ESPN Layoffs

[rocket surgeon]

without re-copying heisy's excellent points above, isn't that what i was trying to say in my comments during my back n forth with sultan and pac-man?  i'm not patting myself on the back as i merely nibbled around the edges while heisy hit it out of the park.  the "smartest' people in the world, the espns, etc fell asleep at the wheel

the next concern however, are the hackers.  yup, the ones who supposedly stole new serries for oitnb and are demanding a ransom for it.  is this the wave?

[jesmu84]

without re-copying heisy's excellent points above, isn't that what i was trying to say in my comments during my back n forth with sultan and pac-man?  i'm not patting myself on the back as i merely nibbled around the edges while heisy hit it out of the park.  the "smartest' people in the world, the espns, etc fell asleep at the wheel

the next concern however, are the hackers.  yup, the ones who supposedly stole new serries for oitnb and are demanding a ransom for it.  is this the wave?

More people getting what they can, while they can. What's the problem?

[rocket surgeon]

More people getting what they can, while they can. What's the problem?

that's stealing, eyn'a?  then extortion...other than that, i guess it's ok.   with a name that begins with jes...i would think those 2 things would be in, say, your top 5?

[jesmu84]

that's stealing, eyn'a?  then extortion...other than that, i guess it's ok.   with a name that begins with jes...i would think those 2 things would be in, say, your top 5?

oh... legality, ethics, morals... becomes murky water to wade into. wonder who/what influences the lawmakers the most?

[rocket surgeon]

oh... legality, ethics, morals... becomes murky water to wade into. wonder who/what influences the lawmakers the most?

  you asked me what the problem was and i responded.  you bring lawmakers into it and then it becomes however you want to define "is" is.  lawmakers-morals, ethics, legality are oxymorons

[Herman Cain]

Had dinner with one of the top Brass at ESPN the other day. They are going to be very selective in the properties they bid for in the coming years. They will be more interested in deals where they can share the risks of what they can sell the advertising for. So lots of lumberjack competitions and things like that.

[warriorchick]

Had dinner with one of the top Brass at ESPN the other day. They are going to be very selective in the properties they bid for in the coming years. They will be more interested in deals where they can share the risks of what they can sell the advertising for. So lots of lumberjack competitions and things like that.

Bring back all those competitions that only got on TV during Wide World of Sports, like barrel jumping and cliff diving.

And Superstars.  Gotta bring back Superstars.

[real chili 83]

Had dinner with one of the top Brass at ESPN the other day. They are going to be very selective in the properties they bid for in the coming years. They will be more interested in deals where they can share the risks of what they can sell the advertising for. So lots of lumberjack competitions and things like that.

Do you know a guy named Chicos?

[GB Warrior]

Had dinner with one of the top Brass at ESPN the other day. They are going to be very selective in the properties they bid for in the coming years. They will be more interested in deals where they can share the risks of what they can sell the advertising for. So lots of lumberjack competitions and things like that.

This is Super insight. Really raises the Bar for other posters.

[GGGG]

without re-copying heisy's excellent points above, isn't that what i was trying to say in my comments during my back n forth with sultan and pac-man? 

If that is what you were trying to say, you didn't succeed.

[real chili 83]

Any students on here? Do any of you have a cable subscription? Just curious.

Back in the day, we didn't need cable. Our late night programming was back to back M*A*S*H episodes, followed by The Odd Couple, Hawaii 5-0, Twilight Zone, and the Rat Patrol. All brought to you by Ernie Von Schledorn. Phil Tolkan and his singing Pontiacs, and Suburpia. 

[Herman Cain]

Do you know a guy named Chicos?

No I don't know him.  But we traveled in similar circles I think based on some of his scripture over the years.

[warriorchick]

Back in the day, we didn't need cable. Our late night programming was back to back M*A*S*H episodes, followed by The Odd Couple, Hawaii 5-0, Twilight Zone, and the Rat Patrol. All brought to you by Ernie Von Schledorn. Phil Tolkan and his singing Pontiacs, and Suburpia.

That's the way it was and WE LIKED IT!

[real chili 83]

I heard rumor g graphics was a sponsor too.

[Tugg Speedman]

Had dinner with one of the top Brass at ESPN the other day. They are going to be very selective in the properties they bid for in the coming years. They will be more interested in deals where they can share the risks of what they can sell the advertising for. So lots of lumberjack competitions and things like that.

Can you explain how a cable channel with $9 to $10 billion a year in revenue thinks it will satisfy is customers expectations with this kind of programming?

[MU82]

Had dinner with one of the top Brass at ESPN the other day. They are going to be very selective in the properties they bid for in the coming years. They will be more interested in deals where they can share the risks of what they can sell the advertising for. So lots of lumberjack competitions and things like that.

Oh yeah ... well ... I had dinner with someone who watched ESPN the other day!

[GB Warrior]

Oh yeah ... well ... I had dinner with someone who watched ESPN the other day!

Based on recent events, you might be in the minority!

[Herman Cain]

Can you explain how a cable channel with $9 to $10 billion a year in revenue thinks it will satisfy is customers expectations with this kind of programming?

They have to fill 24/7/365 worth of content. They will bid on the premium product they need to retain their cachet. The remainder will be heavily biased to content payment is based on the actual ad sales. Obviously your not going to have  round the clock lumberjacks, but there will be enough product like where there is a natural TV sponsor , in the Lumberjacks example , a company like Stihl.  Triathlons sponsored by Energy products companies etc.  One of the reasons Golf is all over sports TV is not because there are lots of people who watch golf. It is because the structure of the PGA Tour is such that the tournament sponsors agree up front to buy so much ads over the course of a year.

[Tugg Speedman]

They have to fill 24/7/365 worth of content. They will bid on the premium product they need to retain their cachet. The remainder will be heavily biased to content payment is based on the actual ad sales. Obviously your not going to have  round the clock lumberjacks, but there will be enough product like where there is a natural TV sponsor , in the Lumberjacks example , a company like Stihl.  Triathlons sponsored by Energy products companies etc.  One of the reasons Golf is all over sports TV is not because there are lots of people who watch golf. It is because the structure of the PGA Tour is such that the tournament sponsors agree up front to buy so much ads over the course of a year.

What about producing more original programming (e.g., scripted dramas with sports themes, documentaries)... the idea was in The Atlantic article that I detailed?

[Herman Cain]

What about producing more original programming (e.g., scripted dramas with sports themes, documentaries)... the idea was in The Atlantic article that I detailed?

Clearly they have internal production capacity and could create sports soap operas of  some sort.  They have been good at creating product over the years.

This is really more a case of realigning their cost structure. As you point out it is still a huge company that has mega profits.

The point my friend made to me was he did not want to bid on Thursday Night Football because the numbers didn't work and we will see more of that behavior from them in the future.

[Tugg Speedman]

Clearly they have internal production capacity and could create sports soap operas of  some sort.  They have been good at creating product over the years.

This is really more a case of realigning their cost structure. As you point out it is still a huge company that has mega profits.

The point my friend made to me was he did not want to bid on Thursday Night Football because the numbers didn't work and we will see more of that behavior from them in the future.

And if we see more of the bolded part above, wouldn't we also see an acceleration of cord cutting?

As noted here many times, ESPN is the most expensive channel on cable (ESPN2 is the third most expensive).  So, one would expect the best programming from the most expensive channels.  If they bail on considering Thursday Night Football, and presumably more behavior like this, such as Monday Night Football, NBA, CBB etc. (after their current contracts expire), why wouldn't we see a wholesale cord-cutting flight from ESPN?

[Shaka Shart]

Bit late to this spectacle but it simply reminded me of a post by the legendary pftcommenter.

http://uproxx.com/ksk/cares-player-gay-1000-word-column/

(Probably not the most safe for work )

[Jockey]

Oh yeah ... well ... I had dinner with someone who watched ESPN the other day!

I'm guessing you couldn't find anyone who watched FS1.

[mu03eng]

What about producing more original programming (e.g., scripted dramas with sports themes, documentaries)... the idea was in The Atlantic article that I detailed?

So your solution to fix ESPN is to have them take on a third very expensive content development model (first being live sports production, second being sports commentary production) in a market space (Peak TV) that is already very fragmented and saturated?

It also assumes that ESPN has the appetite and strength of courage to produce good scripted TV that may offend their content providers, and if Ballers taught us anything that absolutely do not have that ability. Propaganda for the sports leagues will not be well received.

[GGGG]

I don't think ESPN has a content problem.  They have plenty of live sports to show most of the year and the good news about that content is most of it, while tied up in high fixed costs, doesn't have a great deal of marginal cost.