re: Whitlock: How a Gawker-Affiliated Website Made ESPN Politically Correct

quote:

---

Their biggest revenue source is the monthly cable fee and something like 70% of cable subs do not watch ESPN to begin with.

---

60% of their revenue come from subscriber fees. the rest is advertisement. They thought that by having the college football playoffs and more NBA games, they could get higher advertisement money, which is why they threw those stupid numbers at those two leagues.
Then they go put the playoffs on new years eve night, and have to give back millions of dollars to advertisers, they have big time NBA players sitting out their primetime games, and have to give back millions in advertisement money, and showed a ton of shitty MNF games throughout the year, giving back millions in advertisement money, all b/c they didn't get the ratings they expected for their live primetime games.

Just the last college football playoff lost them $20M in advertisement money b/c they are idiots and put it on a night that couldn't garner the maximum number of viewers. They've been arrogant and very stupid on the timing and product of their live primetime games. As i said, starting shitty MNF games after 8 central time, when 75% of the country lives in ET and CT time zones is just stupid. Playing the college football playoffs on NYE, is just stupid. They deserve to lose money for being such idiots. No one gives a shite about your hour long pregame show.


Compared to 2011, they are probably easily a billion dollars less annually when it comes to subscriber fees. I saw in 2015 they were at $6.9B in subscriber fees, which was down a little over half a billion since 2011, and at $3.9B in advertising money. I'm sure the CFP and NBA deals had them expecting that advertising money would go up significantly, but it hasn't at a rate they were predicting. I don't think cord cutting is the reason they aren't seeing the maximum revenue on the advertising.
Cord cutters shouldn't have a role in decreased ratings. If they weren't watching it when they paid for it, then they aren't watching it when they cut the cord, so rating shouldn't dip b/c of them.

I think they expected to lose revenue from cord cutters, maybe not as much as they are, but they knew that was coming. I think they are being hit more by the dip in ratings and expected advertisement money from the CFP and NBA deals.