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dmendyk
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.

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mhhf1ve
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.

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dmendyk
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.

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Adi
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.

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dmendyk
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.

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clrmoney
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.

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