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The major key is ESPN was the ONLY source for sports, highlights, discussion, etc. SportsCenter was a staple of most young males in the 80s and 90s growing up. Now they compete with the internet. Highlights? Go to r/nba, r/soccer, r/nfl, r/hockey, boom, done, quick gif, lots of good discussion. Why spend an hour watching sportscenter? Especially now that they talk about music, twitter, and lebron james 24/7, endless commercials, always before what you spent the last 20 minutes waiting for, for something. Not only that, youtube channels, podcasts, fans making their own content, blogs, and other forums...there's just way more content out there now than in the 90s, where all you had was the newspaper/magazine instead of the TV. On top of that, all the major leagues have their own networks now-NHL net, NBA net, NFL net. In addition to FS1, and competing with the major networks for top events. It's not just people watching game of thrones (those shows don't air all year around and only take up an hour a week anyway.) Although I'm sure it reduces those numbers a bit. |