At one time William Randolph Hearst was the most powerful man in America. His vast fortune, ownership of newspapers, and ability to coerce were legendary. It was said that giants don’t fall but Hearst — like Napoleon, Caesar, and Enron — didn’t sustain his invincibility. Much of the same can be said for ESPN.
ESPN provides a wealth of programming for those who watch football, basketball, baseball, and soccer. Scratch the last one because no one watches it or cares about it. Apparently the United States has a professional league but few people can name one team aside from the one in DC.
Anyway, ESPN is now in dangerous territory. It’s becoming apparent to people who watch networks closely, trying to determine their long term strength not measured in dollars but in respect. They are on the verge of becoming irrelevant.
Mocking ESPN is mandatory for many athletes, fans, and bar patrons. From SportsCenter failing to provide adequate clips to absurd ESPN productions providing the type of quality material Soviet era television was known for, the goobers in suits are fast becoming the MTV of the sports world.
It’s a steady decline matched only by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Success followed by failure and someone losing a spleen. It’s getting ugly in Bristol and, coincidentally, at Coach Gruden’s trailer.
It appears unlikely the precipitous slide will halt. ESPN is far too corporate to understand the average sports fan and once alienated, a sports fan rarely forgives or forgets. Ask Bill Buckner. For now the King of the Sports Hill is ESPN, but like so many giants before them they may become a victim of their own success.
Article comments
1 - Bob
Actually the ratings for the soccer World Cup were an all time high for ESPN and the network will be broadcasting the European Championship in 2008 so some people must care and some people must tune in even if you don't.
2 - Nick Schweitzer
ESPN is quickly following in the shoes of MTV. They hardly show actual sports anymore, just like MTV hardly shows any music.
3 - Stone
I hear what you're saying. I can't stomach watching SportsCenter anymore, because usually it's just "analysis" or more talk about T.O. The channel truly jumped the shark when they launched Cold Pizza and ESPN Hollywood to cater to the "younger demographic." But honestly, that demographic just wants sports scores and highlights.
The only decent show on ESPN is Pardon the Interruption, and they are even ruining that show by putting the last 5 minutes of the show after 15 minutes of Sportcenter, since PTI has higher ratings than its marquee program.
4 - The Theory
I don't have cable, so I don't ever watch ESPN (with the exception of the rare time I'm traveling in hotels). I do, however, have a local ESPN radio affiliate which I enjoy listening to. Much better than the also-local Fox Sports Network radio station, which sucks balls. Not as good, however, as Sporting News Radio which is no longer aired in this area.
(It would be an understatement to say that I was furious when they took that off the air in favor of Fox Sports Radio.)
All that to say that whatever else happens to ESPN and how it's viewed (which I would pretty much agree with your annalysis), there is some good that comes out of the radio part of the corporation.
5 - sal m
just like in any other field of interest, the hardcore or seriously committed group of fans or devotees are left behind in the quest to broaden the appeal.
it's happened in music, movies and television - there hasn't been a form of entertainment that hasn't been affected by this trend - so there's no reason the be surprised that the same thing has happened at espn.
for every bob ley there are 30 guys like stuart scott. there can only be one dan patrick and keith olbermann. all the rest pale in comparison.
as a matter of fact, i've been waiting for the day that dan and keith put out the word to the rest of the on-air staff at espn to leave the schtick to the big boys.
and for as much as the real sports fans gripe they are in the minority and will never exact a change.
being real doesn't matter; being real popular does.
6 - JONinFLA
As a former ESPN employee, the diversity of business interests developed specifically to drive revenue from the ESPN brand have brought the core network to its knees.
Any program that generates interest, PTI is a good example, becomes loaded with promotions and cut-ins and updates from other ESPN departments that ultimately ruins the show. SportsCenter used to be called "the un-watchable hour," but now it is 90 minutes long so every single ESPN analyst for every single sport can appear in every single show. Simply put, it is horrible.
While the recovery from the horror of Mark Shapiro continues, the ESPN Original Entertainment Group continues to flop time and time again with no change in site. Its time to abandon entertainment, and concentrate on shoring up the franchise that got you to the dance in the first place. How about some highlights with no shouting and no arrogant inside jokes? How about some programs where viewers are directly involved on the air? Um...remember us?
7 - alessandro nicolo
Sal M, so true. JONinFLA, I noticed the decline all the way up here in Canada. In fact, Canadian prudicers follow their American counterparts - especially now that ESPN own TSN. Great job The Critc. My friend and me were talking about Dan Patrick the other day. While we enjoy him a lot we could not help but notice the same thing you talk about. It's not really about the sports but the celebrity aspect of it. I never understood sports guys who make so much money who bask other sports. That they dismiss hockey or soccer because apparently 'no one cares.' Man, to me millions love those sports and I like watching and playing many too. To me all sports are meaningful. That we label and rank them is a sad reflection of our short attention spans. Last, who came up with the lame sportsdesk comic anyway? Just tell me the score. AMateur night at the Comedy Nest is on Wednesday's. What burns me the most is that the apparent 'world wide leader in sports' should drop the moniker. How can it be when it doesn't respect soccer? At least Sports Illustrated maintains some dignity. I still feel if they gave me a shot and the resources I would do sports fans proud. I would pander to the guys Sal alludes to. Enough of this lowest common denominator crap.
8 - Mikey100
BLAH BLAH BLAH - I've been hearing the "ESPN is turning into MTV" for years, and it's total BS. ESPN's primary programming is live games, period. Whoever says different is trying to sell a paper or get someone to read their blog. And you know what, ESPN still does it for me. PTI is great, they have the best College Football bar none, and I still primarily turn to SC every morning. Will I be watching Cold Pizza, of course not. But even their original stuff has been much improved as of late. Not many people saw it, but the movie Four Minutes was one of the better sports films I've seen in years, and Through the Fire and Once in a Lifetime are both great docs. One man's opinion, but probably a more accurate one than a blogger or a former disgruntled employee.
9 - alessandro nicolo
Gotta love when everything is dismissed as 'bloggers' and 'disgruntled employees.' What people don't quite grasp is that many bloggers have life experiences and are well plugged in some times. I have a history degree and like to write about history. Does blogging make my history training any less valuable? What about former politicians who decide to blog? I don't get the logic. In fact, I would go as far and say there are some bloggers out there who are better (raising issues that the mainstream would never touch for a myriad of reasons) than popular writers and journalists who earn a nice living. Blogging offers a different take on things. Leave it at that. As for ESPN - which is what we should be focusing on - I think Mikey makes fair points and ESPN does have its strengths but it's far from being the 'world wide leader in sports' Personally, I would put SI ahead. But that's me and I recognize they each have their own mandates as Mikey pointed out. If I may draw some examples abroad. In Europe France and Italy have their own sports papers and they are fantastic. No fluff. Straight sports. PTI is a blast - that I agree with. But here's my point: Guys like Kornheiser are walking historical sports legends. They know so much more about sports than they are allowed to let on because of what The Critic is raising. Sometimes I listen to Patrick, Olbermann and other guys and they show glimpses of their depth of knowledge about sports. I want more of that. I really don't care about Patrick's role in a movie with Sandler. It's all cool but it detracts - he becomes, well, a caricature of himself. That's the over arching angle here. I think I'll stop now.
10 - mjryan
Excellent points, The Critic. I've abandoned ESPN and rely on getting my sports from weekly magazines such as Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News. Serious sports fans, the ones that care about the athletic competition aspect and don't care about the celebrity will find a way to get their news. The question is, who will step into ESPN's shoes? I've never watched Fox Sports, the regionality of it has always turned me off for some reason. They've had how many years to put a dent in ESPN and haven't done it, I don't have much hope for them now.
Local sports news has devolved into three minutes or less and that time is usually taken up by an egotistical sportscaster giving his vaunted opinion on the local teams with little to no 'reporting' going on.
Maybe Versus has a chance. They are young and are starting where ESPN started years ago by showing fringe sports such as the Tour de France and the America's Cup. I've watched their Tour coverage for the last two years and have been very impressed. The commentators are knowledgeable and personable. They understand that their audience may have very little knowledge of the sport and take time to explain it. I have to say that I'm rooting for them to expand.
11 - Mikey100
Alessandro - I'm not dismissing "blogging" as an entire medium. You're extending the debate past the point I was making. I'm simply suggesting that the only times I've read the broad argument "ESPN is becoming the next MTV" is on blogs and papers, and I've dismissed the argument as silly. MTV was based on an artform "music television" that clearly did not sustain long term appeal. For about 5-8 years, people were thrilled with music videos, and then when they became the norm, people became less interested. To remain relevant, MTV switched it's brand to "youth culture", and considerably diminished the amount of actual videos they aired, instead opting for TRL and origianl content.
Whoever claims ESPN is going that route is not paying attention. They have rights to the NFL, MLB, NBA, now NASCAR, MLS, and they own college football. Hell, they even just bought the rights to the Arena Football league. So clearly, they are not moving away from their core brand of live event programming. And SC, while it may not be as fresh from the days of Patrick and Olbermann, is still where a lot of folks get their sports news in the morning and after work. SI is only a competitor on the web, as they don't have a TV presence.
As for the "disgruntled employee" comment, some commenter who worked at ESPN clearly had a gripe with Mark Shaprio. Shapiro turned the ratings for ESPN around and created PTI. For that alone, he created success for ESPN. He also tried to expand the brnad in ways that didn't work (Cold Pizza, Quite Frankly, and the most egregious pursuit ESPN Hollywood), but as I suggested the new efforts since he left have generally been quite strong.
So while folks may bitch about ESPN, the truth is ESPN is set up to be the leader in this game for the next decade at least. Versus had a chance to step up and make a play for NFL, and they didn't. Now they air bike riding and hockey. Even the NFL Network is not making it happen, and they had the most legit chance of anyone.
12 - somerandomguy
Do you really get paid for writing this junk? Good for you!
13 - Hammer127
Mark Shapiro is the anti-christ. He is resposible for the beginning of the end of ESPN. I agree with everything you say about MTV but you can't apply that to ESPN. People don't want entertainment from a sports network. They want the games and the scores, not a bunch of blabbering from a bunch of ex-jock morons. I still watch the channel, but it is happening less and less.