ESPN Review
The Power of the Worldwide Leader in SportsWant to watch sports on TV? Odds are it'll be on ESPN. More Americans get their sports and sports news from ESPN then all of the other networks combined. ESPN is the dominant sports network, they are the Google for sports. And just like Google ESPN makes billions. ESPNReview.com will explore what ESPN does with this vast power and wealth.
Did you get laid off from ESPN?ESPN laying off 400 employees. Are you one of them? Now is the time to share your insight on working at ESPN - let ESPN Review be your forum.
Your view on ESPN?We want to hear what you think of ESPN - share your insight - we want the good, the bad, and yes even the ugly. Please write in with your thoughts and comments.
Is Poker a Sport?In the old days of ESPN viewers had the ABC's of sports: Australian Rules Football, boxing and college sports; ESPN was all about sports, sports and more sports. Yes, Sportscenter was there but sports related talk shows had yet to dominate. Things have changed - more talk about sports and less playing sports. And the sports have changed too - out with Aussie Football and in with Poker and Billiards.
Talking heads take up more and more airtime on ESPN - lets call shows like E60, Outside the Lines, Cold Pizza and Rome is Burning what they are - guys gossiping. Sure they talk about sports but the parallels to shows like Dr. Phil, Oprah and Tyra Show are amazing - just with more testosterone and male humor added. Are the shows entertaining? Without a doubt. Is it sports? Not a chance.
Talk is Cheap - and SellsESPN is no fool, they bring in over $7 billion a year, so they know what sells. And what makes money. It is cheaper to pay ex-jocks to talk about sports than it is to show live sporting events. It makes ESPN money and we gobble it up like Thanksgiving dinner. But the question still remains - is it sports? If you are on the fence try answering this question: What would you rather watch - Lebron James playing against Kobe Bryant, or Lebron James talking about playing against Kobe Bryant. If you'd rather watch the interview then ESPN is your place. If picked the sporting contest, hopefully you now see the problem at ESPN.
Bad CFB ThoughtsDavid Norrie, who does color commentary for ESPN College Football, is a thinker. You can tell Norrie is a thinker because at least half of his sentences start with "I think" or some derivation of it ("I wouldn't do" or "I don't think"). Norrie spends more time sharing his thoughts on what a coach is doing wrong and less time on what is actually happening in the game. Maybe its his way of auditioning for a coaching job. If Norrie wants to be a thinker or a second guesser - fine; but why ruin a perfectly good game with his thinking? Funny thing is Norrie is a smart guy (played at UCLA) and seems really likable (when he isn't thinking out loud.) Maybe he could focus on the game and figure out ways to add insight without the need to share what he, the non-coach with nothing on the line but his voice, would do in a given game situation.
Billions of dollars flowing from subscribers and advertisers combined with a gaggle of cable networks, online firepower, a magazine, a radio network and international operations to show the sports it acquires. Read More at NY Times
NBA: TNT vs ESPNOverall ESPN is the dominant network but ESPN has an inferior product in some sports markets. NBA basketball is the best example as TNT's coverage of NBA basketball is clearly superior. Even the NBA seems to prefer TNT to do their games over ESPN as TNT dominates the NBA playoffs with their "40 Games in 40 Nights. Ironically TNT even beats ESPN in talking about the NBA - TNT's Inside the NBA. TNT's games are more fun to watch, the halftime show on TNT is amazing with Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith and ESPN has no one like Craig Seegar. (Here is another test - can you name one person on the ESPN halftime show?) Here is an example of TNT's post game wrap up where the guys predict how TNT's NBA crew would match up vs ESPN's NBA coverage team.
NBA Sportscasting TalentTNT has Charles Barkley but ESPN has the best basketball play-by-pay sportscaster in Doris Burke (no, not Dickie V, that was the 80's.) ESPN fails to realize Burke's superior ability to: highlight the excitement of the Game; accurately convey what is happening; add meaningful insight to the court play. Doris Burke's greatest gift is she deftly explains what we just saw, why it was amazing, and why even an NBA-er would think it is amazing. And her insight makes the viewer feel included and not dumb for not seeing the degree of difficultly but rather thankful for her pointing it out. Of course NBA level players don't need this kind of insight but 99.9% of basketball viewers are not NBA players - ESPN seems to think we are ex-NBA ballers. Hopefully ESPN will realize Doris Burke is the best thing in the NBA booth outside of Charles Barkley.
