last year 

[Basbear]

3 hours ago, NanuqoftheNorth said:

Prior to the age of the internet, ESPN was one of the few ways for sports fans to view game highlights other than evening news broadcasts.  All things considered, it is amazing that ESPN has endured as long as it has.

Looking back, well this is my take(ugh). I think part of the downfall was when they started forcing everyone into west coast teams, or just Duke, or only golf, etc. I never liked that, sports filled a big "time waster" in my life and I knew lots of stuff about many of them. Then I stopped watching sportscenter and i loved espn news 24/7. Then I stopped watching MLB(unless its a big game), NBA, nascar, even college BB and FB(unless its a big game). I even came close to dropping the NFL during alll the stuff that should not be in sports *rare deals. If not for me following the panthers since 93-95, id dropped the whole NFL and pick up a hobby....In which In have in arm wrestling. I use to also play FF and had like a 93% win rate on yahoo, many teams too. 

They just got tooo big, incert the mark cuban quote. Plus why the fucck is steve a smith getting 14 million or skkkkkiiipppp getting that coin??? thats a joke and rating were a joke. LG hit on it above, that turned every thing into a red vs blue on every topics, grossssssss. Same the drama for the females 

[Icege]

3 hours ago, CamWhoaaCam said:

Thanks for admitting what I already knew.

Not sure admitting is the right word there, but no problem bucko. Sometimes we all need to be reminded to not scream into the abyss.

[stratocatter]

I have the nostalgia for the low tech old days when NFL Primetime was without a doubt a highlight of my week. 
They need to bring back Australian Rules Football and the America’s Cup overnight programming, repeat that stuff all day, break on with some scores and reports on actual sports news that doesn’t involve contract, money, and focus on the athletic side not the business side. 4am after a late shift, America’s Cup was a blast. 

Present the content with much less emphasis on the personalities of the talking heads they employ and, again, place the emphasis on athletic side of sports. 

Too ‘80s?

Maybe, but I could handle ego deluded Berman and his nicknames, and Tom Jackson kissing his ass all broadcast long. Yes Boomer, no Boomer, yes Boomer, haha that’s a good one Boomer.

I do recognize that much of the old days’ appeal hinged on the more entertaining style of play celebrated on Jacked Up, which the media helped take away from us (if a guy wants to sacrifice his old age for millions of dollars he could never ever get a chance to earn otherwise, $ which elevates his family for generations, isn’t that his right?). 

Go back in time and stop the overt show biz there before you bring in Skip and Steven A and their TMZ oriented yelling and theatrics, and take the other fork in the progress road. 

 

[Ricky Prickles]

On 7/5/2023 at 11:46 AM, 4Corners said:

If someone calls you and asks you to bring them a firearm to a shithole bar/club at 2am then you need to find new friends and if you do it then you a DA as well 

You are just making too much sense here. Minds will be blown no doubt

[PghPanther]

ESPN is full of overpaid drama queens...........its a bore.