IU Scott Posted July 15, 2020 Report Share Posted July 15, 2020 12 minutes ago, mookied39 said: Who are you talking about here? Steven A Smith and his partner. You have Pardon the interruption, First Take and Halen and Jacoby. I don't care for any of those shoes especially Steven A. I thought we were talking all of ESPN but now I saw you were talking about Labatare but can't stand his show either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking6 Posted July 15, 2020 Report Share Posted July 15, 2020 7 hours ago, IUskim said: He actually already said what he’s going to do next on Monday. He is going to be calling college football games for ESPN thru at least the end of his contract which is the end of this year, but he hopes to keep calling games for ESPN for a couple more years. Haha! Didn't know. Shows you how much I pay attention to ESPN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IU Scott Posted July 15, 2020 Report Share Posted July 15, 2020 1 hour ago, mookied39 said: That is the usual complaint. To me that is what makes them great. Lord knows I can get sports talk in a hundred other places. I noticed ESPN going down this road around 2005 when they had a show Cold Pizza. It was a pretty good show that had a lot of interviews and highlights. They had a segment with Woody Paige and Skip Bayless where they debated sports topics but it was just a court of segments of a 2 hour show. After awhile the whole show was those two guys debating and the rest of the crew was let go. This show had an interview of Greg Iden while he was in high school and they talked about recruiting. They asked him if IU was in the lead for him and he told them yes. I guess that was to keep the in state fans off of his back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgambill Posted July 15, 2020 Report Share Posted July 15, 2020 ESPN continues to hemorrhage money. With no actual sporting events going on they are basically rendered useless. It exposes and just amplifies their issues. You would think they would realize that the only reason people tune in is for the scores and the games...not these dumb personalities and gimmicky shows. Time and again they double down on the same failed decisions. Their shows are filled with political commentary, Covid commentary, and “social justice” commentary....and people are sick of it...especially getting lectured and opined at 24-7 from people I don’t even respect half their sports opinions much less subjects they honestly have no authority to be speaking on. Anyways there are so many ways to get what I want sports-wise and ESPN is just not part of my watch list. Maybe I’ll tune into a game but I can’t remember the last time that was. Good luck to Mike and the others. Probably didn’t help having his son on the show...I listened on the radio going to work a few times and his son was terrible! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billingsley99 Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 14 hours ago, mookied39 said: That is the usual complaint. To me that is what makes them great. Lord knows I can get sports talk in a hundred other places. I get that for sure. That show is just not my cup of tea but I do see why many people like it. I am in the minority here but I like to listen to Dakich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmhoosier Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 15 hours ago, dgambill said: ESPN continues to hemorrhage money. With no actual sporting events going on they are basically rendered useless. It exposes and just amplifies their issues. You would think they would realize that the only reason people tune in is for the scores and the games...not these dumb personalities and gimmicky shows. Time and again they double down on the same failed decisions. Their shows are filled with political commentary, Covid commentary, and “social justice” commentary....and people are sick of it...especially getting lectured and opined at 24-7 from people I don’t even respect half their sports opinions much less subjects they honestly have no authority to be speaking on. Anyways there are so many ways to get what I want sports-wise and ESPN is just not part of my watch list. Maybe I’ll tune into a game but I can’t remember the last time that was. Good luck to Mike and the others. Probably didn’t help having his son on the show...I listened on the radio going to work a few times and his son was terrible! The problem isn't that they are getting lectured necessarily. It's that they are only getting lectured from one side of the aisle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euroclydon Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 ESPN is virtually unwatchable. Politics and social justice end up in just about everything they do. And just to be clear, social justice has nothing to do with justice. Once you add "social" to it, it's no longer about justice. It becomes a subjective catch all to mean whatever someone wants it to mean and used against whoever they want to use it against. Just like the nonsense of "my truth". If it's my truth, it can be whatever I want it to be. It has nothing to do with actual facts or reality - if it did it would just be called the truth. People accepting this crap are part of the problem. But it's not just ESPN. I tried watching undisputed for awhile. Garbage. Listening to Sharp's "skip skip skip, c'mon skip, skip c'mon, skip skip skip" is torture. And Bayless may be the most deserving of a forearm to the face. Again, unwatchable. The rest is really just more of the same. Every story has to have an angle that touches on their agenda related to politics and social justice. Unless one of the teams I follow is playing a game on their stations, I have no use for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IU Scott Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 17 minutes ago, Euroclydon said: ESPN is virtually unwatchable. Politics and social justice end up in just about everything they do. And just to be clear, social justice has nothing to do with justice. Once you add "social" to it, it's no longer about justice. It becomes a subjective catch all to mean whatever someone wants it to mean and used against whoever they want to use it against. Just like the nonsense of "my truth". If it's my truth, it can be whatever I want it to be. It has nothing to do with actual facts or reality - if it did it would just be called the truth. People accepting this crap are part of the problem. But it's not just ESPN. I tried watching undisputed for awhile. Garbage. Listening to Sharp's "skip skip skip, c'mon skip, skip c'mon, skip skip skip" is torture. And Bayless may be the most deserving of a forearm to the face. Again, unwatchable. The rest is really just more of the same. Every story has to have an angle that touches on their agenda related to politics and social justice. Unless one of the teams I follow is playing a game on their stations, I have no use for them. To me we can blame Jim Rome for this kind of so called sports journalist with his have a take and don't suck attitude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IUFLA Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 15 minutes ago, IU Scott said: To me we can blame Jim Rome for this kind of so called sports journalist with his have a take and don't suck attitude. Before that, Howard Cosell... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IU Scott Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 1 hour ago, IUFLA said: Before that, Howard Cosell... I was more referring to people who started these stupid talk shows where they are talking smack. The first show ESPN had was the sports reporters which I liked a lot because they were just discussing sports but now it is about hot takes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IUFLA Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 20 minutes ago, Sark said: While unusual in his delivery, Cosell was always regarded as extremely knowledgeable about the sports he covered. Yes, well... While Cosell may have won journalists awards, it's perplexing to me that someone as "knowledgeable about the sports he covered" isn't in the Pro Football or Baseball Hall of Fame. If you ever watched either Monday Night Football or Monday Night Baseball, he flaunted his true ignorance if both sports frequently... Such as... "He had the good sense in the "Monday Night Football" booth not to try to be too technical about the game, leaving that to the ex-pros, Simpson, Gifford and Meredith. Howard always gave big attention to the clock ("time is of the essence now"), knowing he was safe in that matter. When he misspoke about the game, his errors were noted, usually by the comparative jokester Meredith. Howard covered them with his patented "heh, heh, heh." And beware the poor pro football rookie who fumbled or was hoodwinked on defense. He would be harangued for the rest of the night by Cosell to show off his perceptions and his expertise. As in football, he was no student of the game when it came to his comments as boxing analyst and baseball commentator. He knew the passwords and had a way of sounding authentic." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IUFLA Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 15 minutes ago, IU Scott said: I was more referring to people who started these stupid talk shows where they are talking smack. The first show ESPN had was the sports reporters which I liked a lot because they were just discussing sports but now it is about hot takes As I said, watch Cosell during an interview...bombastic, provoking...he was the first to promote controversy over the game itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IU Scott Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 1 minute ago, IUFLA said: As I said, watch Cosell during an interview...bombastic, provoking...he was the first to promote controversy over the game itself. Never liked him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgambill Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 18 hours ago, Sark said: His son is part of the revamped radio line up. As for hemorrhaging money, that’s happened to many businesses in the Covid world. They were doing well before the pandemic set in. The Disney annual reports and 10-K’s have shown a healthy company, though it’s one that relies on live sports and the ad revenues generated. Subscription revenues have always been robust, too, even when pressured by providers. I’m not going into it...but they’ve been losing tons of tons of subscribers for the past several years and why we saw the mass layoffs about a year ago. Sure they make up for some of it with espn+ subscribers to a degree but when over 50% of those are part of the Disney-Hulu-espn+ bundle and at half the price of cable subscription how much of that is ESPN. Slice it however you want they aren’t doing as great as they once was. Combine the fact that renewals for rights will only go way up and more cord cutters and cookie cutter streaming services they will lose more. Competition is only stronger with Fox and now these leagues are pushing their own distribution channels. Sure they won’t go under...it’s a huge company with the most brand recognition among sport followers but it’s not sitting as pretty as it once was. When you talk about Disney, ABC, ESPN and everything else under that umbrella. They can make the numbers try to look good for investors but in the end it will come down $$$ and subscribers. The stuff they did good with the Kobe/Peyton Places stuff they added will help but If they double And triple down on this current ideology...it won’t ever be the same. My two cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FKIM01 Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 58 minutes ago, IUFLA said: As I said, watch Cosell during an interview...bombastic, provoking...he was the first to promote controversy over the game itself. I agree, but man...Cosell and Ali in the same interview though...LOL... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgambill Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 21 minutes ago, Sark said: Profits are definitely down as more people cut the cord and the number of channels has proliferated, but they’ve never hemorrhaged money, which was my point. It is funny how many people have such strong negative opinions of them, and why. Oh I think it is normal the reasons why. You cater to such a small segment and then you start pushing an unpopular agenda (and they have an agenda) and you alienate people. People want sports as an escape from their everyday lives. It’s where miracles DO HAPPEN and the playing field IS LEVEL for so many. They get force fed opinions all day long in the news, by politicians, tv shows, heck even in their work place where companies pick sides with all those issues and you as a worker have to shut up and watch them spend Hours of wasted time and millions to support their causes that you helped them make for things you don’t agree with and make you sit through “training” that is also forced on you that is not necessary but deemed important because they don’t trust you to treat everyone equally or to never offend someone...when if they thought that would be a possibility why even hire you. Shoot most just want to come home and watch a game and know who scored and how but then they have to hear more more more about crap they didn’t want to listen to in the first place. Just give me unvarnished play by play...facts...who got cut...who got signed...stats....not who stands for what and who is offended by this or that and who is protesting this week. Why do you think so many people watch sports with the sound off or turn on a local play by play person without the commentary? Anyways it’s no surprise to me. Unfortunately ESPN is a necessary evil for those of us that do want to watch the games on there. The more it goes ala MTV the more they will lose...same goes for any other station that does the same. It used to be sports updates 24-7 with funny catch phrases and non stop highlights. You could throw in legitimate sports news/updates but that was what made it big...not opinions...and certainly not social opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steubenhoosier Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 ESPN may not be hemorrhaging money, but they sure have put themselves in a bind with the exorbitant fees they have paid for broadcasting rights. They also allowed some pretty big egos to develop, Chris Berman as an example, and as they did, salaries, perks and the coddling of their celebrity became outlandish. Maybe they learned their lesson from the heyday as their most recent repositioning put much lower profile people, at much lower salaries, into prominent jobs. That could very well be what this shake up is about. Maybe this one will turn out better than the fiasco of the most recent MNF broadcast team, which was horrendous. Like most on here, I try to limit my consumption of the ESPN product to games. I sometimes turn Golic and Wingo, mute the volume, and read the news scrawl. That’s as much as I can take of what they have become Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev_AK Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 I have mentioned before my disdain for the political climate and hot take culture that ESPN has become. I can hardly stand to listen to all of the opinions, that we know concerning sports, half of which are wrong. I often wondered if the prognosticators flip a coin before the show and choose a side. It amazes me that some of those guys are probably millionaires, and they get heavily paid for being wrong, or in the very least arguing about subjective things that can’t ever truly be compared. (Think- who would win the 80’s 49ers vs the 70’s Steelers) Cable companies literally do charge exorbitant fees just for ESPN, which is why I switched to Fubo TV. All the same channels I had with At&t, minus ESPN. Bill? My bill was $175 dollars less. As anecdotal evidence that ESPN is losing its pull, Fubo is now adding Espn in August, for only $5 dollars a month. As an aside, IU games are far better watching while muted and listening to Fisch. (Especially if Dakich is on the call) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgambill Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 5 minutes ago, Rev_AK said: I have mentioned before my disdain for the political climate and hot take culture that ESPN has become. I can hardly stand to listen to all of the opinions, that we know concerning sports, half of which are wrong. I often wondered if the prognosticators flip a coin before the show and choose a side. It amazes me that some of those guys are probably millionaires, and they get heavily paid for being wrong, or in the very least arguing about subjective things that can’t ever truly be compared. (Think- who would win the 80’s 49ers vs the 70’s Steelers) Cable companies literally do charge exorbitant fees just for ESPN, which is why I switched to Fubo TV. All the same channels I had with At&t, minus ESPN. Bill? My bill was $175 dollars less. As anecdotal evidence that ESPN is losing its pull, Fubo is now adding Espn in August, for only $5 dollars a month. As an aside, IU games are far better watching while muted and listening to Fisch. (Especially if Dakich is on the call) Yeah cable companies pay almost 10 for ESPN. The streaming are half..and some cut it out entirely. Hopefully someday there will be a pure ala-carte tv experience...until then I do Hulu because it has B1G channel...YouTube tv went up $15 this past month so I had to bail. Crazy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IUFLA Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 3 hours ago, Sark said: he was recognized as quite knowledgeable about the sports he covered. By whom? I produced and article that directly refutes that point. You've produced a personal opinion that doesn't seem very informed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steubenhoosier Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 14 minutes ago, IUFLA said: By whom? I produced and article that directly refutes that point. You've produced a personal opinion that doesn't seem very informed. Proof! Where’s the proof!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IUFLA Posted July 17, 2020 Report Share Posted July 17, 2020 19 minutes ago, Sark said: His popularity was obvious and is widely considered the reason MNF was so successful. Those of us who watched remember the phenomenon the was HC quite well. By the way, the article you posted was a personal opinion of the author. Plea to of opinions out there about him. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiq0Kbk-9LqAhVmmK0KHeczCdQQFjABegQIDhAE&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.spokesman.com%2Fstories%2F1995%2Fapr%2F24%2Fdeath-silences-howard-cosell-sportscaster-leaves%2F&usg=AOvVaw0F2XFtSO3_gixi69FWW_oH Do you even know who wrote the article I cited? Shirley Povich...Ever heard of him? "Among his prestigious honors: the National Headliners 1964 Grantland Rice Award for sports writing, the Red Smith Award in 1983, and election to the National Sportswriters Hall of Fame in 1984. In 1975, he was recipient of the Baseball Writers' Association of America's J. G. Taylor Spink Award, the Baseball Hall of Fame honor for sportswriters. He was President of the BWAA in 1955." I'd say his "opinion" carries a lot of weight... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IU Scott Posted July 17, 2020 Report Share Posted July 17, 2020 6 minutes ago, IUFLA said: Do you even know who wrote the article I cited? Shirley Povich...Ever heard of him? "Among his prestigious honors: the National Headliners 1964 Grantland Rice Award for sports writing, the Red Smith Award in 1983, and election to the National Sportswriters Hall of Fame in 1984. In 1975, he was recipient of the Baseball Writers' Association of America's J. G. Taylor Spink Award, the Baseball Hall of Fame honor for sportswriters. He was President of the BWAA in 1955." I'd say his "opinion" carries a lot of weight... Just give it up because he is never wrong. LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IUFLA Posted July 17, 2020 Report Share Posted July 17, 2020 56 minutes ago, IU Scott said: Just give it up because he is never wrong. LOL! Nah...not my way. I do know how Cosell would call this one, though... "Down goes Sark! Down goes Sark!" 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rico Posted July 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2020 On 7/15/2020 at 8:33 PM, Sark said: His son is part of the revamped radio line up. As for hemorrhaging money, that’s happened to many businesses in the Covid world. They were doing well before the pandemic set in. The Disney annual reports and 10-K’s have shown a healthy company, though it’s one that relies on live sports and the ad revenues generated. Subscription revenues have always been robust, too, even when pressured by providers. Dude, ESPN was losing money well before this virus hit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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