ESPN Get Worse

[Tugg Speedman]

ESPN is losing 15,000 subscribers a day
https://www.outkickthecoverage.com/espn-cant-afford-monday-night-football/

Another blood-letting is coming (they laid off 100 personalities in April) ...

Sources: ESPN heading for more painful layoffs
http://www.sportingnews.com/other-sports/news/espn-layoffs-latest-news-rumors-firings-mike-greenberg-golic-scott-van-pelt-svp-jemele-hill/1js74yxvu7l0wz8g26kdwl7nd

and if the NFL cannot reverse its slide ....

ESPN Can’t Afford Monday Night Football Any More
https://www.outkickthecoverage.com/espn-cant-afford-monday-night-football/

could this be next?  Before you laugh it off, recognize this is how bad it is getting at ESPN

James Andrew Miller: Why ESPN Could Abandon NFL Football (Guest Column)

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-espn-could-abandon-nfl-football-guest-column-1052792

In a span of less than five years, industry giant ESPN has seen its narrative transformed from that of a mighty colossus into the hard-luck tale of a ragtag warrior.

As it struggles to regain heretofore heroic heights — levels of growth that are probably no longer attainable — ESPN has had to endure a slew of significant workforce layoffs (with more reportedly on the way) and a once-doting Wall Street that has turned a skeptically cold shoulder. Astonishing increases in earnings, previously viewed as faits accomplis, now seem like fantasies from another world, thanks to the now-familiar combo of cord-cutting and burgeoning rights fees.

​With so much of ESPN’s universe asunder, it’s not outlandish now to entertain a previously unthinkable prospect: Might ESPN elect to go without rights to NFL games after the expiration of its eight-year deal for Monday Night Football in 2021?!

[Tugg Speedman]

On April 26 ESPN announced it was laying off 100 personalities

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/26/sports/espn-layoffs.html

Since that date ...

Disney Stock (ESPN is 50% of its earnings) is DOWN 14.54%
Over the same period, the S&P 500 is UP 8.86%
The difference is 23.40% is massive


The stock market is speaking very loud that ESPN is in a very bad place and NFL woes are hurting it.

Along the way, on August 9, ESPN said they might offer a stand-alone streaming service.  Openly talking about breaking for the cable companies was considered a "game changer."

http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-espn-streaming-20170810-story.html

Since August 9 ...

Disney's Stock DOWN 4.66%
The S&P 500 is UP 4.43%
The difference is 9.09%

The market is saying this game changer will not work

[Jockey]

People are not leaving cable to get rid of ESPN. People are leaving cable because the product sucks and unlike in the past, there are other options.

Netflix is more responsible than any other single factor.

[Babybluejeans]

Only thing Scoop needed more than another NFL thread is another Snowflake Smuggles end-times thread. Thanks!

[DegenerateDish]

There should just be an "ESPN/NFL Ratings" board at this point on Scoop.

[MU82]

On April 26 ESPN announced it was laying off 100 personalities

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/26/sports/espn-layoffs.html

Since that date ...

Disney Stock (ESPN is 50% of its earnings) is DOWN 14.54%
Over the same period, the S&P 500 is UP 8.86%
The difference is 23.40% is massive


The stock market is speaking very loud that ESPN is in a very bad place and NFL woes are hurting it.

Along the way, on August 9, ESPN said they might offer a stand-alone streaming service.  Openly talking about breaking for the cable companies was considered a "game changer."

http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-espn-streaming-20170810-story.html

Since August 9 ...

Disney's Stock DOWN 4.66%
The S&P 500 is UP 4.43%
The difference is 9.09%

The market is saying this game changer will not work

ESPN is losing 15,000 subscribers a day
https://www.outkickthecoverage.com/espn-cant-afford-monday-night-football/

Another blood-letting is coming (they laid off 100 personalities in April) ...

Sources: ESPN heading for more painful layoffs
http://www.sportingnews.com/other-sports/news/espn-layoffs-latest-news-rumors-firings-mike-greenberg-golic-scott-van-pelt-svp-jemele-hill/1js74yxvu7l0wz8g26kdwl7nd

and if the NFL cannot reverse its slide ....

ESPN Can’t Afford Monday Night Football Any More
https://www.outkickthecoverage.com/espn-cant-afford-monday-night-football/

could this be next?  Before you laugh it off, recognize this is how bad it is getting at ESPN

James Andrew Miller: Why ESPN Could Abandon NFL Football (Guest Column)

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-espn-could-abandon-nfl-football-guest-column-1052792

In a span of less than five years, industry giant ESPN has seen its narrative transformed from that of a mighty colossus into the hard-luck tale of a ragtag warrior.

As it struggles to regain heretofore heroic heights — levels of growth that are probably no longer attrightble — ESPN has had to endure a slew of significant workforce layoffs (with more reportedly on the way) and a once-doting Wall Street that has turned a skeptically cold shoulder. Astonishing increases in earnings, previously viewed as faits accomplis, now seem like fantasies from another world, thanks to the now-familiar combo of cord-cutting and burgeoning rights fees.

​With so much of ESPN’s universe asunder, it’s not outlandish now to entertain a previously unthinkable prospect: Might ESPN elect to go without rights to NFL games after the expiration of its eight-year deal for Monday Night Football in 2021?!

So?

[Tugg Speedman]

Stock down 11% today as the company says people are not watching as much football and not ordering as many pizzas.

Papa John's says NFL protests are hurting sales
http://money.cnn.com/2017/11/01/media/nfl-papa-johns-protests/index.html

The pizza company, an official sponsor of the league, sliced its sales and profit forecasts on Tuesday. And Papa John's founder and CEO John Schnatter wasn't shy about who he thinks is to blame: Commissioner Roger Goodell.

"Leadership starts at the top, and this is an example of poor leadership," Schnatter said on a conference call with investors Wednesday. "The NFL has hurt Papa John's shareholders."

NFL ratings, like the rest of network television, are in a slump. Through Week 7, NFL viewership is down 5% overall from the same point last year.
Though the ratings slump has many causes, some NFL fans may have tuned out because of the controversy over players kneeling during the National Anthem to protest police violence.

Still, Schnatter put the NFL squarely at fault. He specifically cited the anthem protests as the root of the problem.

"The controversy is polarizing the customer, polarizing the country," Schnatter said.

In response, Papa John's pulled some of its planned commercials from NFL games this season. Schnatter said the NFL has promised to give the pizza company future spots in return.

"It indeed appears that National Football League strife may be weighing on same-store sales to some degree, with Papa John's as the NFL's Official Pizza Sponsor bearing some brunt of this issue," Instinet analysts wrote in a research note Tuesday. "Sponsorship of NFL = No Free Lunch."

[Babybluejeans]

Nah, Papa John's pizza just sucks.

[CTWarrior]

Stock down 11% today as the company says people are not watching as much football and not ordering as many pizzas.

Papa John's says NFL protests are hurting sales
http://money.cnn.com/2017/11/01/media/nfl-papa-johns-protests/index.html

The pizza company, an official sponsor of the league, sliced its sales and profit forecasts on Tuesday. And Papa John's founder and CEO John Schnatter wasn't shy about who he thinks is to blame: Commissioner Roger Goodell.

"Leadership starts at the top, and this is an example of poor leadership," Schnatter said on a conference call with investors Wednesday. "The NFL has hurt Papa John's shareholders."

NFL ratings, like the rest of network television, are in a slump. Through Week 7, NFL viewership is down 5% overall from the same point last year.
Though the ratings slump has many causes, some NFL fans may have tuned out because of the controversy over players kneeling during the National Anthem to protest police violence.

Still, Schnatter put the NFL squarely at fault. He specifically cited the anthem protests as the root of the problem.

"The controversy is polarizing the customer, polarizing the country," Schnatter said.

In response, Papa John's pulled some of its planned commercials from NFL games this season. Schnatter said the NFL has promised to give the pizza company future spots in return.

"It indeed appears that National Football League strife may be weighing on same-store sales to some degree, with Papa John's as the NFL's Official Pizza Sponsor bearing some brunt of this issue," Instinet analysts wrote in a research note Tuesday. "Sponsorship of NFL = No Free Lunch."

FWIW, one of the more popular bars in my town is no longer selling Budweiser products because of their advertising on NFL, but that is the first time I've heard of the NFL protests having any effect on their sponsors.  The above is the second, I guess (although some would say it poor leadership to blame the struggles of your business on the leadership of another.)

[TinyTimsLittleBrother]

If this caused Papa John to go bankrupt, I would consider it a win/win.

[Tugg Speedman]

FWIW, one of the more popular bars in my town is no longer selling Budweiser products because of their advertising on NFL, but that is the first time I've heard of the NFL protests having any effect on their sponsors.  The above is the second, I guess (although some would say it poor leadership to blame the struggles of your business on the leadership of another.)

I completely agree with the highlighted part.  And yes it might be papa johns looking to shift blame from their own problems.

Nevertheless, they are a big advertiser/sponsor of the NFL and they are extremely unhappy.  Assume a lot more sponsors are equally unhappy (but have not said it out loud).  One advertiser is rumoured to be fuming mad at the NFL is Anheiser Busch.  Remember last year they renamed their beer "America."  Think about who that is marketing to and how they must feel about the protests?  Ditto pickup truck buyers?  How many pickup truck drivers voted for Trump and how do you think they feel about the protests?

Add into this McNair's "inmates running the prison" and the NFL is nothing short of a disaster right now.

In the meantime another company that relies on the NFL, that being ESPN, is bleeding out because of the NFL's inability to get a handle on the protests.

[Hards Alumni]

Papa John is a douche nozzle and his pizza is crapty.

MAYBE that's the problem.

[mu-rara]

I just love how many of you base your analysis on your politics.  Talk about douche nozzles. 

Gooddell has handled the National Anthem situation terribly.  If you don't believe it keep looking for collusion among Trump campaign staff and for reasons that HRC lost the election beyond her being a horrid candidate.

[Hards Alumni]

I just love how many of you base your analysis on your politics.  Talk about douche nozzles. 

Gooddell has handled the National Anthem situation terribly.  If you don't believe it keep looking for collusion among Trump campaign staff and for reasons that HRC lost the election beyond her being a horrid candidate.

I hated the pizza while in school and then found out that Papa Johnnie isn't a good dude.  So politics came after the bad pizza.

Owning a business 101 is don't let anyone know your politics if it can harm your brand.

And since you can't avoid politics for some reason HRC lost the election because she read the tea leaves terribly.  She didn't bother with states she thought she had won (Wisconsin and Michigan) and she was a divisive candidate from day one. 

Also, collusion happened.  Obviously.  Lordy.

[RJax55]

I just love how many of you base your analysis on your politics.  Talk about douche nozzles. 

Gooddell has handled the National Anthem situation terribly.  If you don't believe it keep looking for collusion among Trump campaign staff and for reasons that HRC lost the election beyond her being a horrid candidate.

Liberal, conservative, independent, k-9.... Papa John's pizza sucks.

[Jockey]

Liberal, conservative, independent, k-9.... Papa John's pizza sucks.

Amen.

I thought Heisy was the village idiot in this thread till Rara chimed in.

[T-Bone]

There should just be an "ESPN/NFL Ratings" board at this point on Scoop.

Amen, or a Heisey board. 

[🏀]

I'll take Papa John's over the other fast pizza places.

[mu-rara]

I'll take Papa John's over the other fast pizza places.

This.  If you compare Papa John's to quality pizza, of course it sucks.  If your feeding 20 people Za during an NFL game, it's great.

[mu-rara]

I hated the pizza while in school and then found out that Papa Johnnie isn't a good dude.  So politics came after the bad pizza.

Owning a business 101 is don't let anyone know your politics if it can harm your brand.  Have you told Marcus Lemonis?

And since you can't avoid politics for some reason HRC lost the election because she read the tea leaves terribly.  She didn't bother with states she thought she had won (Wisconsin and Michigan) and she was a divisive candidate from day one. And she had no idea how to explain why she deserved to be POTUS 

Also, collusion happened.  Obviously.  Lordy.  Haven't been watching the news this week?

[RJax55]

This.  If you compare Papa John's to quality pizza, of course it sucks.  If your feeding 20 people Za during an NFL game, it's great.

I feel for your guests. Its awful.

[🏀]

This.  If you compare Papa John's to quality pizza, of course it sucks.  If your feeding 20 people Za during an NFL game, it's great.

Yeah, sorry, no.

If you want a pizza delivered in less than 25 minutes for less than $13, you go Papa John's.

[MU82]

Papa John's blows.

And maybe people are protesting its owner's politics.

[Jockey]

I feel for your guests. Its awful.

Buying Papa John's, Dominoes, Little Caesars, etc for my guests/friends?

What an insult to them. Simply says "cheapskate".

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

I hated the pizza while in school and then found out that Papa Johnnie isn't a good dude.  So politics came after the bad pizza.

Owning a business 101 is don't let anyone know your politics if it can harm your brand.

And since you can't avoid politics for some reason HRC lost the election because she read the tea leaves terribly.  She didn't bother with states she thought she had won (Wisconsin and Michigan) and she was a divisive candidate from day one. 

Also, collusion happened.  Obviously.  Lordy.

Make it stop.