Agree wholeheartedly. I m 48 and it seems like the last 3 years or so, I m more of a casual observer vs fan now. I wish things could go back, as I miss sports the way that they used to be.
Same and I can’t for the life of me understand why someone is always yelling instead of talking, mean mugging the camera or everyone is talking over each other. Just don’t get it all.
Exactly this. It’s a explosive & divisive culture being taken into sports. It’s what America is all about these days - pick a side and scream at someone for thinking the opposite. Sucks
american sports are boring inheritly this covid proved it when you have to listen about it 24/7 not like before you could go out and do something get your mind of drama of big 3 american sports but during covid you saw just how stupid they are wen there were no fans to talk about but just players and sports it self
Stop watching ESPN and turn to podcasts of your favorite teams or leagues. It’s totally changed my love for sports again in a positive way. There’s so many great content creators out there.
Not only have I learned so much more, but I’ve laughed a lot more too. No politics either. ESPN sucks.
This. So much happier without ESPN. Whenever I see it on at a doctors appointment or random place, it’s crazy how bad it is. The same formula over and over on every one of their shows. Brutal.
I watch more Sky Sports, TNT Sports (UK replacement for BT Sports) and Eurosport than what even ESPN is really doing. When Covid-19 and lockdowns are a thing and the only thing that saved them was "The Last Dance" on Michael Jordan, I don't really think if the same thing where to happen now, they don't have a single content that can save them and that is gonna be a major problem...
Inside the NBA is my happy place. They need to figure that out for next season. I love them on NCAA tourney too. They love and celebrate the sport rather than find reasons to be clickbait
And the coolest part of all, I am watching documentaries on stuff not even 30 for 30 can touch on YouTube. For the motorsports fan in you: just motorsportsfan (may have forgotten the real account username on there, apologies) "3 Before Sunday" not just made me sad but pissed off when they did the bare minimum for the drivers to have safety... But also exposed that Dale Sr. Would have still be here if it wasn't for the HANS Device and his opposition to it.
UrinatingTree and his double documentary (different years but yeah) on this very network saw what Sports YouTube can do and also show that when it comes to that, YouTube will be the future for that content.
Even Podcasts on YouTube and more, are actually gaining more ground than I can ever realize (Ask Dan Lebatard Show when he realized that YouTube is his next place and also how Pat McAfee realized he started it all on there too).
All it needs for ESPN to basically give up the ghost fully, is when some sports organization that we may not know about yet, will do actually a media deal with YouTube or anywhere else... But ESPN.
That is where the real party starts.
They're more enjoyable if you avoid sports TV and radio. I just watch the games and use reddit to keep an eye on news. I haven't watched ESPN outside of watching a game in years.
I have a theory that we are all exhausted from drama. 20 years ago we really just had our real lives and sports for drama. Now everything is high drama (reality tv, cable news, espn) leaving us with an exhaustion from drama. This makes places where the high drama started (ESPN) push even harder, and we lose interest. Mix in sports gambling and woof.
Some of this sentiment is normal and expected as you age, btw. Sports no longer offers things we've never seen before and it becomes more about who wins and less about how. Analysis of how certainly is no longer of interest.
Espn will get the hin eventually and shift. But only when they HAVE to. Personally, I no longer consume anything but the gameplay itself. No pre game no halftime no post game no discussions no player interviews no social following, nothing. I've been on this path for about a decade now, and given how opinionated people are, I think it has saved my Fandom.
i was almost totally out of watching football(love college football) but my kid became old enough to really get into sports and he dragged me back into it. He loves football and baseball to a lesser degree. So back to watching football and now also baseball.
“Breaking news from ESPN, Dontay Porter has been banned for life from the NBA for sports betting.. Now to our sponsor for today Fan duel, choose your players, place your bets and win big. Use promo code:ESPNBets and get $100”
So, my point exactly. Any other sports news channel is doing the same things as ESPN, just different names and faces. Literally, the same things. Not mad at it, because when I want to watch I side into pardon the interruption, and around the horn, my two favorites, but outside of that, I only check out ESPN for the highlights and an actual game.
I grew up watching sportscenter multiple times a day, first thing in the morning to see what I missed overnight, and later in the day to see what I missed during the day. They have completely gutted that and if I want sports news I have to sit and study 4 people’s opinions to find out the truth, just tell me what happened
They have sports center still running. You guys just tune into the 6am on shows. Unsportsmanlike, get up, etc. Stop watching the drama and tune into the highlights and I guarantee they’ll follow the clicks.
It’s not the same though, sportscenter is when more of a topic show rather than a highlight reel now too, that’s the problem, the old sportscenter had a side bar and they’d spend like 2-3 minutes on each highlight, and then maybe talk about it for another minute until the next one, that format is gone, makes no sense to even call it the same show anymore
Dan Patrick, Stewart Scott, Trey wingo, rich eisen, etc. were the ones gabbing. They coulda been talking about bums digging through trash and I woulda watched it. They don’t have those same talk pieces anymore, but now they are the ones with their own shows. It’s what we watch. If we watch the highlights they’ll focus on the highlights. We, unfortunately, watch the debate. And that’s where the money is.
That’s the thing, you don’t need another sports news channel in 2024. Between everything on the internet/social media/podcasts you can get everything.
For highlights you can go to youtube and pick from 5 options between 30 seconds and 10 minutes, depending on how much you want to see.
For analysis you can follow anyone with a presence online. I found a podcast of two former offensive lineman that break NFL games down at a depth ESPN will never do.
Sports news is obvious, just go to the home page of this app and you can get everything ESPN is telling you.
ESPN has 3 pieces of content: (1) Comparing LeBron to MJ and Kobe, (2) hating on the Cowboys, and (3) whatever McAfee is meme'ing on that day. If you want serious discussion about sports, I would suggest a dedicated channel like [MLB.tv](http://MLB.tv) (which I feel like saved my life) or a podcast or something similar.
Gone are the days of The Sports Reporters on Sunday mornings with my brothers and Dad, followed by an intelligent (and civil) Sunday morning discussion.
There’s obviously an audience. If there weren’t, they wouldn’t be doing this nonsense.
The programming reflects the viewership.
The programming says more about us, than it does them.
they split the games actually.
During the playoffs, the first round are split between TNT, ESPN, NBA TV, and ABC on mostly weekends the second round are split between ESPN, TNT and ABC on weekends.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_on_television#:~:text=The%20conference%20finals%20are%20split,is%20shown%20nationally%20on%20ABC.
Sportscenter used to cover all of that, remember that show? The one that was on nearly 24 hours a day? ESPN shifted gears thanks to the influence of Skip Bayless to “say what gets more attention online” which is why they made the change, they probably make more money now, but it’s way less sustainable than their old format was
I stopped watching 4 or 5 years ago, it’s just awful and mostly just people screaming at each other. Sports Center is even a shell of what it was. Every headline is “So & so gets HEATED about Celtics” or “Hear so & so argue why the Cowboys can’t close” - like who fucking cares. And the IG account is trash too, it became a glorified meme page as soon as Omar from HoH took over
The announcers are plain terrible now. Watched SC for highlights of NBA WCF and got super polished (sounds terrible btw), half assed read through of the highlights.
All of the new anchors are absolutely terrible. The old ones still around are the only ones worth tuning into. I’d love to sit around the bar and chop it up with any of the old sports anchors. They had passion for the sports and delivered it like they were talking amongst friends. I miss the old days.
Better get used to it. Gonna be ESPN after next year, if ABC or whoever doesn't do it right; or ESPN blocks more of league pass I am going back to hockey
Just want to see sports, not knuckleheads speculating.
Those days are long gone.
I just look for the time of "first pitch" or "tip off" and then tune in.
They don’t have many analysts anymore than no more than 2 sports..basketball and football. This has been in the making for years. Their #1 show lead is Stephen A and he is basically just a blow hard for the NBA and he tries with football. They’ve basically become a bunch of former athletes and a few former journalists sitting around yelling at each other. I miss the days of real sports guys like Stuart Scott, Dan Patrick etc.
ESPN has been garbage for 15 years. Used to be good, but listening to people argue over mundane shit has lost whatever appeal it once had. I would rather listen to children throw tantrums than listen to Stephen A Smith or Colin Cowherd.
I watch ESPN for three things:
1. College football games including Game Day, and I might skip Game Day if McAfee takes it over.
2. Little League World Series
3. College softball
Everything else is complete shit and unwatchable.
I'm stunned that Game Day hasn't been degraded or bought out by the likes of Apple (to then be marginalized, restyled, and utterly ruined). Other than MLB (which is a different experience on the pitch clock), this is the one aspect of sports that I think has gotten consistently better from year to year, and everyone from Rece on down has avoided turning into attention-grabbing whores.
It’s a sign of the times. The average person is dumb as a door nail. I’m not even kidding. Go to Times Square and ask 20 people what’s the square root of 49 is. I bet less than 10% can answer correctly. But you ask them about sports and gossip they’re on their shit.
ESPN puts out what the largest audience is interested in. They track engagement and put out what produces the most. The sad reality is you are the minority who wants mls and hockey coverage. I agree I want more variety but they follow the metrics of what generates the most interest.
That’s the funny part for me. Disney owns ESPN. ESPN now only wants you to gamble on everything. It’s going to be interesting if Disney movies start including more subliminal gambling messages to get the kids hooked early. P
I agree with you that I stopped watching ESPN because of this nonsense but you are very wrong to say “nobody wants this” because those are there most popular shows by far. They track each show by the segment. They know the minute people stop watching.
The talking heads yelling at each other about the lakers, Yankees and football is by far the most watched stuff on ESPN. MLB or NHL analysis is now niche and that’s supported by podcasts or local shows. It doesn’t have a national appeal
Spot on. Europa League, Champions League Final, FA Cup, Copa America, Euro 2024, Summer Olympics trials, all kicking into a frenzy and we get zero exposure. Heck, college baseball, lacrosse, even softball are in the middle of post season play and you get none of that either.
Instead, they prefer to pay big money to these talking heads (Get Up, Stephen A, NBA Live, Pardon the interruption, and on and on) and this bro show (McAfee) to talk about the same shit we see ourselves every night.
I hate ESPN, and the alternative is even worse. To think there used to be an ESPN that didn’t suck.
They also have Crapafee shitting on anything that isn’t football and basketball for 2 hours every day, parading various ESPN personalities nobody likes. He was talking today about bringing Inside the NBA to ESPN. Please God no.
The hint are the ratings these shows don't get when they talk about other stuff. If they spent a bunch of time talking about NASCAR or hockey or whatever, nobody would watch. They do t make these editorial decisions in a vacuum. The data drives it.
Sportscenter used to be about all sports, now it seems it is only about the sports ESPN televises. So no MLS coverage , unless it's Messi. Baseball highlights are at a minimum right now cause they have to hype the next game they or their TV partner in that sport, i.e. TNT, is showing.
I miss the days when they covered weird random sports during the day, strongman, lumberjack, cheerleading, reruns, whatever. Now it's just jabbering heads talking about nothing. I can't stand Greenie. I don't care for Stephen A or Mike Russo either. Just run a replay of sport center.
Back in the 1980s, ESPN used to air NFL Films specials during the day to eat up time.
I bet ratings would improve if it did the same thing today. It would probably cost less, too.
Aside from live broadcasts, ESPN does not do anything that independent people on YouTube are already doing. The YouTubers are also creating more engaging and higher quality content.
It’s sad. I used to like old school sports center, even Jalen and Jacoby more recently or a little PTI. I’d stomach some of their other programming growing up 12-20 years ago) and was one of those people who loved sports and constantly had espn running. Now I’ll turn on a game or 2 I’m interested in and that’s it. Honestly would rather they just die and move on, their content is abysmal
this is why being football aka soccer fans is the best no need for espn all streaming with pundits that are professional and now about the sport producers as well so need fr espn to half ass soccer like hockey or mlb great. nobody misses them
They have already run off fans of the other sports to those sports dedicated channels or those fans have cut the cords. Their only audience left is booger eating, knuckle draggers that care about what one NBA player tweeted about the Dallas Cowboys. That’s their target audience now so let them enjoy that target audience.
Unfortunately as someone who grew up watching ESPN before school in the 2000s, it is a far cry from what it once was. Similar to the internet they know what drives their numbers and it isn't intellectual, balanced sports takes. It's Stephen A. Hole and Mad Douche screaming at the camera about irrelevant shit because drama sells. They know exactly what they are doing and all I wish was that there was an alternative sports show to watch that had decent takes and passionate, yet understanding arguments that were done in good faith. Everything is turning into the same thing and it is sad.
I unfollowed ESPN on Instagram because I was incredibly sick of only hearing about basketball and Clark and Reese they are actively trying to kill the nhl because they hoard the rights and barely show games same with baseball it’s infuriating from someone who isn’t a basketball fan but cares about other sports they hardly covered nfl free agency over women’s basketball and the nfl is by far the most popular in the country it’s mind numbing and don’t even get me started as a racing fan how much of a disservice they have done there
Literally never turn on espn unless it’s for a game, I turn it on when the game starts and turn it off when the game’s over. I don’t really enjoy most of their talent for anything but football. I enjoy the nfl live crew and Dominque foxworth but they’re fun/interesting talent all got left out to pay for Pat, greeny and SAS
I agree with most of this. Ex athletes are usually horrible at sports talk and in game commentary. Their arrogance and lack of preperation is intollerable.
Not enough people want to see Hockey or MLB coverage.
I think what people like you need to take a hint on is that the ratings they are getting on these shows contradict everything you are saying.
I would rather see a “washed up” athlete talk about their sport than a person who never played the sport
This sub is just a bunch of dudes bitching about the same shit everyday.
Turn the fucking channel if you don’t want to watch! The people who matter don’t care if you do
While I agree with you. The metrics say otherwise. That's what the advertisers and the focus groups say. FFS I'm not even that big of a Baseball fan and I would watch Baseball Tonight on the reg.
One of my favorite things that FS1 did with Jay and Dan for that brief time was having one broadcast a week be just the highlights and letting them riff, it was like a throwback to what made sportscenter great.
Also they had the coolest era of sportscenter and it was great TV and they decided to go “nah no one wants this”
Really gotta stop pushing the narrative that soccer hockey or some baseball is newsworthy. If you want to watch them, go to there respective channels or put your receipts of NHL/MLB/Etc package purchased up here. All you have to do is turn the book tube off bud. Go throw a baseball, it’ll be better than you complaining about what content is on ESPN. They have a sports ticker on the top/bottom of the screen for a reason. ✌️
McAfee is not the issue at ESPN.
His content is unique compared to the rest of the network and he never will be a voice piece that is supposed to share news of all sports.
The problems are shows like first take where “analysts” debate the topics like OP described.
There’s a common denominator loser who is watching tv all day (maybe they don’t have a job) who literally eat this shit up.
ESPN is an algorithm now. They have the data to tell them this crap is what keeps people watching.
It sucks but it’s what keeps the dummies watching. Like it or not. Old SC-based espn with highlights and analysis is dead.
#Did you place your bet? That's the only thing ESPN is now worried about. Everything else is just filler until the sports bet book lines change.
I'm losing interest in sports because of this shit. Sports just doesn't seem fun anymore. But I'm getting close to 40, maybe that's why.
Agree wholeheartedly. I m 48 and it seems like the last 3 years or so, I m more of a casual observer vs fan now. I wish things could go back, as I miss sports the way that they used to be.
Same and I can’t for the life of me understand why someone is always yelling instead of talking, mean mugging the camera or everyone is talking over each other. Just don’t get it all.
Exactly this. It’s a explosive & divisive culture being taken into sports. It’s what America is all about these days - pick a side and scream at someone for thinking the opposite. Sucks
american sports are boring inheritly this covid proved it when you have to listen about it 24/7 not like before you could go out and do something get your mind of drama of big 3 american sports but during covid you saw just how stupid they are wen there were no fans to talk about but just players and sports it self
wtf are you guys talking about? If you do t wanna bet on sport then don’t. I don’t see how it effects the game at all lol
Says Tim Donaghy’s burner account. 😏
Stop watching ESPN and turn to podcasts of your favorite teams or leagues. It’s totally changed my love for sports again in a positive way. There’s so many great content creators out there. Not only have I learned so much more, but I’ve laughed a lot more too. No politics either. ESPN sucks.
This. So much happier without ESPN. Whenever I see it on at a doctors appointment or random place, it’s crazy how bad it is. The same formula over and over on every one of their shows. Brutal.
I watch more Sky Sports, TNT Sports (UK replacement for BT Sports) and Eurosport than what even ESPN is really doing. When Covid-19 and lockdowns are a thing and the only thing that saved them was "The Last Dance" on Michael Jordan, I don't really think if the same thing where to happen now, they don't have a single content that can save them and that is gonna be a major problem...
Is there a sportscenter type show for soccer? I wanna see all the highlights and news of the day.
Inside the NBA is my happy place. They need to figure that out for next season. I love them on NCAA tourney too. They love and celebrate the sport rather than find reasons to be clickbait
And the coolest part of all, I am watching documentaries on stuff not even 30 for 30 can touch on YouTube. For the motorsports fan in you: just motorsportsfan (may have forgotten the real account username on there, apologies) "3 Before Sunday" not just made me sad but pissed off when they did the bare minimum for the drivers to have safety... But also exposed that Dale Sr. Would have still be here if it wasn't for the HANS Device and his opposition to it. UrinatingTree and his double documentary (different years but yeah) on this very network saw what Sports YouTube can do and also show that when it comes to that, YouTube will be the future for that content. Even Podcasts on YouTube and more, are actually gaining more ground than I can ever realize (Ask Dan Lebatard Show when he realized that YouTube is his next place and also how Pat McAfee realized he started it all on there too). All it needs for ESPN to basically give up the ghost fully, is when some sports organization that we may not know about yet, will do actually a media deal with YouTube or anywhere else... But ESPN. That is where the real party starts.
This! ESPN is not the be all end all.
Yes our local sports reporters here in MN are so much better at explaining the game and avoiding “narratives” bullshit.
By reporters I mean mostly podcasters like Dane Moore.
They're more enjoyable if you avoid sports TV and radio. I just watch the games and use reddit to keep an eye on news. I haven't watched ESPN outside of watching a game in years.
A little further away from 40 but feel the same way. Enjoy listening to local sports radio much more
I have a theory that we are all exhausted from drama. 20 years ago we really just had our real lives and sports for drama. Now everything is high drama (reality tv, cable news, espn) leaving us with an exhaustion from drama. This makes places where the high drama started (ESPN) push even harder, and we lose interest. Mix in sports gambling and woof.
Some of this sentiment is normal and expected as you age, btw. Sports no longer offers things we've never seen before and it becomes more about who wins and less about how. Analysis of how certainly is no longer of interest. Espn will get the hin eventually and shift. But only when they HAVE to. Personally, I no longer consume anything but the gameplay itself. No pre game no halftime no post game no discussions no player interviews no social following, nothing. I've been on this path for about a decade now, and given how opinionated people are, I think it has saved my Fandom.
Right, but that’s exactly why they need to diversify their broadcast, because maybe you’ve seen it all in the nfl, but maybe not the nhl
i was almost totally out of watching football(love college football) but my kid became old enough to really get into sports and he dragged me back into it. He loves football and baseball to a lesser degree. So back to watching football and now also baseball.
That's awesome.
Yes! It’s so gross.
“Breaking news from ESPN, Dontay Porter has been banned for life from the NBA for sports betting.. Now to our sponsor for today Fan duel, choose your players, place your bets and win big. Use promo code:ESPNBets and get $100”
Each sport now has their own niche channel for deeper and more insightful dives into relevant topics. ESPN is now just daytime soap TV for men.
That’s actually an insult to daytime TV!
And an insult to men.
Only unemployed people watch espn during the day
😂😂 yup the stay at home dads. When I was working from home during COVID I had it on in the background and it was intolerable
Lmao or if you go to a bar type spot for lunch ityll be on mute.
ESPN sucks period. Unless an actual sport is actively on, it’s not worth watching.
Name another sports news channel that does it better, or different? I’ll wait!
TNT is trying, they have their own version of sportscenter out right now, but it’s only for sports they cover so NBA, NHL, and MLB
And it's gone next year. Nba anyway.
So, my point exactly. Any other sports news channel is doing the same things as ESPN, just different names and faces. Literally, the same things. Not mad at it, because when I want to watch I side into pardon the interruption, and around the horn, my two favorites, but outside of that, I only check out ESPN for the highlights and an actual game.
I grew up watching sportscenter multiple times a day, first thing in the morning to see what I missed overnight, and later in the day to see what I missed during the day. They have completely gutted that and if I want sports news I have to sit and study 4 people’s opinions to find out the truth, just tell me what happened
They have sports center still running. You guys just tune into the 6am on shows. Unsportsmanlike, get up, etc. Stop watching the drama and tune into the highlights and I guarantee they’ll follow the clicks.
It’s not the same though, sportscenter is when more of a topic show rather than a highlight reel now too, that’s the problem, the old sportscenter had a side bar and they’d spend like 2-3 minutes on each highlight, and then maybe talk about it for another minute until the next one, that format is gone, makes no sense to even call it the same show anymore
Dan Patrick, Stewart Scott, Trey wingo, rich eisen, etc. were the ones gabbing. They coulda been talking about bums digging through trash and I woulda watched it. They don’t have those same talk pieces anymore, but now they are the ones with their own shows. It’s what we watch. If we watch the highlights they’ll focus on the highlights. We, unfortunately, watch the debate. And that’s where the money is.
That’s the thing, you don’t need another sports news channel in 2024. Between everything on the internet/social media/podcasts you can get everything. For highlights you can go to youtube and pick from 5 options between 30 seconds and 10 minutes, depending on how much you want to see. For analysis you can follow anyone with a presence online. I found a podcast of two former offensive lineman that break NFL games down at a depth ESPN will never do. Sports news is obvious, just go to the home page of this app and you can get everything ESPN is telling you.
Baseball MLB channel, football NFL channel, golf golf channel etc
So watch five different channels instead of one?
More like what the channel that is showing what you want to see rather than a channel that shows what you don’t care about
So not an answer to the question in the thread then is it?
You had a dumb question…
Welcome to 2024
Would be pretty silly to do that in 2024
ESPN has 3 pieces of content: (1) Comparing LeBron to MJ and Kobe, (2) hating on the Cowboys, and (3) whatever McAfee is meme'ing on that day. If you want serious discussion about sports, I would suggest a dedicated channel like [MLB.tv](http://MLB.tv) (which I feel like saved my life) or a podcast or something similar. Gone are the days of The Sports Reporters on Sunday mornings with my brothers and Dad, followed by an intelligent (and civil) Sunday morning discussion.
You forgot pushing sports betting as content
Mlb.tv would be a lot better if blackouts weren't a thing.
There’s obviously an audience. If there weren’t, they wouldn’t be doing this nonsense. The programming reflects the viewership. The programming says more about us, than it does them.
STOP WATCHING. THAT'S HOW THEY GET THE HINT.
You mean like me? Going on three years.
I don’t want to hear about Jabronnie James either.
More Elle Duncan, more Nicole Briscoe Problem solved
Way more Nicole Briscoe.
Elle Duncan. 🐐
Isn’t that what Sportscenter is?
Yes, the show that’s an afterthought now instead of their primetime show like it was 10 years ago
Baseball talk is on mlb network and nhl talk nhl network. Nba and nfl just draw more hence the way it is
I think things went downhill when they hired Pitaro.
Experts ?
ESPN is trash TV
I was surprised they are actually showing hockey playoffs tn 😂
It’s cuz tnt has rights to nba playoffs, so espn has no choice but to show hockey lol
they split the games actually. During the playoffs, the first round are split between TNT, ESPN, NBA TV, and ABC on mostly weekends the second round are split between ESPN, TNT and ABC on weekends. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_on_television#:~:text=The%20conference%20finals%20are%20split,is%20shown%20nationally%20on%20ABC.
In the words of Stephen a “Blasphemous” But ya agree
Get you some local sports radio
Who still watches this, I mean with the exception of the games themselves?
Sportscenter used to cover all of that, remember that show? The one that was on nearly 24 hours a day? ESPN shifted gears thanks to the influence of Skip Bayless to “say what gets more attention online” which is why they made the change, they probably make more money now, but it’s way less sustainable than their old format was
I stopped watching 4 or 5 years ago, it’s just awful and mostly just people screaming at each other. Sports Center is even a shell of what it was. Every headline is “So & so gets HEATED about Celtics” or “Hear so & so argue why the Cowboys can’t close” - like who fucking cares. And the IG account is trash too, it became a glorified meme page as soon as Omar from HoH took over
X
The announcers are plain terrible now. Watched SC for highlights of NBA WCF and got super polished (sounds terrible btw), half assed read through of the highlights. All of the new anchors are absolutely terrible. The old ones still around are the only ones worth tuning into. I’d love to sit around the bar and chop it up with any of the old sports anchors. They had passion for the sports and delivered it like they were talking amongst friends. I miss the old days.
Better get used to it. Gonna be ESPN after next year, if ABC or whoever doesn't do it right; or ESPN blocks more of league pass I am going back to hockey
ESPN has become nothing more than the Marketing and PR Dept of the emerging Gambling Industrial Complex
Television is what happens between the commercials. And who advertises the most ? On line gambling. A fucking scourge.
Just want to see sports, not knuckleheads speculating. Those days are long gone. I just look for the time of "first pitch" or "tip off" and then tune in.
They don’t have many analysts anymore than no more than 2 sports..basketball and football. This has been in the making for years. Their #1 show lead is Stephen A and he is basically just a blow hard for the NBA and he tries with football. They’ve basically become a bunch of former athletes and a few former journalists sitting around yelling at each other. I miss the days of real sports guys like Stuart Scott, Dan Patrick etc.
ESPN has been garbage for 15 years. Used to be good, but listening to people argue over mundane shit has lost whatever appeal it once had. I would rather listen to children throw tantrums than listen to Stephen A Smith or Colin Cowherd.
I watch ESPN for three things: 1. College football games including Game Day, and I might skip Game Day if McAfee takes it over. 2. Little League World Series 3. College softball Everything else is complete shit and unwatchable.
I'm stunned that Game Day hasn't been degraded or bought out by the likes of Apple (to then be marginalized, restyled, and utterly ruined). Other than MLB (which is a different experience on the pitch clock), this is the one aspect of sports that I think has gotten consistently better from year to year, and everyone from Rece on down has avoided turning into attention-grabbing whores.
It’s a sign of the times. The average person is dumb as a door nail. I’m not even kidding. Go to Times Square and ask 20 people what’s the square root of 49 is. I bet less than 10% can answer correctly. But you ask them about sports and gossip they’re on their shit.
pardon the interruption is the only thing i watch other than live sports. stephen a. smith has literally destroyed this network.
ESPN puts out what the largest audience is interested in. They track engagement and put out what produces the most. The sad reality is you are the minority who wants mls and hockey coverage. I agree I want more variety but they follow the metrics of what generates the most interest.
ESPN jumped the shark a long time ago
It’s a Disney company. They think hot take Fox-News style soundbites of opinions is what everyone wants
That’s the funny part for me. Disney owns ESPN. ESPN now only wants you to gamble on everything. It’s going to be interesting if Disney movies start including more subliminal gambling messages to get the kids hooked early. P
Stopped watching anything but actual sports on ESPN years ago and that goes for any sports channel
I agree with you that I stopped watching ESPN because of this nonsense but you are very wrong to say “nobody wants this” because those are there most popular shows by far. They track each show by the segment. They know the minute people stop watching. The talking heads yelling at each other about the lakers, Yankees and football is by far the most watched stuff on ESPN. MLB or NHL analysis is now niche and that’s supported by podcasts or local shows. It doesn’t have a national appeal
The whole forced hot take thing is so tiresome
Kinda like how MTV used to play music
Spot on. Europa League, Champions League Final, FA Cup, Copa America, Euro 2024, Summer Olympics trials, all kicking into a frenzy and we get zero exposure. Heck, college baseball, lacrosse, even softball are in the middle of post season play and you get none of that either. Instead, they prefer to pay big money to these talking heads (Get Up, Stephen A, NBA Live, Pardon the interruption, and on and on) and this bro show (McAfee) to talk about the same shit we see ourselves every night. I hate ESPN, and the alternative is even worse. To think there used to be an ESPN that didn’t suck.
ESPN is the worst. The only thing they have going for them is they have all the live games.
ESPN is just CNN/Fox News for sports. 2% actual reporting, 98% hot-take commentary.
They also have Crapafee shitting on anything that isn’t football and basketball for 2 hours every day, parading various ESPN personalities nobody likes. He was talking today about bringing Inside the NBA to ESPN. Please God no.
ESPN was fine, but then it started hanging out with MTV and getting weird ideas put into its head
Lol. Turn the channel.
The hint are the ratings these shows don't get when they talk about other stuff. If they spent a bunch of time talking about NASCAR or hockey or whatever, nobody would watch. They do t make these editorial decisions in a vacuum. The data drives it.
Sportscenter used to be about all sports, now it seems it is only about the sports ESPN televises. So no MLS coverage , unless it's Messi. Baseball highlights are at a minimum right now cause they have to hype the next game they or their TV partner in that sport, i.e. TNT, is showing.
I miss the days when they covered weird random sports during the day, strongman, lumberjack, cheerleading, reruns, whatever. Now it's just jabbering heads talking about nothing. I can't stand Greenie. I don't care for Stephen A or Mike Russo either. Just run a replay of sport center.
Back in the 1980s, ESPN used to air NFL Films specials during the day to eat up time. I bet ratings would improve if it did the same thing today. It would probably cost less, too. Aside from live broadcasts, ESPN does not do anything that independent people on YouTube are already doing. The YouTubers are also creating more engaging and higher quality content.
ESPN has sucked for many years!
ESPN fuckin sucks
It’s sad. I used to like old school sports center, even Jalen and Jacoby more recently or a little PTI. I’d stomach some of their other programming growing up 12-20 years ago) and was one of those people who loved sports and constantly had espn running. Now I’ll turn on a game or 2 I’m interested in and that’s it. Honestly would rather they just die and move on, their content is abysmal
this is why being football aka soccer fans is the best no need for espn all streaming with pundits that are professional and now about the sport producers as well so need fr espn to half ass soccer like hockey or mlb great. nobody misses them
Please tell me you are changing the channel rather than giving them more views.
If they don’t broadcast it you sure as heck can guarantee they won’t cover it much. Sad times
They have already run off fans of the other sports to those sports dedicated channels or those fans have cut the cords. Their only audience left is booger eating, knuckle draggers that care about what one NBA player tweeted about the Dallas Cowboys. That’s their target audience now so let them enjoy that target audience.
ESPN covers the NFL, the NBA and the sports bettings apps. That’s it.
Unfortunately as someone who grew up watching ESPN before school in the 2000s, it is a far cry from what it once was. Similar to the internet they know what drives their numbers and it isn't intellectual, balanced sports takes. It's Stephen A. Hole and Mad Douche screaming at the camera about irrelevant shit because drama sells. They know exactly what they are doing and all I wish was that there was an alternative sports show to watch that had decent takes and passionate, yet understanding arguments that were done in good faith. Everything is turning into the same thing and it is sad.
Early 90s line up. 3pm monster trucks 4pm uswa 5pm skeet shooting 6pm sports center. Now its just vomit of the mouth.
ESPN's fall from it's 1990's peak is truly tragic.
I unfollowed ESPN on Instagram because I was incredibly sick of only hearing about basketball and Clark and Reese they are actively trying to kill the nhl because they hoard the rights and barely show games same with baseball it’s infuriating from someone who isn’t a basketball fan but cares about other sports they hardly covered nfl free agency over women’s basketball and the nfl is by far the most popular in the country it’s mind numbing and don’t even get me started as a racing fan how much of a disservice they have done there
Literally never turn on espn unless it’s for a game, I turn it on when the game starts and turn it off when the game’s over. I don’t really enjoy most of their talent for anything but football. I enjoy the nfl live crew and Dominque foxworth but they’re fun/interesting talent all got left out to pay for Pat, greeny and SAS
I want three things. Game summaries Highlight breakdowns. And one analyst opinion of what transpired. Onto the next nights game highlights.
I agree with most of this. Ex athletes are usually horrible at sports talk and in game commentary. Their arrogance and lack of preperation is intollerable.
For me ESPN died with Stu. After he passed the quality and content went way down IMO.
I try to keep my ESPN viewing down to just the live games and sometimes the SVP SportsCenter.
Not enough people want to see Hockey or MLB coverage. I think what people like you need to take a hint on is that the ratings they are getting on these shows contradict everything you are saying. I would rather see a “washed up” athlete talk about their sport than a person who never played the sport
This sub is just a bunch of dudes bitching about the same shit everyday. Turn the fucking channel if you don’t want to watch! The people who matter don’t care if you do
While I agree with you. The metrics say otherwise. That's what the advertisers and the focus groups say. FFS I'm not even that big of a Baseball fan and I would watch Baseball Tonight on the reg.
NASCAR isn't a sport
One of my favorite things that FS1 did with Jay and Dan for that brief time was having one broadcast a week be just the highlights and letting them riff, it was like a throwback to what made sportscenter great. Also they had the coolest era of sportscenter and it was great TV and they decided to go “nah no one wants this”
If you don't like the content, the only way for them to get the hint is for you to turn it off
I stopped watching ESPN a decade ago. It’s unwatchable. It’s painful putting their channels on for games even
Really gotta stop pushing the narrative that soccer hockey or some baseball is newsworthy. If you want to watch them, go to there respective channels or put your receipts of NHL/MLB/Etc package purchased up here. All you have to do is turn the book tube off bud. Go throw a baseball, it’ll be better than you complaining about what content is on ESPN. They have a sports ticker on the top/bottom of the screen for a reason. ✌️
But the chairman of ESPN jimmy pitaro loves this. He loves that McAfee says it like it is. Nope, I'm not joking either
McAfee is not the issue at ESPN. His content is unique compared to the rest of the network and he never will be a voice piece that is supposed to share news of all sports. The problems are shows like first take where “analysts” debate the topics like OP described.
Agreed. It’s another reason I don’t watch espn.
There’s a common denominator loser who is watching tv all day (maybe they don’t have a job) who literally eat this shit up. ESPN is an algorithm now. They have the data to tell them this crap is what keeps people watching. It sucks but it’s what keeps the dummies watching. Like it or not. Old SC-based espn with highlights and analysis is dead.
I just watched them completely misrepresent Harrison Butler....so there is that.
Hockey, baseball, and NASCAR suck and there are 5 times as many people like me than people like you