[kasey_junk]

Can you quantify that? Cause its not just ESPN that is losing subscriptions to cable cutters its the entire industry. There is basically no cable subscription channel that is adding subscribers. The best some can say is they aren't losing them as fast as others. They study this a lot. Its pretty clear from their data that millennials have a different media consumption pattern from their predecessors and that new consumption pattern is moving up the age bands as well. Anecdotely, I recently cut the cord, am not a millennial, and am a huge sports junky that had cable (actually satellite) just for sports. I did it because a) I consume less television generally these days and b) the value proposition wasn't there with all the other ways I can consume sports now.

ESPN is being hit the hardest because they had the largest piece of the pie that is shrinking. Also their sports broadcast deals are staggeringly expensive.

Finally, ESPN is not moving to a sucky product for funsies. They are doing it because contrary to our inclination people do watch the talking heads screaming at each other, in about the same amount as other programming, and its much cheaper to create.

[edit] another thing that might be driving ESPN more to the talking heads model is the way views are calculated. As part of the metrics there is some accounting for public places that are showing television so from a 'real' perspective the bar showing Around The Horn on mute to a few patrons in the afternoon is not very valuable to advertisers, but based on the metrics they use it is. Model error is real.

[Touche]

I think ESPN is being hit the hardest because their content costs the most. Look at this deal they signed. Can you imagine AMC or whatever other premium content channel having to spend 12 billion for a few shows a week?