Sports Media Exam 2
Real problem? Maybe it just costs too much
- The next highest is TNT at $1.48. • Currently ESPN costs $7.21 a month. ESPN family channels is $9.06 (ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNU, SEC network)
Three main characters in Penn State scandal...
Joe Paterno, Jerry Sandusky and Sara Ganim
Worldwide leader in sports? ESPN
o "Other networks need to create hits. We don't. We are a destination network... people tune into ESPN without even knowing what's going on" o They've spent a LOT of money for broadcast rights: billions for NFL and NBA, millions for MLB, College football playoffs, SEC, ACC, Rose Bowl and MLS
Not all of ESPN is thrilled
o ..."America is turning against Lonzo BECAUSE of LaVar" o Spots nation doesn't want him on the show o Embarrassing how much ESPN shows him
Wasn't always this way
o 1982: CBS pays $49.9 million for 3 years of March Madness exclusivity o 2010: CBS/Turner pays $10.8 billion for 12 years of March Madness o 4,718% increase per year from 1982 to 2010
League partnership with the NFL
o 2011: ESPN signed a $15 billion deal with NFL o ESPN needs the NFL to do well ♣ Concussion reporting ♣ DEFLATEGATE coverage ♣ Rarely does ESPN show NFL poorly
Mike Webster
o A center for the Pittsburgh Steelers, #52 o Won four super bowls o Played nine pro bowls o Pro football hall of fame o Unfortunately, he now is best known as the first former player diagnosed with CTE
"Ball in the Family"
o A reality show featuring the Ball family o Produced by same company that does KUWTK o It's a Facebook show
Trailer #1 for Frontline/League of Denial
o At the press conference announcing the partnership between ESPN and PBS, the Frontline staff showed a trailer depicting players and such o John Skipper, ESPN President: ♣ He found the trailer to be "sensational" ♣ He particularly objected to the tagline "get ready to change the way you see the game" ♣ Also, he objected to neuropathologist Ann McKee: "I'm really wondering if every single football player doesn't have this" ♣ Skipper said he found that comment to be "over the top"
Super bowl advertising
o Average cost of 30-second super bowl ad o 1967: $42,000 o 2016: $5 million o Most expensive super bowl commercial ever: aired in 2011, paid $12.4 million (it was a 2-minute commercial) ♣ Chrysler 200 featuring Eminem ♣ Eminem had never licensed "Lose Yourself" till that commercial ♣ Gave it to Chrysler to "20% of what they could have got" ♣ NFL hadn't allowed two-minute ads, establishing a limit of 90 seconds ♣ 18.1 million views on Youtube as of last Friday
Why are they DOING THIS??? (Lavar and the media)
o Ball creates content by saying controversial, outlandish things. ESPN has 24 hours to fill, 365 days a year. • Ball = Ratings o Fox Sports once gave LaVar Ball eight TV appearances, tweeted about him 105 times in 2 months o ESPN had him on First Take, Sports Nation and SportsCenter o First Take appearance resulted in the most tweets ever about the Ball family • 2017 NBA Draft o With coverage focused on the Ball family both before and during the draft, ratings for the NBA draft were up 13% from the previous year o "LaVar Ball was sent to the networks from Media Heaven" tweet
Questioning Lavar's Parenting
o Before this school year, LaVar removed the youngest son, LaMelo from high school o Will instead home school him and train LaMelo himself o That might not be the reason... o A few weeks earlier, LaVar debuted a signature sneaker for the junior in HS ♣ Melo Ball 1 shoe o If the youngest Ball gets paid for these sneakers ($395), then he's likely ineligible o Nike marketing director: "LaVar is the worst thing to happen to baskeball in the last 100 yers"
Media deals gone wrong - Big Ten Network
o Big Ten Network: started in 2007, first game was App State at Michigan ♣ One of the biggest upsets in college football history ♣ But very few people saw it - major networks in the Big 10 area like Charter and Comcast didn't carry the Big 10 network. The only provider that did was DirecTV (which not many people had then)
Finally, a photo goes viral
o Biggest STORY (not just sports story) in the US o Almost every media outlet is covering it ♣ SI, NYT, all big sports media operations... ♣ ...except one
15 minutes later
o Bob Costas only had 15 minutes to prepare for the inverview o "Are you sexually attracted to young boys?" o "...I enjoy young people. I love to be around them. But no."
Big issues in sports media biz (competition and new media tech)
o Competition among sports media outlets -> higher media rights ♣ When does the bubble burst? (when do people say enough is enough? I don't want to pay for this!) o Increasing amount of sports program = decrease in ratings = decrease in advertising revenue o New media technologies ♣ Pirating of sports programming online ♣ How can media make money from social media?
USA Today
o Created a separate webstie: lonzowire.com o "Think of Lonzo Wire as one-stop shopping for all things Ball." o No matter how much people complain about the oversaturation of the Ball family, people will keep clicking" -USA Today's hypothesis
Jerry Sandusky
o Defensive Coordinator at Penn State o 1977-1999 o National "Assistant Coach of the Year" 1986 and 1999 o 1977, he founded The Second Mile ♣ Nonprofit charity aimed at serving underprivileged and at-risk youth ♣ After retirement, he continued The Second Mile, while still having an office at Penn State
Can we trust ESPN when they report on the NFL?
o Documentary was ESPN's opportunity to be part of something that would have been very critical of their biggest business partner o And they backed out o Who is the messenger? (ESPN's version of the NFL...)
What happened afterwards?
o Documentary won a Peabody Award ♣ Public service by a TV station o Concussion movie: Will Smith plays Bennet Omalu o ESPN gets back into the concussion game (quietly)
SEC Network
o ESPN needs the SEC to be good o ESPN needs SEC teams to be a big deal o So they've been accused of playing favorites o ...and ESPN gets a little defensive
Where our story begins: Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru
o ESPN reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru begin to write a book about concussions and the NFL o Project evolves into more than just a book o ESPN and PBS decide to work collaboratively on a complementary documentary film The book and film focus on Mike Webster
The latest on ESPN's concussion research
o ESPN reports that NFL's supposed studies on CTE are focused on jockeys, not football players, and has only done one study
Bill and Scott Rasmussen/ESP
o Father and son o "Entertainment and Sports Programming Network" - called ESP • Goal of ESP o Covering Connecticut sports only ♣ Hartford Whalers ♣ Bristol Red Sox ♣ Connecticut Huskies • Their idea wasn't going to work o Found out it was cheaper to send their network to the entire country if they bought a satellite • Getty Oil invested o Early majority owner o Anheuser-Busch first big sponsor
Local Reaction
o Football at Penn State was a religion o Stadium seats over 100,000 fans o Third largest in the world o In 2007: 22,000 student tickets sold out in 59 minutes o In 2008: tickets allotted for juniors sold out in 90 seconds o Safe to say that loyal fans didn't have much interest in hearing bad things about their school and team
Lavar Ball - who is he?
o Former college basketball and football player o Was practice squad member for NY Jets and Carolina Panthers o Never actually played in a game o Former Panthers when talking about Ball: "I don't remember him at all" and "Are you sure he isn't making this up?" • He's the father of three very good basketball players o Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo
Lavar Ball is everywhere (video game, wrestling, trading cards)
o He's a featured character in the video game NBA2K18 o Appeared on WWE's Monday Night Raw o Signed a deal with a trading card company to sell 200 signed cards for $59.95 each o Sold out in 45 seconds
ESPN loves the concussion book though
o Heavily promotes it o Excerpt of the book on ESPN.com o A story about book on ESPN.com o Authors do an 8-minute interview on SportsCenter o Authors do a radio interview with Colin Cowherd on ESPN radio o Authors appear on Outisde the Lines o Mark FW and Steve F work for espn (?) o The authors sort of call out ESPN though online for being in the pocket of the NFL
Joe Paterno
o Hired in 1966 o All-time winningest coach in D1 history o Two national championships o 1986 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year o Credited with running a "clean" program o He and his wife Sue have contributed over $4 mil to Penn State o The library is named after him
NFL and concussions - 1994
o In 1994, the NFL begins to look into concussions ♣ Specifically, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) o Commissioner Paul Tagliabue approved the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI) Committee ♣ Goal is to study the effects of concussions and sub0-concussive injury in NFL players ♣ A rheumatologist chairs the committee - they study joints and tissues • NFL: "no long-term negative health consequences" associated with concussions sustained by NFL players o From NFL-sponsored MTBI committee o "Returning to play after concussion... isn't bad"
Not the first time ESPN had quit something because of NFL...
o In 2003, ESPN aired a show called Playmakers - a scripted show about a fictional football team o Topics included drugs, sex, domestic violence and gay players o The NFL was NOT happy o The league's commissioner called Disney's president asking him to cancel the show o Playmakers was canceled after 1 season despite high ratings
ESPN's big concussion story
o In 2015, 24-year-old Chris Borland retires o He had a very good rookie season with 49ers o After just one season in the NFL: "from what I researched and experienced, I don't think it's worth the risk" o ESPN breaks this story o "Why former 49er Chris Borland is the most dangerous man in football" (because he could take down the NFL)
Big Baller Brand
o In addition to promoting his sons, Ball is also promoting Big Baller Brand (BBB) o It's a clothing/sneaker company started by LaVar o First shoe called ZO2 is Lonzo's signature sneaker, costing $495 o LaVar: "if you can't afford them, you're not a big baller"
Gone wrong: LA Dodgers
o LA Dodgers TV deal ♣ Time warner agrees to a 25-game, $8.3 billion dollar deal with Dodgers to show games on "SportsNet LA" ♣ Time warner is almost like the middle man • They pay the Dodgers • They charge customers more money • Everyone makes a profit • SportsNet LA demanded $4.90 per month from subscribers • DirecTV and all other cable companies refused • Only Time Warner customers get the games o Now Spectrum • But, Time Warner wasn't popular in LA • 70% of the LA area couldn't see the Dodgers games in 2015 - 2018 • Is a bigger issue now because they're good
Meanwhile, the Ball children...
o Lonzo is drafted #2 overall to the Lakers o LiAngelo enrolls at UCLA to play basketball o LaMelo is a high school junior commits to UCLA o "Ball in the Family" debuts on Facebook Watch on Aug. 29, 2017 o The first episode was viewed by more than 26 mil people o In season 3 now
That doesn't stop the media (national and international) from spending billions
o NBC (Comcast) pays $4.38 billion for US media rights to Olympics 2014-2020 o International media rights ♣ Bundesliga in Germany: $867 million per season ♣ Premiere League in England: $1.6 billion per year ♣ Real Madrid CF (2011/2012): $664 million in revenue from media
Lonzo Ball
o National Freshman of the Year o Can he be the next great superstar? Well, his dad thinks so. o Can he be as good as Steph Curry? ♣ Arguably one of the 5 best players in NBA ♣ A two-time MVP (first ever unanimous) ♣ Five time all star ♣ And so on... ♣ His dad: "He won't be as good as Steph, he'll be better"
Baseball tv money
o National contracts with ESPN, Fox and Turner: o $1.55 billion per year starting in 2014 o Up from $755 million o Local tv deals: ♣ Each team has own individual deal ♣ Dodgers get $204 million per year ♣ Rays get $20 million per year
Sports media are big business: predicted future revenue issue and what that means
o Near future: revenue from selling of media rights is projected to surpass the revenue generated from ticket sales o What does that mean? ♣ TV ratings are really important ♣ The fan at home is more important than the fan in the stadium o NCAA: TV and marketing rights fees make up more than 80% of the revenue in the NCAA
Media Fascination
o No matter what he talks about, LaVar is a media senation o It seems like the media is more interested in him than his sons o "Dad" is bigger celeb than "son"
Priorities
o No response to President being fired o Shock when Paterno is gone o First question: who will coach the team on Saturday? o This is not a normal press conference o These people are not reporters. Or are they??? o PR: how many things are wrong?
Grand Jury report released
o November 4, 2011: Pennsylvania attorney general indicted Sandusky on 40 counts of sex crimes against young boys o Arrested the next day o A photo of Sandusky arrested and wearing handcuffs is taken o This photo does it
Story moves on without ESPN
o October 8, 2013 o The two-hour show airs on PBS o ESPN: "we don't have much say over this (no editorial control) so we want to not be part of it anymore" o Headline: "NFL pressure said to lead ESPN to Quit Film Project"
PBS/ESPN: documentary, then no documentary
o PBS portion would air on Frontline o ESPN portion would air on Outside the Lines o Set to air in October 2013 • Suddenly no more o Less than 2 months before it's set to air, ESPN pulls out of the project
How does media make money?
o Print/web ♣ Subscribers/newsstand buyers - consumer paying for content ♣ Advertisers - paying for right to expose product to consumers ♣ Higher circulation products obviously demand more advertising $ for the right to reach more potential customers o Broadcast ♣ Cable: subscriptions (portion of cable bill), advertising (more profit for cheaper production programming, i.e. reality shows), more $ for higher rated shows o Subscriptions ♣ SEC Network: $1.30 of cable bill in SEC states; rest is .25 cents o Advertising ♣ Print: circulation ♣ Web: page views ♣ Broadcast: ratings
Teams themselves getting in on media
o Red Sox created "Fenway Sports Group" ♣ They own... ♣ Boston Red Sox ♣ Fenway Park ♣ Liverpool Soccer Club ♣ 50% of Roush-Fenway Racing in NASCAR ♣ 80% of NESN (New England sports network on tv) which allows them to get advertising revenue ♣ Not just a team, but a media business o While media deals are often a great source of revenue for teams and leagues, they are not foolproof
Broadcasting rights
o Rights and contracts limit who can show footage of the sporting event o If you have broadcasting rights, that means no one else can show it o Fox and Turner pay millions for MLB; CBS and FOX pay billions and NBC pays millions for NFL games, and ESPN/ABC and Tuner (TBS) pay billions for NBA
League of Denial - NFL Big Hits
o Since the early days, the NFL has been known for their big hits and violence o And they didn't shy away from it o "100 Greatest Players of All Time" -#10 = Dick Butkus (a man known for big hits) o ESPN had entire segments dedicated to big hits
Sports Parents
o Some parents are supportive in the wrong way o "LaVar Ball is the worst sports parent ever" - article title
Why do networks want to be involved in sports?
o Sports are DVR-proof o People like to watch sports live o 98% of sports events on TV are watched live Advertisers like that: can count on the audience; no skipping commercials
ESPN doesn't cover it (to begin with - takes 3 days Sat-Tues)
o Story broke on a Saturday o ESPN didn't start covering it until Tuesday o They did do one story on Monday, but the headline was "How does PSU scandal affect recruiting?"
Students protest
o Students are furious that Paterno is fired o 10,000 people protest o Filp over a news van o Cause $200,000 worth of damage o Police tear gas to break up crowd o 47 people arrested o On November 14 (five day slater), Bob Costas is set to interview Sanduskys lawyer on NBC o Just before they're about to start taping, the lawyer says he can get Sandusky himself on the phone
Bennett Omalu
o The autopsy results following player suicides heightened existing concerns regarding the connection between player deaths and concussions o One specific case: neuropathologist Bennett Omalu identified CTE in the autopsy former player Mike Webster (former Steelers center #52 who died of a heart attack at age 50 and had bad health previous to that). First former player diagnosed with CTE.
Paterno fired
o The school holds a "press conference" to announce Paterno has fired o Attended by many people who are not journalists o So, it's not a typical press conference o Press conference is 22 minutes long ♣ Edited down for class Pay close attention to the reactions to the two firings and the first question asked
Sandusky Investigated
o This is a huge story. But you can't report on that one tip o She interviewed 24 more people. ♣ Knocked on doors ♣ Made tough phone calls ♣ Several dead ends o TWO years later ♣ March 31, 2011 ♣ "Penn State football legend Jerry Sandusky is the subject of a grand jury investigation into allegations that he indecently assaulted a teenage boy" ♣ Testimony has been going on for 18 months, and it took her that long to get a second source to speak on it. People loved Sandusky. o Article also reported ♣ A previously hidden 1998 police report of Sandsusky showering with a 12 y/o in the Penn State locker room ♣ Boy's mom said she ws instructed by state police not to speak with a reporter ♣ Article implies this is not an isolated incident He did things with children from the charity
The media fascination isn't a new trend...
o This isn't a new trend o Media loves stars and big personalities o Tim Tebow, Colin Kaepernick, Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong... o Who's to blame for the attention on LaVar Ball? Well, the media. o First Take confirms that (even though they basically helped "create" LaVar) o Media members are thinking "What have we done?"
ESPN experts on PSU
o Tuesday morning, PSU cancels a press conference o ESPN brings on college football analyst Matt Millen to discuss the topic o Good idea... wrong guy. o Millen went to PSU and played for Paterno. He's on the board for Sandusky's Second Mile charity o Gets choked up... but says "if in fact it has happened"
Sara Ganim
o Was a 22-year-old crime reporter for The Patriot News o Newspaper in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania o A Penn State grad o In 2009, Ganim asked her source at the police station: "anything else going on?" o The source replied, "yeah actually a boy just came forward to the police and alleged sex crimes against Jerry Sandusky."
A great summary on ThinkProgress
o When a network shells out more than a billion dollars for broadcast rights and when broadcasting rights become a major driver of profits, quality journalism can be the element of that balance that is easy to sacrifice
Nationally... silence
o While local media is reporting on the story, the national media wasn't o "We were prepared for an onslaught..." o AP rewrote the story o Most newspapers and TV stations ignored the AP story
Meanwhile at PSU
o While the media is catching up, things are falling apart at penn state o What did paterno know? Why didn't anyone say anything? o Nov. 8: Paterno announces he will retire at end of the season o Nov. 9: school president is told to quit or get fired ♣ He quits o That same night, Paterno is fired.
No entity contributes more to the NCAA than...
the media
The NFL Draft
• 1980: ESPN is first to broadcast NFL draft - from 8 am to 8 pm • George Grande (first SportsCenter host): we all realized this was the start of something, a major step for us • Chet Simmons (TV exec for ESPN): the draft put us in business with the NFL, and that was huge
Ownership changes: ABC, Walt Disney
• 1984: ABC buys ESPN from Getty Oil • 1996: Walt Disney Co. buys ABC • Feb 2008: ESPN worth more than 40% of Disney's entire value
2003/2005: Independent doctors look at concussions
• 2003: Independent doctors o A connection between numerous concussions and depression among former professional football players o 2005: Associated both brain impairment and Alzheimer's disease with retired NFL players who had histories of concussions
Mobile ESPN
• 2006 - ESPN starts their own cell phone service • The phone costs $300 o 65-255 per month for content • Spent 150 million o Including 30 million on a Super Bowl ad • "Your phone is the dumbest f****** idea I have ever heard" - Steve Jobs • Ditched the project in less than a year
League Partnerships
• 2011: ESPN signs a $15 billion deal with the NFL • ESPN needs the NFL to do well o Concussion reporting o "Deflategate" coverage o Rarely does ESPN show the NFL poorly • NHL on NBC Sports Network o If we were a rights holder, there would be more attention paid to it -ESPN So... is this a problem? Do we think ESPN's relationships with various leagues and teams impact coverage?
Already spent a lot of money
• A problem with having less income is that eSPN has already agreed to spend money • 15.2 billion to NFL • 12 billion to NBA • 7.3 billion for college football playoffs • 6 billion to SEC • 5.3 billion to MLB • 4.8 billion to ACC • 1 billion to Big Ten • Plus: The Masters, MLS, US Open, Wimbledon, Pac-12 and Indy Car • ESPN can't get out of these deals
Not everything is great at ESPN though...
• Business failures • Cozy relationshiops with leagues • Lack of journalism • "Embrace debate" • Personalities behaving badly • People unsubscribing
What's ESPN's biggest problem?
• But what's the biggest issue facing ESPN? o Cord cutters - people getting rid of cable o In the last 5 years, ESPN has lost 11,346,000 subscribers
SportsCenter on Snapchat
• Debut in November 2017 • New shows availale twice a day at 5 am and 5 pm on weekdays, and once at 5 am on weekends • Three to 5 minutes in length • Include a mix of the latest sports news, highlights and commentary • From January 2018: the snapchat sportscenter show is getting more than 2 million unique visitors per day and according to espn 75% of viewers are between the ages of 13 and 24
30 for 30
• Documentary films o First created to celebrate ESPN's 30th anniversary: 30 films for 30 years o As of September 2017, there are now 156 films ♣ Shorts, soccer stories, IX for IX, audio podcast
Early struggles: Anheuser-Busch and live sports issues
• EPSN had lots of money problems • Anheuser-Busch gave them 1 million in 1980 and an additional 5 million in 1981 • Vice President and Director of Marketing Michael Roarty: ESPN would have been out of business without us Didn't show a lot of sports live • Much of their content was tape delayed • But, wasn't a problem because in the 70s and 80s there was no internet
Increasing influence
• ESPN is in approximately 86 million homes • College football national championship • NFL wild card playoff • College basketball conference tournaments • Grand slam tennis • Mlb playoffs • Nba playoffs • Euro 2016 • Home run derby • X-Games • World series of poker • E-sports • Crossfit games • Cricket
Business failures
• ESPN mobile • ESPN 3D o June 2010-Sept 2013 o "limited viewer adoption of 3D services" • Grantland o 2011-2015 o Founder/editor Bill Simmons o "artistic success," but not "close to making money" • Longhorn Network
What does the future hold for ESPN?
• ESPN streaming service is here • Will allow consumers to pay for some of ESPN's content without buying a larger cable or satellite package • Trying to draw back in cord cutters • First step in trying to save business model • If that doesn't work... who knows what'll happen
Streaming
• ESPN+ streaming launched in April 2018 • Good: you can watch some of the ESPN programming without needing a cable subscription. Plus, new programming. • Bad: you can't watch the full ESPN channels. • Really not good: can't watch full games that are on the network • But, it's hit over 1 million paid subscribers in 5 months
You may not like it, but you're watching it (viewing stats from Jan 2018)
• From January 2018 • ESPN has been number one in cable for the last 4.5 years among o Men 18-34 o Men 18-49 o Men 25-54 • Viewership of live sports on ESPN was among the top of any network
ESPN: the early years
• From Rabbit Ears to cable tv o History of TV ♣ Only a few channels ♣ None were 24 hours o Invention of cable ♣ Designed to get TV to remote areas ♣ Or areas blocked by mountains/buildings
Alyssa Lang
• Graduated 2015 Journalism career: SGTV at USC (capital city sports), small newspaper internship, got internship at WLTX, started a Saturday morning show with them, weekend sports anchor during senior year of college, then ended up in Jacksonville (covering the Jags). Now at SEC Network in Charlotte. Was on College Football Daily at ESPN U for her rap in college and got the SEC network job because of that. -Works on Thinking Out Loud, SEC Featured and SEC Now -Helps with Panthers coverage at NBC affiliate in Charlotte
2015 CBS article
• In 2015, CBS Sports wrote a feature story about the family o It's the first national exposure for the family • Oldest son, Lonzo is a Freshman at UCLA in November 2016 o Fifth game of the year, they interview his dad during the game who said they're going to win the national championship o They did not win it lmao
Layoffs
• In order to save money, ESPN istututed layoffs • Late 2015, ESPN laid off more than 300 employees. Mostly executives • April 2017: ESPN laid off another 100 employees, mostly on-air talent
Longhorn Network
• Longhorn Network o 24-hour coverage of University of Texas sports o ESPN pays Texas an average minimum of $15 million/year • Problem: not many people watching LN o 6.5 million subscribers in Texas (29 cents/month) o 13.5 million subscribers outside of Texas (2 cents/month) o A total of 3.2 million dollars/year o MATH: if espn is paying 15 million and only getting 3.2 million... o Also, isn't this a conflict of interest? o ESPN has a financial interest in success of Texas o "...for every story ESPN does on Texas and its opponents..."
First big sport and a little luck
• March 1979: 7 months before broadcast • ESPN agrees to an agreement with NCAA • Will broadcast 18 different NCAA sports for 2 years • Less than 2 weeks after signing, ESPN gets lucky o 1979: NCAA Title game "Magic vs Bird" - 24 million viewers on NBC. People love sports! o ESPN launches September 7, at 7 pm. SportsCenter becomes the main attraction.
Loss in journalism
• More Tebow = less of other sports/stories • Something has to give • Is that "something" journalism?
No more amateur hour for ESPN
• NBA games shown on ESPN • First major professional league on ESPN o From 1982 to 1984 o 40 regular season games o 10 playoff games o 10 playoff contests o games aired primarily on Sunday nights • USFL, MLB, and NHL sign deals with ESPN
The turning point for ESPN: the NFL
• Nine Sunday night games • Two exhibition games • Pro bowl • Three year deal, $153 million • Led to 700,000 new subscribers o 45 million homes o biggest channel on cable Brand Expansion: espn, espn2, espn news, espn u, espn classic, espn deportes...
"Liberal bias"
• One possibility: o May think ESPN has a liberal bias o Coverage leans pro-Kaepernick o "Courage" award given to Caitlyn Jenner o Doubtful this is the reason for subscriber loss though
"Embrace Debate"
• Pardon the Interruption, then... • Around the Horn, His and Hers, Highly Questionable, Sports Nation, First Take • Stephen A. Smith - blaming woman for Ray Rice abuse, says women shouldn't provoke o ESPN people don't love it o But, First Take was being watched at high rates
Possible racism/sexism
• Possible racism o Following UCLA's elimination, Lavar said they lost because they had too many white guys on the team (3 of the starters were white) • Sexism o May 2017: LaVar is on Colin Cowherd's tv show with co-host Kristine Leahy o They're talking about BBB shoe; he's asked how many have been sold o "Stay in Yo Lane" becomes the lasting phrase from that interview o Headline: "LaVar Ball attacks Fox Sports reporter in sexist rant" o LaVar's response.... "Stay in Yo Lane" t-shirt o Headlines: "classless" move by LaVar
What does this say about ESPN?
• Relying more on digital; has enabled them to let go of big chunk of talent base • They don't need reporters and anchors because people are watching highlights on their phones and not on SportsCenter
Bad people at ESPN
• Sean Salisbury, ESPN football commentator o Took picture of penis and showed to co-workers; got fired • Tony Kornheiser, on his radio show regarding Hannah Storm's outfit: said it was a horrible outfit, "way too short for someone in her early 40s/50s," looks like she has sausage casing wrapped around her body [because of tightness] o He was suspended 2 weeks • Curt Schilling: Baseball commentator o Posted a comment on Twitter compairing Muslims to Nazis. Suspended a month. o Less than a year later: put an offensive post of FB page about shared bathroom law in NC. Got fired. Separating the Individual from the Network • These "individual" problems become ESPN's problems
Obsession with Stories
• Sometimes ESPN finds a story and won't let go • This is a two-hour block of ESPN, June 10, 2013: 7-9 PM • 137 mentions of Tim Tebow but really no news about him going on (it's JUNE) • Doug Gottlieb (formerly of ESPN): they said "you can't talk enough about Tebow" • Why does ESPN do it? o People care and people watch! o Sage Steel - the numbers are such they support the bosses' decision to do this stuff... we can argue all day but it won't make a difference
SportsCenter
• The main attraction o Highlights from games around the world o Interviews o Reports straight from the game
Why are people starting to stop watching ESPN?
• They'd have no carrier fees: ESPN has lost over a billion dollars in the cable and satellite revenue just in the past 5 years • Lost more than 10 mil subscribers over the past several years • Less viewers = less money from advertisers
Trouble with the law overseas
• Trouble with the law o Before last season started, three UCLA players were arrested in China for shoplifting o Headlines read "LiAngelo Ball and UCLA players could face 3-10 years in prison" o LiAngelo leaves UCLA and his other son is out of high school. So now what? o Lithuania! o The two sign up to play in a professional league in that country o ESPN sends a reporter there to report on the Ball family (Jeff Goodman) o It doesn't last very long ♣ After about a week there, Goodman writes a story that quoted Ball talking about how unhappy Lonzo is with the Lakers coach ♣ LaVar is not happy and says he won't speak to Goodman any longer. ESPN sends Goodman home
What was on ESPN
• US National kayaking championship • Australian rules football • Canadian football league • Pacific northwest whirl away • Chinese children tumbling exhibition • Great eastern skeet shooting championship • Professional rodeo • Full contact karate
You take the good with the bad
• You take the good with the bad o If one wants "good" coverage, he/she has to be prepared to get "bad" coverage when that happens o Think back to Tiger: he wanted all the attention but wanted it to be good
Comcast SportsNet Houston
♣ Launched October 1, 2012 • Aired Astros and Rockets games • AT%%T U-Verse, DirecTV, Dish, all refused to carry it (fees for subscribers too high) • Comcast was only one to show the network • Only 40% of Houston homes got the channel ♣ Adding to their troubles: • The Astros were terrible • 2013: worst team in baseball • April 2014: Astros v. Angels had a 0.0 rating ♣ Gigantic failure • Astros and Rockets lost $550 mil in equity in the sports channel, which had been valued at $700 million in 2010 • The network was sold to DirecTV in 2014 for $1000 • It's now called AT&T SportsNet Southwest and all major companies carry it
Was it worth it?
♣ Super bowl Sunday: Chrysler 200 was #2 search term on google ♣ Search traffic for Chrysler 200 on AOL autos was 685% higher than normal ♣ A 267% increase in traffic to all Chrysler content on Edmunds.com ♣ Edmunds also recorded a 1619% increase in site traffic for just the Chrysler 200 ♣ 40% of automotive news readers have ranked the spot the best car ad in the game ♣ Chrysler sales have improved 50% in the years since the commercial aired ♣ Ad was credited with rebranding and renewing Detroit Ad was credited with reviving the American auto industry
