The "Complain About ESPN" Thread

[Dude Love]

Re: The "Complain About ESPN" Thread

I'd ruin Michelle Beadle...but I don't listen to her talk enough to know if she's competent.

[ExileOnDaytonStreet]

I'd ruin Michelle Beadle...but I don't listen to her talk enough to know if she's competent.

She's alright. Her role on SportsNation seems to be similar to what Jacobson did with Bayless: be the voice of reason when Cowherd goes off the radar.

Of course, that show is so gimmicky and ridiculous that she's not exactly steering it back to anyplace useful, but at least she appears to be from planet Earth. That's more than Bayless, Cowherd and their ilk can claim.

[dxmnkd316]

Re: The "Complain About ESPN" Thread

She's alright. Her role on SportsNation seems to be similar to what Jacobson did with Bayless: be the voice of reason when Cowherd goes off the radar.

Of course, that show is so gimmicky and ridiculous that she's not exactly steering it back to anyplace useful, but at least she appears to be from planet Earth. That's more than Bayless, Cowherd and their ilk can claim.

Completely agree. I tried to watch one episode of Sportsnation and I couldn't believe even ESPN would put that kind of TMZ trash on the air. Seriously, I was in disbelief. What an AWFUL concept for a sports show. I don't care what the fans think. I want to see a couple of competent analysts discuss the topic at hand, assuming it's relevant.

I couldn't even make it through the first two segments on Sportsnation.

[ExileOnDaytonStreet]

Re: The "Complain About ESPN" Thread

On the plus side: Beadle is good to look at, and her personality makes it a better watch than First Take. Thankfully, I have a job so I'm never at home, bored enough to actually think that watching either show is a good use of my time.

[Priceless]

Re: The "Complain About ESPN" Thread

Who even likes Skip Bayless? I can't say I know a single person that does. Do they keep him there to be the villain, or is there a mass following that I am unaware of that loves him?

Listen to Dan Patrick's show sometime if you want the inside scoop on things that happen at the Mothership. He may be a little biased, but there's a lot of truth in what he says. When it comes to shows like "First Take" the producers basically tell the "talent" like Bayless what the topics are going to be and they pick sides to argue - even if they disagree with what they're saying. They think arguing makes better TV. It doesn't matter if two weeks ago Bayless argued the exact opposite of what he's saying now, just as long as there's friction. ESPN gets over $5/subscriber now, so they're getting ratings. I don't think anyone else is even over $4/subscriber. If we ever go to the a la carte thing everyone seems to want, they're going to charge as much or more than HBO ($16.00/month). And people will pay it because we want college football, MLB, NBA and Monday Night Football.

[dxmnkd316]

Re: The "Complain About ESPN" Thread

Listen to Dan Patrick's show sometime if you want the inside scoop on things that happen at the Mothership. He may be a little biased, but there's a lot of truth in what he says. When it comes to shows like "First Take" the producers basically tell the "talent" like Bayless what the topics are going to be and they pick sides to argue - even if they disagree with what they're saying. They think arguing makes better TV. It doesn't matter if two weeks ago Bayless argued the exact opposite of what he's saying now, just as long as there's friction. ESPN gets over $5/subscriber now, so they're getting ratings. I don't think anyone else is even over $4/subscriber. If we ever go to the a la carte thing everyone seems to want, they're going to charge as much or more than HBO ($16.00/month). And people will pay it because we want college football, MLB, NBA and Monday Night Football.

Many years ago I was discussing cable prices with my old man. I was for the a la carte transition myself until he explained how cable pricing works. It became readily apparent that a la carte would only cost more for less. That said, cable is becoming almost obscenely expensive.

[NMU8405]

Re: The "Complain About ESPN" Thread

Many years ago I was discussing cable prices with my old man. I was for the a la carte transition myself until he explained how cable pricing works. It became readily apparent that a la carte would only cost more for less. That said, cable is becoming almost obscenely expensive.

ESPN on Xbox is a great idea. When I move into my own place here in a few weeks Im not even going to get cable. Ive got Hulu, Netflix.

[bronconick]

Re: The "Complain About ESPN" Thread

*****http://consumerist.com/3-9-2010%202-23-31%20PM.jpg******

Here's a 3 year old listing of subscriber fee averages.

[WeWantMore]

Re: The "Complain About ESPN" Thread

Even if ESPN did bump up, I still feel like I'd make out well with ala carte. Probably wouldn't pay for any non-sports channel, and just rely on Hulu or torrents.

[MountieBoyOz]

Re: The "Complain About ESPN" Thread

Pierre LeBrun said on his twitter that an updated tribute segment will include the hockey players. Supposed to run on Dec. 29 and Jan. 2. If this is true, well done hockey fans. We can make some kind of difference.

[Priceless]

Re: The "Complain About ESPN" Thread

Here's a 3 year old listing of subscriber fee averages.

Using that data, my cable bill would only be $16.08, but when/if channels go a la carte it will probably be close to $100. I wouldn't be surprised to see Disney do some bundling even on a la carte schemes so that you have to get a bunch of crap channels if you want to get ESPN, Disney Channel etc.

[mookie1995]

Using that data, my cable bill would only be $16.08, but when/if channels go a la carte it will probably be close to $100. I wouldn't be surprised to see Disney do some bundling even on a la carte schemes so that you have to get a bunch of crap channels if you want to get ESPN, Disney Channel etc.

bundling =/= a la carte

[Priceless]

Re: The "Complain About ESPN" Thread

bundling =/= a la carte

Bet they still do it

For example: You can get ESPN for $16, ESPN2 for $10 and Disney Channel for $10. Or you can get the bundle which includes ESPN, ESPN2, Disney and five pieces of crap for $35. Oh, and if you get the bundle, they throw in ESPN3 for free. So you can go a la carte, it'll just be cheaper to bundle - but you'll get the same crap you get now.

If we go to a true a la carte scheme it will mean the end of 75% of the channels on cable/satellite.

[Dude Love]

Re: The "Complain About ESPN" Thread

Of course, that show is so gimmicky and ridiculous that she's not exactly steering it back to anyplace useful, but at least she appears to be from planet Earth. That's more than Bayless, Cowherd and their ilk can claim.

That dumbass Cowherd almost got canned a couple years back for making tasteless comments after Eddie Guerrero died. He's lucky he's even still around to annoy everyone.

[dxmnkd316]

Re: The "Complain About ESPN" Thread

That dumbass Cowherd almost got canned a couple years back for making tasteless comments after Eddie Guerrero died. He's lucky he's even still around to annoy everyone.

Doubtful. Nobody cares about wrestling. Here's what Wikipedia had to say on the subject:

* Eddie Guerrero's Death - In November 2005, Cowherd was criticized by former ESPN ombudsman, George Solomon for his treatment of the death of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestler Eddie Guerrero. Colin was quoted as saying "he passed away doing steroids", implying that Guerrero's death had been caused by steroid use. According to Dr. Kathryn Berg, the assistant chief medical examiner for Hennepin County in Minnesota, the autopsy showed that Guerrero died from a hardening and narrowing of the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the heart.[6]

Again, that's barely even controversial. Evidence Cowherd has a big mouth without a filter? Yes. Fireable offense? Hardly. Maybe if he made a crack about an NFL player.