Cord Cutters Listen Up, ESPN Subscribers Down

[runco]

Several news outlets are reporting that due to cord cutters significant subscribers to ESPN are down 7 million, read on:

 

http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2015/11/27/streaming-tv-free-market-costs-leftwing-espn-7-million-subscribers/

 

The left-wing ESPN has lost a whopping 7 million subscribers in just two years. The MSNBC of Sports (hat tip), once available in 99 million homes, is available now in only 92 million homes. That is still a lot of subscribers but to say that no one expected such a massive drop in such a short period of time  would be the understatement of the year.

From a macro perspective, this massive dip in subscribers is a problem for all of cable television. These 7 million losses are cord-cutters; people who canceled their overall cable package. ESPN is singled out for a couple of reasons: 1) ESPN has sold itself to cable providers as the top reason people want cable TV. 2) ESPN makes a ton of money off cable TV.

Whether you watch ESPN or not, if the Social Justice Warrior Sports Channel is on your cable package, to the tune of $6.61 a month, out of your own pocket, you are handing ESPN $80 a year to trash and smear you and everything you believe in.

A loss of 7 million subscribers is an annual loss of more than a half-billion dollars; $560 million, to be exact.  Even when you are owned by a multi-national like the Walt Disney Company, that is not chump change.

ESPN used to be an oasis for America, a place where fans could converge to lose themselves in the competition and gamesmanship of professional sports.

At the exact wrong moment, though, ESPN decided to become a left-wing propaganda network. Smug in the left-wing con that is bundled cable — a con that forces every cable customer in America to pay exorbitant fees for dozens of channels they never watch and sometimes hate (MSNBC, CNN, MTV, Comedy Central, ESPN) — ESPN thought it could tell us how to think and vote.

And I say “exact wrong moment” for a reason. For some suicidal reason these idiots decided to launch their agitprop just as the streaming revolution began — a much cheaper, commercial-free, politics free alternative to the utter awfulness that is bundled cable.

Suddenly, for less than $20 a month (about 20% of your cable bill), you could subscribe to the streaming services provided by, among others, Netflix and Amazon. Best of all, unlike cable television, there are not 15 to 20 minutes of commercials every hour … because there are no commercials. Better still, you choose what you want to watch when you want to watch it — so no left-wing sucker punches from the likes of ESPN.

What’s damaging ESPN is what is damaging ObamaCare and what eventually destroys almost everything the left wants: Freedom. Freedom of choice. Free markets. Alternatives.

The entire bundled cable racket was designed to remove the free market. Cable television, including ESPN, cannot survive on merit. Networks like CNN, MSNBC, MTV and Comedy Central are wholly dependent on you being forced to fund them through your cable bill — through you being forced to accept a cable package with their network on it, whether or not you watch that network.

If these networks had to survive in a free market, meaning based on advertising revenue that is itself based on  viewership, they would wither and dies, especially ESPN, which has enormous overhead.

I know it’s not easy, America. You don’t want to give up your Fox News and your Turner Classic Movies and your Sports Center… I get it.

But you are being robbed by left-wing propagandists to pay for their left-wing propaganda.

Cut the cord, America.

For America.

 

http://money.cnn.com/2015/11/26/media/disney-subscriber-loss/

Looks like the Magic Kingdom is lacking some sparkle. Disney's cable channels are losing millions of subscribers.

ESPN, its most profitable channel, has lost 7 million subscribers since 2013. ESPN now has 92 million subscribers, according to a regulatory filing posted late Wednesday.

 

ABC Family has lost 5 million, and the Disney Channel is down 4 million subscribers in the U.S. over the same period. Lifetime and A&E have each seen 6 million subscribers drop the channels, while the 5 million no longer subscribe to the History Channel.

Some channels saw subscriber numbers rise, including Disney (DIS) outside the U.S., Disney XD in the U.S. and internationally, and Disney Junior in the U.S.

Fears about subscriber declines have been lingering for months.

In August, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that there have been "some subscriber losses" at ESPN because some households have opted for smaller cable packages that don't include the pricey cable channel.

Disney's stock got hammered around then -- other industry stocks followed suit -- leading some analysts to downgrade the company.

Still, Disney remains one of the better performing stocks, up 26% so far this year.

Shares rose 0.6% on Wednesday in New York, before the latest subscriber numbers came out.

U.S. markets are closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday, and will re-open Friday. It remains to be seen how investors will react, and whether they'll continue to be spooked over the possible impact from "cord-cutting" (a term for households dropping cable TV altogether) and "cord-shaving" (households choosing smaller bundles of cable).

Disney reported fourth quarter earnings earlier this month, with net income up 12% to a record $8.4 billion.

 

Edited November 28, 2015 by runco

[TGO David]

Sorry but I've gotta say this.  It's CORD.  A chord is a group of musical notes.

[felinesNfreedom]

http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/outkick-the-coverage/espn-has-lost-7-million-subscribers-the-past-two-years-112515

[nightrunner]

Sorry but I've gotta say this. It's CORD. A chord is a group of musical notes.

Affirmative. and its ESPN

[NextExit]

The entire bundled cable racket was designed to remove the free market. Cable television, including ESPN, cannot survive on merit. Networks like CNN, MSNBC, MTV and Comedy Central are wholly dependent on you being forced to fund them through your cable bill — through you being forced to accept a cable package with their network on it, whether or not you watch that network.

If these networks had to survive in a free market, meaning based on advertising revenue that is itself based on  viewership, they would wither and dies, especially ESPN, which has enormous overhead.

Don't forget the climate change weather channel. :yuck:

This is why I miss the days of the C-Band dish.  You only paid for the channels you wanted.  If all you watched was TNT, TBS, USA & FOX then that's all you'd pay for.  You could also buy a network package and you didn't need a waiver from your local affiliates.  Now you get to pay $100+/month to watch a few channels. 

[runco]

Sorry but I've gotta say this.  It's CORD.  A chord is a group of musical notes.

Okay okay okay, you English teachers................its been fixed.  Though no excuse it was slightly after 6am and I had only 1 1/2 cups of coffee.

[Moped]

I must have my SEC Channel!!!

[Dustbuster]

Sorry but I've gotta say this. It's CORD. A chord is a group of musical notes.

True but 180 a month cable bill causes a lotta sour notes, well bad notes would be new style country music or chords ach fughettaboutit! :o

[Smith]

Watched regular tv this week during thanksgiving, and what a pain just to sit through all the commercials. Not to mention having to channel surf again.
I have been spoiled by my Roku's and Netflix/Hulu.
I also like the fact, as the article started, I'm not supporting a bunch of networks that are actively campaigning against everything I believe.

[btq96r]

When did ESPN get a political bend?  I must have missed that.

 

As to the financial aspect of it, ESPN's losing money from cord cutters, but they are also losing money because they spend like drunken sailors at a port of call.  Almost $2 billion a year for Monday Night Football, which has had some really average at best games lately.  Case in point, this weeks match-up between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens.  I don't even know how that looked good when the schedule was made, let alone now that both teams are in the bottom of the heap.  They need some serious belt tightening, and I'd start by reducing the amount of on air "analysts" by no less than 50%.  They have way too many talking heads on their air.  Also, the $125 million revamp of the SportsCenter set was an absurdity. 

[No_0ne]

ESPN is owned by Disney, and is their biggest money-maker.  The loss of subscribers and overspending is old news, there have been articles about both of those issues since 2012 or so.  One thing Disney does better than most everyone in the business is to make money.  They will adjust the business model to fit whatever trends pop up in the industry, but it will take them some time to do so ...

[Mike.357]

I know a few people who have cut the cord to their TV.  Not one of them ever mentioned political viewpoints as a reason to do so. It is about money to keep the service.

 

It is prohibitively expensive for a lot of people,  I am pretty much there too.  The next time I see an increase from Comcast I will be calling to cancel my level of service to try to keep the bill affordable.

[runco]

I know a few people who have cut the cord to their TV.  Not one of them ever mentioned political viewpoints as a reason to do so. It is about money to keep the service.

 

It is prohibitively expensive for a lot of people,  I am pretty much there too.  The next time I see an increase from Comcast I will be calling to cancel my level of service to try to keep the bill affordable.

Money played the biggest role with us, and politics did not.

[dawgdoc]

Money and value influences why most people to cut the cord, I would think.

 

Money--some people just cannot afford the bill anymore.  Value (my case)--what I got for the money was not worth it.  I can afford to have cable, but I don't like wasting money on things I don't use.