OT: Skip Bayless Leaving ESPN

NJPatsfan26 said:

ESPN will never die

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-Revis will never be a Patriot.
-Kraft will never sign a guy with a record like Randy Moss.
-The Eagles will never reunite.

Link: ESPN cuts 300 jobs as subscriber fee growth slows

Good article from October 2015 on ESPN losing subscribers as people cut the cord with cable. Their phone apps and whatnot do not generate revenue the way the monthly subscriber fees do.

Schmank You!

VectorPrime said:

ESPN's parent company Disney has done historically well over the past few years due to the MASSIVE successes of the Marvel movies and now the Star Wars movies. They are perhaps the most profitable movie company in history right now. And their company stock and overall financials are still tanking because of just how bad ESPN is doing. ESPN is f.ucked long term and its great.

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ESPN got greedy. They charge cable companies $6 per subscriber where, IIRC, the next highest charge was just under $1.50 per subscriber. Because of that greed, they're tanking and are now scrambling to find ways to remain relevant.

goheels22002 said:

Link: ESPN cuts 300 jobs as subscriber fee growth slows

Good article from October 2015 on ESPN losing subscribers as people cut the cord with cable. Their phone apps and whatnot do not generate revenue the way the monthly subscriber fees do.

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I'm proud to contribute to their demise. I cut the cord last August and haven't missed ESPN or NFLN.

JMC00 said:

Fox Sports is an immensely better presentation and production than espn and they ditched the fox sports live show a while ago.

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checked my guide....fox sports live with jay and dan

both of those guys suck!!!

AvocadoIceCream said:

Skip is too conservative and too pro Boston sports for ESPN.

Good for him. F those losers at espn

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Skip probably wants to speak his mind and not worry about being fired like Ditka and Schilling.

festy1986 said:

I love Brady and the pats but I don't support the notion that our fan base or this story sunk their ship

In fact I out right reject it.

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In fact I don't care what narrative causes the ESPN Garbage Scow to go down.

Pigs feed at the trough, hogs get slaughtered.

ESPN and NFL are heading for the slaughter, IMHO.

festy1986 said:

I love Brady and the pats but I don't support the notion that our fan base or this story sunk their ship

In fact I out right reject it.

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Not a fan base directly. It's the non fan. Cable cutters are not willing to pay the ESPN channel rate which is killing the otherwise profitable Disney stock.

Disney's cable channels lose millions of subscribers

Edit: posted wrong link.

festy1986 said:

Read last night that trico is heading to nbc

I don't know alot but as the world wide leader and owned by Disney, I can't imagine how or why they are so low on money.

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ESPN is a huge chunk of Disney's value (I believe approx 40%). ESPN's outlays just for NFL, NBA and NCAA means ESPN needs to make a HUGE amount of revenue to cover the annual costs of the contract. Doesn't matter if Disney has extreme valuation and extreme levels of revenue if costs outstrip revenue. Disney has investors, Disney investors expect specific NP/share price stability and growth, and if Disney investors get nervous when revenue/NP ebbs then Disney ivory tower dwellers get nervous. When the ivory tower dwellers get nervous then people within the ranks should definitely feel nervous too -- including those just outside the ivory tower but are pulling down substantial salary. Their massive revenue is not going to change that reality.

The writing was on the wall with dwindling sub number announcements. ESPN is the most expensive channel on cable/sat packages and these sub fees are somewhere around half of ESPN's revenue. You can bet money that cable/sat companies want to push ESPN aside for some packages and offer the lower cost to new subs and/or make ESPN take less per sub. ESPN absolutely counts on their channel being on every package and get those captive sub fees. Due to that ESPN's revenue is almost certain to be going in the wrong direction with little they can do about it (unless they come up with new and very effective revenue generating ways).
Every ESPN sub fee that is lost means one tiny bit of justice occurs. And I'd be shocked if the next announcement on sub numbers doesn't equal hundreds of thousands of tiny bits of justice taking place.....and thankfully, I suspect, there is nothing ESPN and Disney can do about it.

Froob said:

I think they overall lost a lot of credibility.

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I doubt credibility is part of the equation. If it was media would be a loser across the board.
This is about hard numbers, business model, regulation specifics. ESPN's business model is based heavily on captive sub fees. They make significant $$$ even from people who don't even like sports. Any one who subs to a cable/sat package that includes ESPN indirectly pays ESPN something like 5$ per month (which is several hundred percent more than virtually every channel that requires a sub fee). When you turn the channel on ESPN you still are paying them - you just are causing ad revenue to drop (well if you are between age 16-44. Those outside that age are considered too easily reached to pay a premium for).

I suspect that gravy train is slowing down and will continue to slow down for ESPN. ESPN will actually have to base revenue more and more on organic viewer growth(equaling ad revenue) versus captive fees. But if a gov more susceptible to encouraging unbundling regulation comes to power it will be D Day for ESPN. You won't hear a bigger thud then the one at ESPN if unbundling is opened up widely. The shake up at ESPN would be big (and sweet).

IcyPatriot said:

How the frig he could work with that douchebag blowhard Stephen A. all this time is amazing.

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I hated both of them. The only douchebag on the same level as Stephen A. was Skip.

Skip was always hollow to me. He never really said what he meant. He only said what would inspire vitriol and rage. He was the epitome of an internet troll on TV.

Or maybe he was always honest, and a total ****ing moron. What else inspires **** like this?



I ****ing hate when he predicts we will win. It's like the kiss of death. Not only did he take the Redskins and the Bengals, he also took us and the Cardinals over the Panthers. Then took the Panthers over the Broncos.

Maybe football's not his thing. What about basketball? LeBron had 39 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists on the road in a game 2 win in the NBA finals last year. Skip Bayless's grade on his performance? C+.

Just a total moron. I wish him and Stephen A. would pull a Thelma and Louise and drive off the cliff. What a terrible waste of oxygen.

Look, idon't want this to sound like it's my answer for everything but Skip should have just doused himself in lighter fluid and...............

Well, you know the drill.



Better yet he could have surprised Stephen A and said " You don't want to make me mad.......... " and then doused both of them in lighter fluid and whoosh, up in flames they both go.

That would be hilarious.

Imagine the look on Stephen A'$ face when he realized he was going to that great big BBQ joint in the sky?

Priceless

Troy Aikman sounds off on Fox signing Skip Bayless

He waited 20 years to go public how he felt about Bayless - it's kind of like Brady biting his tongue about Goodell. Can you imagine Aikman and Bayless at the company Christmas party?

RecoveringCowboy said:

Troy Aikman sounds off on Fox signing Skip Bayless

He waited 20 years to go public how he felt about Bayless - it's kind of like Brady biting his tongue about Goodell. Can you imagine Aikman and Bayless at the company Christmas party?

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As time goes on Aikman is becoming a real a-hole.

His beef goes back to when Bayless was at the Dallas Morning News.

Bashing Bayless in public makes Aikman look catty

Who?

So Bayless throws out that he thinks Aikmen is gay without evidence and Aikmen is pissed.

Aikmen throws out that he he thinks Brady deflated footballs without any evidence and....?

Sounds like he got a piece of his own medicine.

Tony2046 said:

So Bayless throws out that he thinks Aikmen is gay without evidence and Aikmen is pissed.

Aikmen throws out that he he thinks Brady deflated footballs without any evidence and....?

Sounds like he got a piece of his own medicine.

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Did he do that? Don't remember reading that...Link?

Off The Grid said:

Did he do that? Don't remember reading that...Link?

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Go up four posts.

I was referring to the allegation of Aikman ****ting on Brady.

Aikman was a TOTAL ass about the whole deflate gate thing! great
for all the comments he made he might as well have said "Brady is guilty and should never be allowed to play in league again". that's how big of a deal he made of it.
I hope Skip responds to him in a very negative way.