ESPN layoffs: Ryan Clark gone and more to come | (Updated: ) Tom Pelissero expected to be out at NFL Network

[1960Pats]

Tebow has a huge following. It is almost cult like.

He wasn't much of a pro QB but he's pretty likeable.

Speaking of followers, I wonder what Christian Cat is doing these days.

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

I thought it was Clark also but after asking the question yesterday in this thread I looked it up, it was Anthony Smith.

Yes Smith, but I'm sure he is still bitter about losing every big game to the Pats the Steelers played in while he was there.

 

[1960Pats]

Not just that, I think most ex-athletes aren't that great at explaining what's going on since they come at it from being excellent at their game so at some level they think most things going on are obvious. Also, a lot of them take the "too cool for school" vibe that I find really unhelpful.

FWIW it took Brady a season to become a decent announcer, and he's got all that content on the field to react to, rather than having to carry the whole story line by himself. On top of that all he has to do is fill in those precious nanoseconds before they jump to another ad read. It's not that demanding a gig, yet it took him a year to grow into it.



Overall I like him, although I gotta say his podcast doesn't stay in my regular rotation.

Good for him for keeping multiple gigs going, it's looking pretty darn smart right about now.

I saw a video years ago of Eisen throwing a football at a target. He was among a few players and when he threw the first one it was so awful that the players were laughing and telling him to try again, just so they could laugh again. I can't find the video but it was the worst attempt at throwing a football that I've ever seen.

 

[rkarp1]

everyone has their fave and those that they hate on.
it is a business model that is squeezed to the max, making payroll one of the few overhead expenditures that can be controlled.
consolidating NFLN and ESPN was always going to include consolidating personnel.
no industry, including media, is exempt

 

[BennyBledsoe]

I haven't watched ESPN as a source of anything, entertainment or information, in about 20 years. Not at all coincidentally, that's about when Stephen A really started to become the face of the network. That's about when it all started to crumble for me. I can't stand shouting.

 

[rkarp1]

I haven't watched ESPN as a source of anything, entertainment or information, in about 20 years. Not at all coincidentally, that's about when Stephen A really started to become the face of the network. That's about when it all started to crumble for me. I can't stand shouting.

fwiw, ESPN also fired Smith in 2009, only to have him back a few years later

 

[sb1]

He wasn't much of a pro QB but he's pretty likeable.

Speaking of followers, I wonder what Christian Cat is doing these days.

I think this is her board. Doesn't look like it gets much traffic.

Home | Tim Tebow Supporters Forum

Visit our forum at: timtebowsupporters.proboards.com

timtebowsupporters.proboards.com

 

[sb1]

The Tebow wars on this board. Good times lol

Player Signing Thread 'Patriots Sign Tim Tebow'

Jun 10, 2013

No joke!

http://https://twitter.com/rapsheet/status/344198740132913152

• Calciumee
• Replies: 1,039
• Forum: PatsFans.com - Patriots Fan Forum

 

[XLIX]

He wasn't much of a pro QB but he's pretty likeable.

Tim Tebow is one of the best college QBs of the past 50 years. People always forget how good he was because he sucked in the pros.

 

[Bill Lee]

everyone has their fave and those that they hate on.
it is a business model that is squeezed to the max, making payroll one of the few overhead expenditures that can be controlled.
consolidating NFLN and ESPN was always going to include consolidating personnel.
no industry, including media, is exempt

All true, but the thing about sports is they are not necessary for survival, they are just a pass-time.

To me there's a genuine risk of over-exposure and over-exploitation.

Prices of everything starting with food then energy then housing are going crazy, and there's a point at which people will opt out, either due to lack of money or due to feeling like they are being ripped off time and time again.

A good article worth reading is linked below, here's an intro quote:

Everywhere you look in the sports world, fans feel left out. Pick your poison. Streaming deals make it increasingly cumbersome to watch all the games you want. Exorbitant ticket prices that make it impossible to actually attend in person with your family. Beloved traditions and rivalries are cast by the wayside. Expansion that nobody wants in the name of the bottom line is ever-present.​

​

Sports are more popular than ever before. But we are also reaching a breaking point where private equity dollars are becoming more valuable than paying customers. And although it seems we might currently be in a state of equilibrium, the sheer weight and volume of unpopular changes rising in the sports world is becoming a concern.​

It ends with:

As we look towards the back half of the 2020s, sports are facing an existential question that may shape the next generation. Is it for the fans, or for the billionaire class? Sports are already experiencing declining popularity among younger demographics, which should be a major canary in the coal mine for all leagues and executives. The more complex, convoluted, and expensive it is to be a sports fan, the more those younger demographics will increasingly tune out.​

​

For now, it looks like the power brokers in the industry are all going deeper into the abyss in search of whatever treasure they can find. And if they go much further, they risk leaving every sports fan behind because the revenue graph must go up and to the right at all costs.​

Sports are reaching a breaking point in the endless pursuit of cash

Nearly every recent major decision in the sports world is based on what can make the most cash, not what is best for fans.

awfulannouncing.com

The article digs into pretty much every major sport: NFL, NBA, CFB, NCAA basketball, F1 racing, the FIFA World Cup, and the Olympics too. They are all trending in the same direction, over-exposure and over-exploitation. For younger people, the juice just might not be worth the squeeze when they look at their college debt, their grocery bills, etc. As a not-young person, I certainly limit my spending to just a few streaming services, none of which I buy just to watch sports.

 

[Bill Lee]

I haven't watched ESPN as a source of anything, entertainment or information, in about 20 years. Not at all coincidentally, that's about when Stephen A really started to become the face of the network. That's about when it all started to crumble for me. I can't stand shouting.

ESPN has lost its charm a long time ago. At once point it was this spunky new network with a lot of interesting personalities expressing unique and insightful points of view. Now it's all just corporate pablum driven by click-bait artists such as SAS.

Who is there that one could say is a charming person? I don't know, I haven't had BSPN since I dropped cable a decade or so ago, and what I see of it at other places feels like it's all a manufactured product. I want genuine cheese, but instead they try to give me Cheese Whiz. It's a non-starter for me.

 

[borg]

Tim Tebow is one of the best college QBs of the past 50 years. People always forget how good he was because he sucked in the pros.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Molly Qerim flew under the radar on NFL Network only known for the host that was hit on by Terrell Davis. She initially stayed in her lane as a moderator on First Take, but she started to get louder as she got more comfortable with her tenure as host on the show. She'd single handedly derail good debates interjecting her thoughts/political beliefs where you could tell SAS, Skip and later Max were looking pretty irritated. The show became unwatchable and I'd only watch certain clips on YouTube. Comments were full of complaints about her abusing her role as moderator. Glad she's finally off the show.

 

[rkarp1]

All true, but the thing about sports is they are not necessary for survival, they are just a pass-time.

To me there's a genuine risk of over-exposure and over-exploitation.

Prices of everything starting with food then energy then housing are going crazy, and there's a point at which people will opt out, either due to lack of money or due to feeling like they are being ripped off time and time again.

A good article worth reading is linked below, here's an intro quote:

Everywhere you look in the sports world, fans feel left out. Pick your poison. Streaming deals make it increasingly cumbersome to watch all the games you want. Exorbitant ticket prices that make it impossible to actually attend in person with your family. Beloved traditions and rivalries are cast by the wayside. Expansion that nobody wants in the name of the bottom line is ever-present.​

​

Sports are more popular than ever before. But we are also reaching a breaking point where private equity dollars are becoming more valuable than paying customers. And although it seems we might currently be in a state of equilibrium, the sheer weight and volume of unpopular changes rising in the sports world is becoming a concern.​

It ends with:

As we look towards the back half of the 2020s, sports are facing an existential question that may shape the next generation. Is it for the fans, or for the billionaire class? Sports are already experiencing declining popularity among younger demographics, which should be a major canary in the coal mine for all leagues and executives. The more complex, convoluted, and expensive it is to be a sports fan, the more those younger demographics will increasingly tune out.​

​

For now, it looks like the power brokers in the industry are all going deeper into the abyss in search of whatever treasure they can find. And if they go much further, they risk leaving every sports fan behind because the revenue graph must go up and to the right at all costs.​

Sports are reaching a breaking point in the endless pursuit of cash

Nearly every recent major decision in the sports world is based on what can make the most cash, not what is best for fans.

awfulannouncing.com

The article digs into pretty much every major sport: NFL, NBA, CFB, NCAA basketball, F1 racing, the FIFA World Cup, and the Olympics too. They are all trending in the same direction, over-exposure and over-exploitation. For younger people, the juice just might not be worth the squeeze when they look at their college debt, their grocery bills, etc. As a not-young person, I certainly limit my spending to just a few streaming services, none of which I buy just to watch sports.

ESPN has lost its charm a long time ago. At once point it was this spunky new network with a lot of interesting personalities expressing unique and insightful points of view. Now it's all just corporate pablum driven by click-bait artists such as SAS.

Who is there that one could say is a charming person? I don't know, I haven't had BSPN since I dropped cable a decade or so ago, and what I see of it at other places feels like it's all a manufactured product. I want genuine cheese, but instead they try to give me Cheese Whiz. It's a non-starter for me.

yeah, once they stopped reporting on the sport/entertainment of the sport, and tried to become the entertainment, they turned off a lot of people.
from what we read, Stephen A and McAffee are profitable for them, but I have not come across a single person that can listen to either of them

 

[sb1]

Tebow to Thomas


Great stuff.

Funny how nobody whined how unfair it was that Big Ben didn't get the ball in OT, that crap only started with Kermit Mahomes when Brady punked him and his team in the AFCCG...

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

Tebow to Thomas


Great stuff.

Funny how nobody whined how unfair it was that Big Ben didn't get the ball in OT, that crap only started with Kermit Mahomes when Brady punked him and his team in the AFCCG...

So u don't like both teams getting a possession in in OT?
I wouldn't want it any other way.
The "defense gets a chance to stop them" is a weak argument.
Many NFL games, including playoff games, were and will continue to be offense dominated.
In those games is it really fair that one team doesn't get to possess the ball?
It was a great rule change.

 

[UGAPatsfan]

To me, this is just economics. ESPN doesn’t have the eyeballs it once did. Too much dilution in the market.

Pelissero surprised me more than Clarke but both will he just fine.

I actually really enjoy the Pivot and think it does pretty well financially. He shows a different side there and I like the conversations they have.

So it isn’t like he’s totally out of work.

I literally don’t remember the last time I watched anything on ESPN other than a live event broadcast.

Drastic change from the 90’s when I started and ended my day with sportscenter.

 

[BennyBledsoe]

They pay 60M to McAfee and 20M to SAS... yet balked at Clark's 2M.

Putting all their eggs in very loud baskets won't work out very well for them.

I'm just glad that this year's MNF is simulcast on ABC. Even though I know how to maneuver the free trial system to get that week's ESPN coverage, I'd rather not.

 

[ahmed]

I'm a bit skeptical.

2-3 years ago people saw the success of McAfee, the Kelce Bros, etc and were pumping money into the podcast space like drunken sailors. A lot of that was tied to the opportunities created by the newly legalized gambling situation. Now, IMO, a lot of that has really quieted down.

As an aside, my favorite podcast is Heed The Call, started almost exactly 2 years ago by two former NFL Media employees, exactly in those circumstances. Underdog wanted to transition from fantasy into gambling and thought podcasting was a great way to gain exposure. They couldn't sustain it, though. They cut loose HTC right about this time one year ago and just wound down the rest of their shows this month including FFS.

Underdog was a real blessing for them, though. They provided the seed money to get the thing started and allowed them to hire a third host and a producer, both former NFLN employees as well. Once Underdog cut them loose they had to scramble a bit, but are now using Audacy to do a lot of the behind the scenes things, in particular managing relationships with advertisers.

As for Ryan Clark, he just lost a $2M/year contract where all he had to do was show up for work. Now he's gotta either find an equivalent deal from a big-time podcast network, or he's gotta do it from the ground up by hiring a producer, probably a side kick or two since it's hard to fill all the hours on a podcast by yourself, get himself plugged into the major podcast platforms, figure out the advertising space, etc.

It could become lucrative, but it could also take quite a while for him to be clearing $2M a year once again.

Hopefully he's banked a few pay checks along the way.

He already has a large podcast/YouTube channel. The Pivot.

 

[ahmed]

Tebow has a huge following. It is almost cult like.

What do you mean by almost?