ESPN Layoffs

[GunnerBill]

4 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

Not really even debatable that Kiper is very likeable to his audience.   They don't watch him for.....or even care about........his success rate.  

 

Different stokes for different folks. But likeable isn't an adjective that comes to my mind for Mel.

[1onemangang7]

34 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

You think Mel is likeable? Crikey. I respect Mel and I get why he is popular because he is the original draft talking head. But I don't find him likeable in the least really.

I wouldnt say original.  A Joel Buschbaum takeoff .....

[Saxum]

4 hours ago, machine gun kelly said:

I stopped watching anything ESPN except the Manning cast, NFL Matchup, and MNF.  The rest is hot take crap and does no real analysis of football or any other sport.

 

Verizon FIOS put NFLN and ESPN on different tiers; you would think they would be on same sports tier but Verizon wanted you pay twice giving you more shopping and "reality" channels. 

 

I used to have ESPN and rarely watched it except on draft day and occasionally watching a game. In college it was my goto station at night for ESPN Countdown with Chris Berman. When Bills were going to be repeatedly on NFLN and the games were going to be usually repeated I switched tiers which actually gave me a station I watch occasionally.  

[Mr. WEO]

47 minutes ago, EasternOHBillsFan said:

 

Protecting the lives of people and taking a stand against hate and discrimination isn't an absolute disaster... it was the right thing to do.

 

That's not what Chapek did.  In fact, he was criticized for not doing enough, given Disney's massive clout. 

[machine gun kelly]

1 hour ago, Nextmanup said:

That's actually quite a lot of ESPN programming you watch! 

 

I wouldn't even THINK of turning on ESPN, for anything, other than a live sporting event I want to watch, and know is on an ESPN channel.  At this time of year, F1 motor racing is a good example.  I'll be watching (recorded) the Austrian GP tomorrow on ESPN. 

 

That's it.  Now and again big soccer matches appear on ESPN, and they have MNF....I think that's about the extent of my ESPN viewing.

 

 

I don’t see it that way in that matchup is only on during the season and MNF/Manning Cast is really the same and only when there are teams In interested in seeing.   From February to August, it literally never is on my tv.

 

Their opinion shows are just not remotely interesting to me.

[BADOLBILZ]

57 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Different stokes for different folks. But likeable isn't an adjective that comes to my mind for Mel.

 

Oh no doubt that his likability has GREATLY been driven by McShay being a humorless turd.   He tried for years to make fun of Mel and Kiper knew how to roll with it........but McShay still gets rankled at the slightest criticism.   He's that thin skinned guy who is impossible not to prod because you know he's going to have an over-sized reaction to it.   We have a few of those on here.   "Low hanging fruit" as the mods would call them.   Most of them I have to keep on ignore because they are constantly setting up irresistible punchline's.    I layoff them, so to speak.

[Einstein]

2 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

I read yours.    

 

I don’t think you did. Because I did not only mention subscribers. I also wrote that negative cash flow is to be expected with a new streaming service. Netflix hemorrhaged money for 6 years before turning a profit. 

 

You are completely wrong and digging your heels in while doing so. Hint for you - It was Iger who developed the streaming service before he retired. They brought him back because Chapek was a disaster.

 

The streaming losses were always part of the plan. Disney knew they would be in the red on the streaming side for several yearsZ It was expected. They expect to profit in 2024.

2 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

So merikin's aren't just turning their back on Disney?   We have some people on TSW who are so nestled into their little corners that they are clueless about what has broad appeal and what does not.

 

Haha, yeah. It is genuinely incredible how ignorant posters are on certain topics yet dig their heels in.

[C.Biscuit97]

22 hours ago, Buffalo619 said:

Anything Disney is as toxic as it gets.  Americans have had enough with these type of companies and will not continue to support them. Look for more layoffs and a tank in stock. 

Just say woke like your masters tell you to. 
 

disney and ESPN printed money for so long this was bound to happen. Besides live sports and PTI, there is nothing else to watch on sports networks. Basically, it’s going to be sports and people with big audiences like Stephen A (love of hate him, he draws numbers) and Pat McAfee (not sure I get his appeal but he is popular). 

2 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

You think Mel is likeable? Crikey. I respect Mel and I get why he is popular because he is the original draft talking head. But I don't find him likeable in the least really.

He also sucks at player evaluation. 

3 hours ago, KDIGGZ said:

I haven't watched ESPN in years. I see I haven't missed much 😄

This is a lie. 

[JerseyBills]

On 6/30/2023 at 2:12 PM, boyst said:

She doesn't generate clicks and revenue like Smith or other loud talking heads people like to get butthurt about

 

Gone our the days of journalism and conversation. In the ways of bias, rage, and energy to stir emotions.

 

ESPN dying is what needs to happen. 

They just couldn't keep up once social media got huge but they deserve their respect for being innovators back in the day. Already posted I can't watch them unless a game is on but I respect what they did for the sports world 

47 minutes ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

Just say woke like your masters tell you to. 
 

disney and ESPN printed money for so long this was bound to happen. Besides live sports and PTI, there is nothing else to watch on sports networks. Basically, it’s going to be sports and people with big audiences like Stephen A (love of hate him, he draws numbers) and Pat McAfee (not sure I get his appeal but he is popular). 

He also sucks at player evaluation. 

This is a lie. 

Kiper was one of , if not the only sports talking head that said Josh should go #1 but yea I agree. That was impressive It's a tough job. Most GMs suck at drafting 

[Coffeesforclosers]

Huh. Not a single former Patriots player on that list... 

[Mr. WEO]

1 hour ago, Einstein said:

 

I don’t think you did. Because I did not only mention subscribers. I also wrote that negative cash flow is to be expected with a new streaming service. Netflix hemorrhaged money for 6 years before turning a profit. 

 

You are completely wrong and digging your heels in while doing so. Hint for you - It was Iger who developed the streaming service before he retired. They brought him back because Chapek was a disaster.

 

The streaming losses were always part of the plan. Disney knew they would be in the red on the streaming side for several yearsZ It was expected. They expect to profit in 2024.

 

Haha, yeah. It is genuinely incredible how ignorant posters are on certain topics yet dig their heels in.

 

 

This is easier than you r allowing.  Netflix, the market leader, is changing it's model because it will cost too much going for the reasons already mentioned many times.  So it would be odd at best to be confident that Disney will make a lot of profit with a model that the market leader is moving away from. 

 

 

 

"Iger has said Disney had become too fixated on boosting subscriber levels during the nearly two years when Bob Chapek was running the company. Instead, it needs to refocus on profitability, retention and other metrics given the complexities of shifting away from sizable and still-lucrative linear operations."

 

Of course Iger says streaming will be profitable next year--he has to after the stock has tanked.  It's not clear how he intends to magically, in one year, turn around a business product that is losing 650 million to 1.1 billion per Q.  Hint---it won't be from streaming ESPN content.

 

Gotta love the small investor optimism, but you need to consider another investment.  Disney is scrambling while it's competitors eat popcorn.

 

Edited July 1, 2023 by Mr. WEO

[Einstein]

4 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

Gotta love the small investor optimism, but you need to consider another investment.  

 

Over $5.3M in Disney securities alone. If you want to call that small investor then show your Cap Gains sheet - I’ll wait. I’ve shown mine already.

[Chandler#81]

In other news..

 

[Mr. WEO]

2 hours ago, Einstein said:

 

Over $5.3M in Disney securities alone. If you want to call that small investor then show your Cap Gains sheet - I’ll wait. I’ve shown mine already.

 

no need to expose yourself again...

 

Strong work--you had over 7 million a year ago, when it was trading at $125.   Had you cashed out at it's peak, and went with Apple, might have made about $50k.  Way to hang in there.   

 

But, hey..maybe Bob Iger, who jumped all in on streaming after paying $71 billion for 21st Century Fox, mainly as an IP dump into Disney+.  Now, it has been widely speculated that might put Hulu on the block.

[Einstein]

32 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

Now, it has been widely speculated that might put Hulu on the block.

 

No. Disney will likely purchase the remainder of Hulu. Not sell it. Unless they purchase Netflix, in which case they will likely be forced to sell Hulu to avoid a monopoly.

 

Disney is already the largest streaming entity in the world, and will only strengthen that hold over the next decade.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

Young probably doesn't care. He hasn't look interested in doing TV work since he started.

 

Glad Kellerman is gone. He gives me anxiety just watching him. So annoying. 

 

Could care less about the rest, but kind of surprised Kolber and Rose are gone. I dont watch much basketball coverage but Jalen Rose always seemed to make sense while dumb ass Stephen A just yells at the screen. 

[chongli]

On 6/30/2023 at 6:09 PM, Nextmanup said:

How does the creepy bald guy with the glasses manage to avoid all these layoffs, and remain the face of the network?  What photographs is he in possession of?

 

 

 

I don't watch ESPN all too often, so I wasn't sure whom you were referring to at first. So, on a whim, I googled "creepy bald guy ESPN glasses", and lo and behold I got my answer, lol!

 

Reminds me of the fact he was the one who left that infamous voicemail 15 years or so for his one-time date:

 

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by chongli

[Augie]

3 hours ago, Einstein said:

 

Over $5.3M in Disney securities alone. If you want to call that small investor then show your Cap Gains sheet - I’ll wait. I’ve shown mine already.

 

Screen shot???    

 

 

😋

[djp14150]

13 hours ago, jwhit34 said:

There are several fundamental flaws in the business model for ESPN and most network sports departments:

 

1. Studio shows: With the exception of TNT's NBA show with Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, Shaq and Ernie Johnson, they are all horrible and pretty much unwatchable. Networks have loaded up these shows with ex players and coaches with bloated salaries. This would be one of the first areas I would cut. The challenge ESPN has vs. the others that just air the games is they have 24 hours of airtime to fill every day. 

 

Halftime shows are a joke. If you have a 15 minute halftime (and NFL is 12) on TV there is about 6 minutes of commercials, another 1-2 minutes cut in back to the game before the 2nd half resumes. That leaves about 4-5 minutes on NFL games, maybe 7 for the NBA or college hoops. If you have 4-5 people on the broadcast, and go around 3 times so each person gets about 20-30 seconds to make a point. Hardly in-depth analysis.

 

I'd go with showing highlights, update scores around the league and be done with it. Pre-game shows I would reduce to no more than 30 minutes and simply preview the games. 

 

2. Game commentators: Virtually no one watches a game to hear what the commentators have to say, they are watching the game. Viewers want competency, not name recognition in their broadcasters. So I'd get rid of the high-priced, high-profile no value add commentators. The other aspect of broadcast crews is the sheer number on a game. Lots of 3 person booths, sideline reporters which contribute nothing meaningful, and of course the Gene Steratores or the world deciphering officials' calls. Bloated booths have to go. You could easily go from a crew of 5 to 3 at most. 

 

The coaches/managers interviews in football, basketball and baseball are awful. Coaches hate it, they never say anything of substance. 

 

3. Simulcasts: Every game is shown on TV and there is a radio broadcast too. You end up with 3 broadcast crews: one for TV and a radio crew for each team. The stars of the game are not the broadcasters, it's the players. If I was a TV network, I would use the local radio crews for the TV feed, with the visiting team's crew doing the first half and the home team crew doing the 2nd half and any overtime. This would save a ton of money not only with the on-air talent but there has to be savings on production costs. 

 

4. "Experts": Huge overkill. Do you need both Todd McShay and Mel Kiper? Are they really any better at predicting drafts than anyone doing some modest level of research online today? I would get rid of a lot of them and instead of having a lot of these guys under contract throughout the year you could do per-diem or contract employee (1099) deals. They would become part-time employees and in addition to reducing the annual wage outlays you could eliminate benefit costs since part-timers and 1099 employees don't get benefits (and 1099 employees the company doesn't pay payroll taxes). 

 

These are major changes in the business model but when the current model is broken, you have to make major changes. 

 

 

the issue with 24/7 sports networks is the daytime ratings on M-F.

 

most fans watching games are not obsessed sports nuts.  They know there team but not much else.  Thr sports stars in the broadcast booth will attract viewers.  Just because they were a good athlete and popular star, does not make them a great tv personality or game analyst.

 

The reason they had Todd mcshay is because he manages a site they acquired. He had bern the manager of that group for a long time.  They did not hire another drsft guru as you seem to think.

 

radio announcers need to be different than tv announcers.  It’s a more descriptive format.  Nation radio gets its re ensue stream from radio affiliate fees.  Their operating expenses are covered by the radio fees.

 

nfl is very different with a true national contract. Local markets don’t have their own tv crews.  Other sports it’s different. Local teams need local crews.

 

 

From a profitability standard you could pay the crews on a show a base pay rate then a bonus tied to the ratings/ ad revenue made.

 

same with major shows like espn sports center…the anchors pay is tied to viewership/ ad revenue.

 

what has hurt espn has hurt all cable channels and newspapers and the issue of internet access and wanting to see/ read it now.

 

 

 

 

 

[The Wiz]

5 hours ago, Coffeesforclosers said:

Huh. Not a single former Patriots player on that list... 

Wonder what round they get a comp pick for not getting fired