OT: Interesting Column on ESPN

[Wbbfan1]

ESPN Cutting Nearly $100 Million In On-Air Talent

Will be interesting to see which On Air talent ESPN Lays Off.

ESPN is definitely changing how it covers and/or creates Sports News. I now find myself rarely watching Sports Center as it has become a place for personalities instead of Reporting Sports News. I haven't watched the news 6 PM Sports Center as I'm not interested in watching Politics, Movies, Music and Sports in one Broadcast show. If I'm watching ESPN, All I want is Sports News or to watch a Sporting Event.

 

[eebmg]

I am fine with humorous schtick if it is sports related but this effort to go into pop culture makes no sense to me. I think most people are more compartmentalized. Sports fanatics care only about sports and pop culture fanatics care only about pop culture.
You alienate people when you try to push stuff down their throats. (Does anyone interested in sports really care about the bachelor?)

 

[tomcat]

I'm with you. Sports can and should be entertaining, but sports entertainment is something other than sports reporting. I've pretty much stopped watching Sports Center, in large part because of that. There is also the fact that yesterday's personalities -- the ones we got comfortable with -- are no longer there and have been replaced by an interchangeable cast of younger, more demographically appropriate people whose goofiness just doesn't seem appealing. And yes, this could be an age thing, but that's not the only thing at work here.

 

[huskeynut]

I don't watch Sportscenter much anymore. Part of it is the "new" announcers", part of it is the political stuff, part of it is the lack of seriousness when reporting.

I use to watch Sunday night baseball all the time. Not now. The broadcast team they have now is pretty bad.

 

[Vowelguy]

I am fine with humorous schtick if it is sports related but this effort to go into pop culture makes no sense to me. I think most people are more compartmentalized. Sports fanatics care only about sports and pop culture fanatics care only about pop culture.
You alienate people when you try to push stuff down their throats. (Does anyone interested in sports really care about the bachelor?)

I haven't watched, but I think you have the causality backwards. I suspect the changes are not an attempt to push stuff down viewers throats, but instead are an attempt to try respond to declining ratings with something new & different. In a Youtube/facebook/twitter world, I suspect many folks don't need to watch a sports highlight show. They can already get all the highlights they want on demand. So instead, ESPN is trying to rely on personalities to be the attraction.

 

[UCFanRon]

ESPN Cutting Nearly $100 Million In On-Air Talent

Will be interesting to see which On Air talent ESPN Lays Off.

ESPN is definitely changing how it covers and/or creates Sports News. I now find myself rarely watching Sports Center as it has become a place for personalities instead of Reporting Sports News. I haven't watched the news 6 PM Sports Center as I'm not interested in watching Politics, Movies, Music and Sports in one Broadcast show. If I'm watching ESPN, All I want is Sports News or to watch a Sporting Event.

SportsCenter was The show back in the 90's when I started my career there. Working behind the scenes was very interesting to say the least. But after 23 years there the only time I watched any of their shows was from inside. After getting home the only shows I saw were mostly UConn games, Men and Women and Nascar, still a fan of UConn women now but not Nascar. I do miss being able to watch the feeds of UConn's games from whoever was airing the game though, that was a great perk......

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I haven't watched, but I think you have the causality backwards. I suspect the changes are not an attempt to push stuff down viewers throats, but instead are an attempt to try respond to declining ratings with something new & different. In a Youtube/facebook/twitter world, I suspect many folks don't need to watch a sports highlight show. They can already get all the highlights they want on demand. So instead, ESPN is trying to rely on personalities to be the attraction.

You may have something there regarding a sports highlight show. But I have seen the ads for the 6pm sc and I won't be watching.

I do enjoy PTI and the soon to go off the air Sports Reporters, because I feel you got some interesting takes on some top stories - and more than one. All those dedicated shows (NFL, MLB, etc.) leave me completely cold, as do personality shows (like Dan LeBetard).