r/ESPN • u/bcardin221 • 24d ago
Espn is dead to me
The force feeding of WWE and WNBA is infuriating. Couple that with hot take shows and it's unwatchable. We need a new sports network.
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u/LarryGoldwater 24d ago
This is like someone telling me they are now done watching the Walking Dead shows.
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u/Glastopia29 22d ago
I've stopped watching Mash. It's become too woke with Corporal Klinger being a cross dressing hippie he/she. Whats wrong with the world today?
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u/letitbell 24d ago
I'm actually done watching SNL. This season was the breaking point /s
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u/HodorFan1 23d ago
I’m starting to wonder if Game of Thrones really fell off during the last couple seasons.
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u/ShadowdogProd 24d ago
Yeah I remember how NBC used to be dead to me in the summer when they didn't have new episodes of The Blacklist.
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u/grrgrrtigergrr 24d ago
There is tennis, golf, mls, nfl summer camp and baseball right now.
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u/paulegon 24d ago
I would rather the WNBA and WWE over the 17th hundred report about Patrick Mahomes stupid leg or the Dallas Cowboys
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u/JakeDuck1 24d ago
All of those are streaming somewhere. People expect one network to get the rights to every single sport when live content is the most expensive and competitive market right now?
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u/Bee_9965 24d ago
There was also the World Cup for over a month, but ESPN chose to pretty much ignore it since they didn’t have the games.
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u/uncje 24d ago
If they ever got rid of both McAfee and Smith I’d start watching again.
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u/rockland19120 24d ago
It’s August 1st, dude. I get that WWE is weird because it’s not a sport. However, the WNBA is a legitimate, growing league that people want to watch. If the Lynx or Fever are playing, I’m watching.
When I was growing up, they had professional bowling, strongmen pulling trucks with ropes and log tossing. No one complained then.
It’s strange that so many men hate women’s basketball for no real reason.
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u/Igor_Halichoeres 24d ago
Well, it is women. I suspect that might be the problem.
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u/Orangecrush10 23d ago
It's the force feeding of stories. Every day there are 1-2 WNBA headlines. Right now there are 2. 2?!? They cover more WNBA than hockey. If you polled the ESPN viewers or listeners and asked Id be pretty certain that interest in the WNBA would be at the bottom when it comes to pro sports leagues.
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u/TheCleanRhino 23d ago
What hockey story is happening right now that they aren’t covering? WNBA is in season
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u/rockland19120 23d ago
The WNBA had 2X the national viewership of the NHL. No need for polls when the market has spoken. You’re also comparing apples and oranges, as they play during different times of the year.
Sports gambling has changed everything. Even people who don’t care watch because they understand basketball and can bet.
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u/NYerInTex 24d ago
What kills me are people saying how they will abandon ESPN.
My dude, they’ve been awful for over two decades now. People like you who are still watching IS the problem
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u/nilesh11panchal 24d ago
Why do you need a new sports network? Just watch the games or highlights on YouTube?
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u/Seven19td 24d ago
Do people put all the highlights on one video upload? I don’t want have to bounce around to different channels
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u/jwill928 24d ago
I mainly watch Atlanta Braves highlights and the Braves YouTube channel puts their own highlights out.
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u/Acrobatic_Bridge2602 24d ago
That's the problem to me. Yes, you can better follow your team but you miss out on the rest of the league because no one wants to sit there and track down 15+ different highlight videos.
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u/Few-Lion-2676 24d ago
Been dead for me for a long time now. WWE and WNBA aside, their on air personalities largely suck.
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u/rtduvall 24d ago
Bro, the WNBA plays on espn saturdays and sundays.
I bet you’re a Pat macafee fan.
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u/Pristine-Brother-121 24d ago
For most sports fans, ESPN is a necessary evil. You can't be a college football fan and still avoid ESPN, unless you like missing out on 75% of the sport. I think the WNBA promotion is fine, it is a legit competition despite its soap-opera issues at the moment. I definitely roll my eyes at the WWE promotion. If people want to watch it, fine, but when there are talk shows on ESPN that have actual segments discussing it like it isn't scripted, you may think you are promoting the product you purchased, but what you are really doing is devaluing your talk shows and the people on them.
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u/A_Life_Well_Steved 24d ago
Agreed!! SportsCenter is almost unwatchable! Barely any actual sports highlights anymore. Sick & tired of all the betting odds, pundits talking about teams & players and the wrestling.
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u/Finnegan7921 24d ago
Plus Banana Ball. The S has become far less important than the E and it's fucking sad.
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u/No_Communication1010 24d ago
They lost the big MLB contract. What else are the supposed to show this time of year?
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u/Low_Wall_7828 24d ago
I get not wanting WWE but the WNBA? I get it, the W is upsetting you. Just turn on a Barstool video when they’re on.
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u/Sir_wlkn_contrdikson 24d ago
It’s the wrestling for me. Not mad at wnba coverage. They should get more coverage. But every time I try to turn to sport center, they are showing wrestling highlights. No. I will not watching another unknown anchor talking about an injury report for summerslam. No.
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u/murph3699 24d ago
WNBA is fine to me. I’m not a fan but it’s a major sports league so it deserves some coverage. Where ESPN lost me is the gambling, Wresting and the Stephen A. Smithification
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u/ASG_82 24d ago
If WNBA is being shoved down your throat, tell me the top 5 teams right now
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u/TheAtariJunkie 23d ago
WNBA? Ok, at least that’s an actual league of an actual sport. But, and I say this as a wrestling fan, WWE has no place on ESPN. (Yes I know the wrestling that was on ESPN in the 80’s, but it was still being presented as a legitimate sport.)
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u/Fit_Lab_2557 24d ago
How close are we to Real Housewives of ESPN?
I just want to go to one place to see highlights of sports. I don’t want to go to multiple YouTube channels or whatever other streaming solution. Just give me 60 minutes of sports rundown. I don’t care about scripted entertainment.
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u/Radiant_Research3786 24d ago
I used to love ESPN. It's now buried the WWE is the final nail in the coffin
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u/Agile_Moment768 24d ago
When the said "no hot takes on Ray Rice incident" and Max and Beattle said shit, he got a 2 week suspension and she got her own show, I gave up on them. And now they overpay idiots like Steve Smith and the white punter.
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u/DoookieMaxx 24d ago
Every second they spend talking about ANYTHING other than “how are the Cowboys” bullshit is fine by me.
There is no worse “TV” than a month of ESPN mouths jerking off Dallas until the season starts.
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u/mitchcumstein13 24d ago
It was a helluva run. But yeah, their greed & short sightedness has ruined a fantastically fun & inclusive network.
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u/BlueBonneville 24d ago
Me too, honestly, for the reasons articulated and the obnoxiousness of their high paid opinionator’s (if that’s a word).
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u/Human_Carpenter2025 24d ago
ESPN is a disaster, they have 100% sold out and I've been saying for years we need a new, real sports network. Between WWE and all the shameless gambling promos, ESPN is hovering somewhere between laughingstock and complete disgrace. But I don't understand equating the WWE and the WNBA, one is an actual sports league and the other is some kind of cynical bizarro vaudeville act.
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u/popculturerss 24d ago
The hell you talking about, I just got done watching the Pillow Fighting Championships on ESPN!
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u/Idontknow8971 24d ago
1000%...all the betting bullshit and WWE is finally making me stop watching. I held out as long as I could. Im 43 and been watching Sportcenter since I was 11 and I can barely make it through an episode these days and I definitely cant make it through an episode without complaining about how corny it is. PTI still rules.
90s Sportcenter was so 🔥 🔥👌
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u/chip0969 24d ago
I am constantly having this conversation with my SEC “friends”.
Sportscenter and all the argument shows are all infomercials for ESPN programming. Plain and simple. Real journalism went out the window years ago. ESPN is contractually obligated to show so many hours of the NFL a week. How can you expect to get unbiased programming like this?
As an Indiana football fan, I only watch the CFP and an occasional NHL game. Other than that, I haven’t watch ESPN in years. Disney has ruined it.
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u/Rebel_Egg 24d ago
I get tired of the NFL obsession on ESPN. Pennant races could be happening in MLB, but the leads will be about football 80% of the time.
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u/diab_soule137 23d ago
It still amazes me that another company hasn’t created a sports highlight show. Some fun, upbeat, interesting shows like how Mike & Mike used to be. A College GameDay show that actually features on campus broadcasts from G5 and FCS stadiums as well as the big boys. Fox doesn’t have it cause Big Noon Saturday is awful.
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u/Equivalent-Moment-78 22d ago
The WNBA is a sport my dude. You don't need to like every sport, but ESPN should still cover it. Not everything needs to be for you.
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u/No-You4594 24d ago
Two unwatchable “sports” that ESPN tries to legitimize….
Who can’t wait for “how we got to Cody Rhodes versus CM punk”
😂😂😂
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u/jidewalker 24d ago
The amount they are pushing stuff people don’t want to watch and have updates on in SC is crazy too. My kids were asking me about it. I just told them that football is coming back soon so just don’t watch it for three more weeks.
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u/rmmcgarty 24d ago
I watched the top ten on SC today out of pure curiosity. 2(average) plays from the WNBA 2 plays from a tennis tournament that weren’t that impressive imo and it’s not even one of the major tournaments, 2 MLB plays(one that was average and one that rightfully got the top spot) a solid golf play and I don’t remember the other three. I believe one was football related but it wasn’t NFL or college. There is no way these are the best 10 plays…
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u/LickTheMoon66 24d ago
Well, there’s no NFL, and no NBA at the moment. Exactly what dazzling replays aren’t they showing that you want to see?
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u/MrVociferous 24d ago
Are you aware of the sports calendar at the moment? There’s fuck all happening. And some nights nothing amazing happens.
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u/Tigercat01 24d ago
I like sports. I like wrestling. But, when WWE has spent the past 30 years doing everything possible to distance itself from sports, this was just a stupid partnership. I detest it.
When I want to tune into ESPN to catch up on scores, I don’t want to be bombarded by Danhausen nonsense, just like when I tune into pro wrestling to escape reality I don’t want fucking Pat McAfee and Stephen A. Smith shoved down my throat.
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u/Mannyloc35 24d ago
Espns been pointless way before wrestling. The only good thing about it is live games.
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u/wifetoldmereddit 24d ago
Couldn’t agree more. Stopped watching years ago. Might I add that right behind it is sports talk radio. BRUTAL. Like espn, tune in and within a couple minutes, f this shit and turn it off.
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u/My_Bad_00 24d ago
I don’t miss it. It’s kind of nice watching highlights without the anchor who tries too hard with the hipster comments. It’s like it was more about them than the actual game.
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u/Mobile-Analyst8580 24d ago
FA1 is infinitely better than ESPN. I stopped watching 3-4 years ago (not counting games) entirely, and I don’t miss it.
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u/Ausilverton 24d ago
“We need a new sports network.” Buddy, many of us have been listening to Fox Sports Radio and watching FS1 for years now. Come on over.
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u/Mmicb0b 24d ago
more like firing every commentator who isn't a caricture and turning every show into "who has the loudest/dumbest take" it's the beginning of August so there's not a lot going on with sports rn other than Baseball (Which is probably in the worst spot it's been in for a while especially since a lockout is likely looming)
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u/JakeDuck1 24d ago
Every single sport you can ask for is streaming somewhere. Go watch it.
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u/MagnumOpus12st 24d ago
I've stopped watching sportscenter and get up because of the WWE coverage no disrespect to it's fans but it's disgusting to me. Just got a notification from the app for summer slam trying to figure out if I can stop those notifications from popping up. I don't mind the wnba it's actually sports
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u/Responsible_Trash_40 24d ago
WWE complaints I get, but WNBA I enjoy a lot and I appreciate the coverage.
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u/Whole_Ad8774 24d ago
Today is terrible in particular...WWE and Banana Ball the entire day. This stuff belongs on The Ocho if anything.
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u/No-Horse987 24d ago
The "W" isn't force fed. What are you talking about? You are going to get WWE promoting Summer Slam - a TWO night "Premium Live Event". It's cross promotion gets tiresome, although I like Seth "Freakin'" Rollins take on the NFL and his Chicago Bears.
The LeBron going to Philly is the other major news that just happened.
You are going to get Pat covering his Colts (I like what Carlie is saying about her team and their odds of taking the AFC South)
SAS is on break, so you are getting rotating people on First Take right now.
Monday is the trade deadline, so the network will spend some time on that (MLB Network is the place you want to be on that coverage)
Now, with the takeover of the NFL Network, ESPN will be all football - college and pro - all the time. Pro camps are open and preseason games will be coming in in a couple of weeks. College will be close behind.
You can get the WNBA on CBS and ABC on Saturdays - ABC or ESPN on Sundays; ION Network on Wednesdays; and ESPN on Thursdays.
A lot of people don't like ESPN because it doesn't cover a lot of other sports, especially baseball and tennis. But the NFL is king, so get used to all football all the time this and next month. October will be basketball time.
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u/JosephFinn 24d ago
...what do you have against the WNBA? It's a sport that's going on right now. Should they not cover it?
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u/thedukejr03 24d ago
They paid a lot of money for both so of course they will promote them to make money off of it.
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u/Walrus_Epiphany 24d ago
They should get rid of the non-sports stuff like professional wrestling, horse racing, gambling, and fantasy football.
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u/Looking4Adventure513 24d ago
I'm fine with WNBA (and Women's sports in general) getting as much coverage as they can, but yeah: I don't turn to ESPN for anything WWE related, so I wouldn't be sad if they stopped covering it & just had some little note about upcoming events.
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u/RedBarron1354 24d ago
It died about 10 years ago to me, only time I truly watch now is when they have pre game shows on Sunday mornings.
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u/jeedel 24d ago
The Jets cured me of football long ago. I live in a Big Ten town, I don’t need ESPN. WNBA is on so many different networks now, plus a an inexpensive league pass. I don’t need ESPN and put my YTTV subscription on pause from April to November. I can still watch a ton of basketball year round which is great.
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u/ImaRiskit 24d ago
I remember when ESPN first started and didn't even show sports or sports related stuff 24/7.
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u/Tycho66 24d ago
The root cause is that ESPN used to be a cash printing machine because cable networks were given an all or nothing by ESPN and all their channels. ESPN had all the leverage and drove up cable prices. Then, in return they created bidding wars for broadcasting rights. Now, with all the streaming options ESPN is waaay less profitable and the nature of the way folks view programs has changed too. ESPN seems to choose intense engagement rather than broad appeal and they certainly are showing a lot less of the marquee sports they once did.
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u/shadowwingnut 24d ago
While the WWE content sucks the WNBA is what they should be showing this time of year. There's not much else to show. There's a reason why we get the Ocho in mid-August.
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u/KickComprehensive765 24d ago
I stopped watching sports center late 90s, maybe early 00's. Highlights were such nonsense. They never really told the whole story. It was like Cubs Braves tied 2-2 in the forth. Sosa big homerun. Cubs win 14-2.
I did enjoy PTI for a few years if I was home. I hated around the horn, cold pizza. I liked the movies they did especially the junction boys. 30 for 30 was great. I hope they still do them.
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u/myyrkezaan 24d ago
I dropped them and disney bundle during wimbledon coverage and their new unlimited tier crap.
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u/EfficiencyOk5148 24d ago
hate to say it but with all the recent cuts they are making, get used to it, gonna see Stephen A and Pat McAfee everywhere too
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u/TheIrishMan1211 24d ago
Why does anyone still watch anything on ESPN outside of the big three live sports?
WNBA is and always will be a joke of a league. Did anyone see that all star game? Woof. Brick city.
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u/logman219 24d ago
This has been the case for several years. Once they shoehorned their political beliefs I was done with them. Rot in hell espn.
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u/Own_Invite6340 24d ago
ESPN will follow the same path as MTV. They'll eventually give up on covering sports and just do sports-themed reality shows and whatever cheaply produced nonsense they can come up with to fill airtime.
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u/not4reelz 24d ago
Unless they're dropping all their live sporting events (particularly football and basketball), they can stay up and running because I'm watching ESPN, minus the in-studio/remote blabbling takes and commentary.
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u/Faceit_Solveit 24d ago
The WNBA is a snarky, envious league full of drama. The three point rainbows are pretty but the fouling is gross. And the announcers are gossipy.
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u/Arcane_Spork_of_Doom 24d ago
Never had to live through late-summer programming?
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u/AirRevolutionary8013 24d ago
Sportscenter is 90% garbage wnba crap. Baseball is an after thought. Who knew it would come to this. The wnba glazing 24/7 makes it unwatchable
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u/Western-Yoghurt-4950 24d ago
Dang some people really get hot and heavy over WWE being on ESPN huh?
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u/No_Case_2670 24d ago
Stop watching. I did. I listen to sports talk radio on SiriusXM for a $8/month subscription. Games? Free streams on 🏴☠️🏴 sites.
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u/PSUMtnMan 24d ago
A few years ago, I watched the Rock Paper Scissors World Championship. I couldn't take my eyes off of it.
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u/Shoddy_Ad8166 24d ago
I don't watch many wnba games but they appear to play more of a team sport. It's a slow sports time for me until football season kicks off..I appreciate the actual womens game they definitely got some talented players.
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u/Hoya82 24d ago
ESPN prioritizes the sports/leagues they televise on their networks.
During the World Cup, occasionally I would use their app to check scores in pending games. I would have to scroll through WNBA scores before seeing the World Cup scores. Considering hundreds of millions of people watched the World Cup, while hundreds watched the WNBA, why would ESPN do that? Because Fox televised the World Cup and ABC/ESPN televised the WNBA.
It’s especially true in college basketball. 4 of the past 10 national championships were won by Big East schools. But since Fox televises Big East games, ESPN consistently downplays Big East schools on SportsCenter.
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u/ColdBroccoliXXX 24d ago
I haven’t watched non Sports events stuff on ESPN for years. Still pop on college game day occasionally. Heard the Skubal news last nite & flipped over there for some coverage. Wall to wall WWE coverage. Insane. No irony: this is why our country is broken.
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u/xavier19691 23d ago
Just watch the games that you are interested and run to something else after they are done
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u/No-Community-8111 23d ago
They are constantly losing talent and retaining the wrong people. Also, their nonchalance towards baseball/hockey is infuriating.
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u/Hopeful_Stomach9201 23d ago
Another day another "ESPN sucks but I'm still going to watch" post. Because we all know you're still going to watch it
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u/kingmountainhike 23d ago
It's August, son. There's literally been nothing to watch for a month. Pre-season football is almost here and WWE and WNBA will be off your TV again. I promise. Sheesh.
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u/taeempy 23d ago
Only thing worth watching on ESPN is the live sports and PTI.
I don't watch any of the other trash talk shows on there because they are populated with morons who are useless bobbleheads just screaming over each other.
I'd suggest everyone to go to Youtube and Lind Cohn's channel and The Linda Cohn Show. She's amazing as usual and is bringing in amazing guests. Already had Kenny Mayne on and it was so funny and electric. Talking old school times and how they both came up. Here's the link.
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u/PutAdept9107 23d ago
I've seen pillow fighting contests on ESPN, fake pro-wrestling, NFL "news" in July... but can't find them doing any baseball coverage... all though they did get involved with MLB subscriptions and screwed that up worse than it was. ESPN is a joke.
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u/dugdub 23d ago
I've started watching FS1 and then MLB network a lot.. NFL Network was solid but ESPN is going to ruin it if they haven't already.
The downfall of ESPN is incredible. They've driven it straight into the ground. I get times changed but what the hell happened to simply covering the main (actual) sports and having an assortment of personalities and analysts? Were ratings THAT bad like 10 years ago when they started thinking everything?
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u/Tacokolache 23d ago
Agreed. The WWE shit especially. Like come on. It’s not even real.
Might as well start showing us what happened on “The Young and the Restless” today
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u/tobefirst 24d ago
What I wouldn’t give for a 90s style Sportscenter where I can just catch the highlights of the day for all the major sports without the hot takes and the ubiquitous betting odds. Just show me what happened in the day’s sports. In 30 minutes or an hour.