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Espn Case Study Analysis

Decent Essays
To what extent are ESPN subscribers committed to the ESPN network and brand compared to on the air talent on the network?
It’s no secret that ESPN has lost a multitude of popular sports broadcasters over the last few years. Many have joined FOX Sports, after being unable to come to terms with ESPN’s contract deals. These personalities include big names such as, Colin Cowherd, Jason Whitlock, Skip Bayless, Shannon Spake and Chris Broussard. Although moving forward without these reporters will save the company money, one must consider how these transitions are impacting ESPN’s viewership. Colin Cowherd was with ESPN radio since 2003 until Fox Sports outbid ESPN in a $6 million deal. Skip Bayless also decided to jump ship this past April. According to Forbes, Bayless signed a $26 million deal which included $5 million annually and a $4 million bonus. Bayless teamed up with
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addressed the articles that claimed ESPN being a dying ship. He went on to say “yes” ESPN has cut some employees, employees have left, and the ratings have gone down but so has their competitors’. He elaborated, ESPN has made $5.9 billion in the third quarter and the ratings are in the millions while Fox Sports 1 ratings are in the high hundreds of thousands. He went on to mention Fox Sports’ Jamie Horowitz, who bashes his former employer, ESPN, every chance he gets. Pelt says Horowitz shouldn't be saying ESPN numbers are low when Cowherd and Jason Whitlock show “Speak for Yourself,” on FS1 received 50,000 viewers (Washingtonpost).
I had spoken to sociologist Pierre Saint-Pierre, who mentioned that people can’t afford cable anymore. This is the main reason why subscriptions for ESPN has decreased. Due to their current cable systems contracts, ESPN can’t do what WWE did, which was: create their own video streaming service network. Some people may be willing to purchase an ESPN-only service, but at what
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