It sounds to me like the story is about how ESPN needs to tighten their belt a bit. Sure, they might have been getting $25-35 a month, but that doesn't mean they deserve it perpetually.
The story is that espn can't tighten their belt because they are locked into long term rights contracts with the sport leagues. Something will have to budge obviously, but the effect is going to fan out across the leagues and down to player salaries.