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Whitlock: How a Gawker-Affiliated Website Made ESPN Politically Correct
Posted on 5/8/17 at 9:37 am
Posted on 5/8/17 at 9:37 am
quote:
The consensus opinion blamed the network’s woes on overly expensive live-sports contracts and subscriber losses attributed to cable “cord-cutting.”
That’s accurate but incomplete. What has truly impeded ESPN from overcoming its financial mistakes and inability to adapt to technological advances? The decadelong culture war ESPN lost to Deadspin, a snarky, politically progressive sports blog launched by Gawker’s Nick Denton in 2005.
quote:
During ESPN’s presentation to advertisers last year, Deadspin’s Kevin Draper wrote a post that all but declared the blog’s victory over the media giant. In the piece, “ESPN’s Vision of Its Future Is Good for Sports Fans, for Now” the writer celebrated the network’s firing of Curt Schilling and the “targeting” of nonwhite and female viewers.
quote:
The old-school viewers were put in a corner and not appreciated with all these other changes,” veteran ESPN anchor Linda Cohn said during an April radio interview when asked if ESPN’s liberal bent hurt the network. “If anyone wants to ignore that fact, then they’re blind.”
Rather than sue Mr. Denton’s bullying internet pirates into submission the way tech billionaire Peter Thiel did, ESPN chose to acquiesce and adopt progressive ideology and diversity as groundbreaking business innovations. ESPN is the exact network Deadspin desired. It’s diverse on its surface, progressive in its point of view, and more concerned with spinning media narratives than with the quality of its product.
The channel has become too handcuffed by politics to protect its most experienced and loyal employees. It’s a massive symbol of everything that fueled Donald Trump’s bid for the presidency.
But muh cord-cutting! No way product quality has an effect!
17
Posted on 5/8/17 at 9:41 am to Lou Pai
Can't wait for all of our liberal posters to tell us "if you don't like it, turn it off". Wise folk, that, I can tell you. 
This post was edited on 5/8/17 at 9:41 am
Posted on 5/8/17 at 9:41 am to Lou Pai
quote:It's basically factual that cord cutting from those who don't even watch ESPN is the biggest reason ESPN is losing subscribers.
But muh cord-cutting!
Arguing against that is like arguing against me saying 2+2=4.
Posted on 5/8/17 at 9:46 am to Lou Pai
Out of all the terrible sports pundits on TV, there's nobody who I hate more than Jason Whitlock. I hate that fat sellout frick with a burning passion of a thousand suns.
This post was edited on 5/8/17 at 10:22 am
Posted on 5/8/17 at 9:47 am to shel311
quote:Exactly. They seem to think that people are calling their cable providers and asking to drop ESPN alone
It's basically factual that cord cutting from those who don't even watch ESPN is the biggest reason ESPN is losing subscribers.
Arguing against that is like arguing against me saying 2+2=4.
Posted on 5/8/17 at 9:48 am to shel311
It's a multi-faceted problem. The people arguing that the decline in ESPN's content (due in part to politics/culture) is one of the reasons, have never denied that cord-cutting is a thing.
Meanwhile you have your MSB millennial "moderates" on here saying "lol, it's cord-cutting, and everything else is irrelevant."
Meanwhile you have your MSB millennial "moderates" on here saying "lol, it's cord-cutting, and everything else is irrelevant."
Posted on 5/8/17 at 9:50 am to MontyFranklyn
you can't pretend that their recent dynamic revolving around politics isn't playing a role
For the longest time I said I wouldn't cord cut because of ESPN, I thought I could not do without it.
Then their programming became so intolerable that now I can definitely live without it and can find other ways of watching live sports that they only broadcast
I'm not saying that proves anything, but I know a few others who have had similar reactions. The cord cutting is absolutely their biggest problem but the leanings that they perpetuate now has played a role
For the longest time I said I wouldn't cord cut because of ESPN, I thought I could not do without it.
Then their programming became so intolerable that now I can definitely live without it and can find other ways of watching live sports that they only broadcast
I'm not saying that proves anything, but I know a few others who have had similar reactions. The cord cutting is absolutely their biggest problem but the leanings that they perpetuate now has played a role
Posted on 5/8/17 at 9:51 am to Lou Pai
quote:Agreed
It's a multi-faceted problem.
quote:Well, there are a great many posters who blame the politics and the SC6 as the specific reason, so there's that.
The people arguing that the decline in ESPN's content (due in part to politics/culture) is one of the reasons, have never denied that cord-cutting is a thing.
Sure, there's multiple reasons. ESPN's content as of right now, hasn't really hurt them all that much. it doesn't mean it won't in the future, just means not that many people are cutting the cord with the main reason being that they just don't like ESPN any more.
Posted on 5/8/17 at 9:52 am to LSUSoulja08
quote:Sure, it's just a very small role, much smaller than most make it out to be.
you can't pretend that their recent dynamic revolving around politics isn't playing a role
Posted on 5/8/17 at 9:55 am to shel311
ESPN is losing subscribers because of cord cutting and ESPN gets shite ratings outside of live sporting events. ESPN highest rated none live sporting event is PTI that averages less than 800,000 viewers per show. It is why ESPN pays billions of dollars for the rights to broadcast sports and overpaid for the NBA contract. It doesn't matter what ESPN does the only thing that gets ratings is live sports.
Posted on 5/8/17 at 9:57 am to shel311
I'm not trying to say you are wrong or calling you out or anything like that, but do you have some information you can link me to that supports your claim that it isn't a significant reason for ESPN's downturn in profit?
I'm genuinely curious (and trying to ignore a boring epidemiology lecture)
I'm genuinely curious (and trying to ignore a boring epidemiology lecture
)Posted on 5/8/17 at 10:03 am to LSUSoulja08
quote:Currently in a riveting work meeting lol, maybe someone else can link a couple of things we've seen before.
I'm not trying to say you are wrong or calling you out or anything like that, but do you have some information you can link me to that supports your claim that it isn't a significant reason for ESPN's downturn in profit?
I'm genuinely curious (and trying to ignore a boring epidemiology lectur
Couple of things off the top of my head:
- FS1 is losing even more viewers or something like that recently than ESPN
- There was a study done and i can't remember the number, but it's some really large % of cable subscribers that never even watch ESPN to begin with, and the cord cutters aren't the ones watching either based on a % scale. It's just people who don't want cable any more, basically.
Posted on 5/8/17 at 10:04 am to Lou Pai
quote:
Rather than sue Mr. Denton’s bullying internet pirates into submission the way tech billionaire Peter Thiel did
frick this sentence. Gawker outed Thiel and deserved every single punishment in the Hogan case. It wasn't suing into submission, it was putting down a rabid dog.
Posted on 5/8/17 at 10:07 am to shel311
Exactly. The core cutting numbers are quantifiable cause-effect.
Posted on 5/8/17 at 10:07 am to Bench McElroy
quote:
burning passion of a thousand sons.
Posted on 5/8/17 at 10:17 am to Lou Pai
Deadspin writes some decent stories.
However, the writers are absolutely insufferable when they inject their opinions.
However, the writers are absolutely insufferable when they inject their opinions.
Posted on 5/8/17 at 10:17 am to Lou Pai
quote:
It's a multi-faceted problem.
This.
Cord cutting is the largest problem, and to combat this, ESPN tried to capture new viewers by, whether intentionally or unintentionally, swinging to the left.
Problem is, attempting to bring in new viewers has ended up alienating their old school core viewers.
Posted on 5/8/17 at 10:19 am to Jcorye1
He was saying it in a positive light.
I wish I could have posted the whole article but there is a paywall. In the article, Whitlock talks about Gawker making up affair bullshite about Stuart Scott because some psycho reporter looked over his shoulder and saw a text that said "lemme know" to a female that wasn't his wife.
I wish I could have posted the whole article but there is a paywall. In the article, Whitlock talks about Gawker making up affair bullshite about Stuart Scott because some psycho reporter looked over his shoulder and saw a text that said "lemme know" to a female that wasn't his wife.
Posted on 5/8/17 at 10:24 am to MontyFranklyn
quote:You don't have to drop the channel to reduce ratings, website subscriptions, and web hits.
Exactly. They seem to think that people are calling their cable providers and asking to drop ESPN alone
There are many ways to hurt ESPN financially. However your reductionist point is amusing as an object lesson in "why not to reduce complex points you don't understand".
Posted on 5/8/17 at 10:24 am to MontyFranklyn
quote:
Exactly. They seem to think that people are calling their cable providers and asking to drop ESPN alone
Not too long ago (perhaps 5 years ago), ESPN was viewed as a godsend for cable companies because it was viewed as immune to cord-cutting, due to the live nature of sports. The network by far represented the largest cost on your cable bill.
Clearly, they haven't been immune. But the argument is that they have accelerated their problem by shitting all over their own content.
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