ESPN Loses 621,000 Subscribers

[scott715]

http://www.outkickthecoverage.com/espn- ... ory-102916

[scott715]

Fox is also struggling.

FOX network's national PAC12 broadcasts down BIG in 2016:
Through Week 8:
http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/college ... v-ratings/
Wash/Oregon 1.837M
BYU/Utah 1.693M
ASU/USC 1.459M
Utah/UCLA 1.368M
USC/Zona 0.871M
7.228M TOTAL
or
1.445M per game.

2015
http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/college ... ratings/2/
Through Week 8:
Utah/USC 3.344M
Utah/Oregon 2.975M
ASU/UCLA 2.162M
8.481M TOTAL
or
2.827M per game

BamaCoug
http://www.cougarboard.com/board/messag ... d=16822248

[dsmith1212]

Interesting that the second highest rating this year, and the only one of the top five not involving two P12 schools, is BYU/Utah. I assume that sends a good message for BYU.

[Gunk]

People just aren't shelling out for cable anymore. I dropped mine since moving two years ago. I thought life would end, but I've been just fine. For the big games, I find someone to watch the game with.

[Cougarfan87]

People just aren't shelling out for cable anymore. I dropped mine since moving two years ago. I thought life would end, but I've been just fine. For the big games, I find someone to watch the game with.

Ditto. I dropped mine years ago. The $84 a month then went to things like gymnastics and karate lessons. I've been fine. If anything, it has helped me watch less TV, but when I really want to, there is always something entertaining to watch. Netflix, Amazon Prime (because my wife shops a ton on Amazon), and the BYU channel, together with Sling for ESPN, makes a big difference ($34 vs. $84 dollars a month and half the year is only $14 a month when I drop Sling after football season).

I can't wait to see what happens to the glut of TV money conferences are used to when contracts have to be negotiated. Maybe they give a per team value to show what their conference is really worth. That would open some eyes.

[hawkwing]

The problem with cord cutting is that sooner or later you're going to run out of other people you can watch sports with. Right now I don't know a single person who can reliably get every sporting event that even a basic cable subscription allows on their own. It's always, "Oh, my parents give me their comcast login so I can stream that," or "I go watch this at my neighbors house," etc.

I'm very much considering dropping my DirecTV subscription when my contract ends, but that means that many of the away games that I host will no longer be available.

[snoscythe]

I wonder how that number correlates to viewership on the WatchESPN platform. My guess is that they have the same number (or more) eyes watching, but the masses are moving away from buffet services like Comcast and DirecTV and to a'la carte services.

How long until we see a standalone WatchESPN subscription offer?

[billbillbillbill]

How long until we see a standalone WatchESPN subscription offer?

I have to assume that day is rapidly coming. I might be willing to pay $8 a month for unfettered ESPN access but I would definitely be willing to pay $15 a month for all the Disney umbrella network streaming for the whole family (ABC, Disney Jr, ESPN etc).

[byufan4ever]

I dropped my $89 Direct TV for $35 Playstation Vue with no contract. I get virtually all the sports I can handle with the upcoming game against Cincinnati being a rare exception from the past 2 years...

[Sammich]

Nielsen ratings are a joke these days, they do not reflect viewing habits accurately at all. Unfortunately, they are still being used by media executives to make decisions.

We've used Sling TV this year and I will never go back to cable.