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clrmoney
5/10/2017 11:24:14 AM
User Rank Platinum
ESPN down and Skinny keeps going
Not that many people are in to ESPN so that's no surprise thet subscribers are down. Of course skinny service is up because they have something different to offer etc.
dmendyk
5/10/2017 11:30:22 AM
User Rank Platinum
The flip side
Disney/ESPN's dilemma is that it really doesn't have "subscribers" -- it has a captive audience of pay-TV users. That's been a huge source of revenue that is now in decline, and there's really nothing ESPN can do about that. It's going to be very difficult for D/E to make up for that increasing shortfall with new digital offerings.
Adi
5/10/2017 11:48:41 AM
User Rank Author
Re: The flip side
dmendyk - ESPN also doesn't have "content" in the traditional sense. It doesn't make it's own content (other than Sports Center and other studio discussion-type shows) -- it has to get the content from the leagues that own it. And that means it's constantly in bidding competitions, as opposed to a Netflix, or an HBO that can just ride a "Game of Thrones" for 5-7 years, once it takes off.
dmendyk
5/10/2017 12:13:53 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: The flip side
ESPN used to have some original live-action programming -- but stuff like miniature golf coverage didn't catch on. What's noteworthy about the latest round of cuts is how much got taken out of the talking-heads division, which as you note is almost all of ESPN's original content now. It's almost like ESPN has locked itself into the pay-TV erosion model, with very limited options to get out.
mhhf1ve
5/10/2017 4:39:10 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: The flip side
I wonder if ESPN has missed out on the Twitch phenomenon. If ESPN's brand was all about live sports, no matter the sport, then it has missed e-sports and gamers.
dmendyk
5/10/2017 4:46:09 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: The flip side
The core problem is that ESPN's business is firmly rooted in the 20th century. Again, it was hugely successful for a long time, and it will continue to be at least somewhat successful, but as old-school pay TV recedes, so will ESPN's level of success. It can't just flip a switch and jump to a radically new plan because there are still billions of dollars coming in through the old business. Just not as many billions, and that number is almost sure to continue to shrink. The threat (or promise) of moving to a stand-alone OTT service is somewhat empty. If it weren't, Disney probably would have started that move years ago.
mhhf1ve
5/10/2017 5:58:16 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: The flip side
> "The threat (or promise) of moving to a stand-alone OTT service is somewhat empty."
I think the beauty of an OTT service is that it doesn't have to be stand-alone -- it could be run in parallel with much of the same benefit. The audiences for mobile OTT sports and traditional sit-on-the-couch TV might not overlap that much, so if ESPN started an OTT service that targeted its audience and left the couch potatoes alone, I think it wouldn't cannibalize the corded audience that much.
I think Disney has just been sitting on its laurels and raking in "bundled" ESPN profits for too long that it didn't anticipate that when cord-cutters cut -- they will do so drastically.
dmendyk
5/10/2017 6:29:32 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: The flip side
That's possible -- but you have to wonder how much ESPN would have to charge subscribers to an OTT service to make it worthwhile. It's a lot harder to figure out than just collecting close to $8 a month from the close to 88 million pay-TV subscribers who now fund ESPN whether they watch it or not.
mhhf1ve
5/10/2017 6:37:36 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: The flip side
The other tricky thing would be to create an OTT app that specifically doesn't allow anyone to "cast" to a TV. That might be a hard sell given that almost every OTHER video streaming app allows and encourages it.
mhhf1ve
5/10/2017 6:41:39 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: The flip side
I also wonder if the OTT streaming rights are a different license that ESPN doesn't necessarily have the rights to... since they've been sold to Twitter, etc.
ESPN might have to bid more to retain both TV *and* OTT broadcasting rights.
I wonder how the NBA contract works when there have been so many blow-out games and it looks like it might be a Cavs vs Warriors repeat..? Diehard fans are still watching, but even Charles Barkley is saying he'd rather watch NHL.
http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2017/5/9/15592912/charles-barkley-nhl-nba-playoffs-comments-please-like-my-sport
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