Audio Video News

Most Would Dump ESPN

Mark Fleischmann  |  May 18, 2016

If you groan every time you pay your pay-TV bill, consider that the most expensive item bundled into it is Disney’s ESPN, which adds $8/month to the average bill. Can ESPN survive in the dawning age of skinnier cable bundles? Most pay-TV viewers would dump it like a sack of dirt, according to a study by marketing company Civic Service commissioned by financial services company BTIG.

Asked if they would drop ESPN and ESPN2 to save the eight bucks, 56 percent of 1,582 respondents said yes, including 60 percent of women and 49 percent of men. Asked if they would subscribe to ESPN’s standalone streaming service, announced at $20/month, only 6 percent responded in the affirmative.

Writes BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield: “The price/value [ratio] of ESPN and ESPN2 is simply too high for a majority of U.S. consumers today.” But if ESPN gets trimmed to make way for less expensive cable bundles, it probably won’t make up the difference in streaming revenue, despite deals to carry the service on Sling TV and PlayStation Vue.

COMMENTS
brenro's picture
Submitted by brenro on May 18, 2016 - 12:49pm

Gave up on "professional" stick and ball sports a long time ago.

Old Ben's picture
Submitted by Old Ben on May 20, 2016 - 9:25am

Why is ESPN the most expensive though? It's popularity has waned over the years, so it shouldn't have the market power that it does have. I wonder if this illustrates how channel bundling distorts the market. If we could choose channels a la carte and most consumers dropped ESPN, then ESPN would be forced to reduce their pricing structure. Instead, at the very least, anyone who wants the Disney channels for their kids is forced to also purchase ESPN.

bootman's picture
Submitted by bootman on May 25, 2016 - 5:52pm

Companies like Disney and Viacom package their channels in an all or nothing deal with SAT and cable companies who then pass down the costs to us consumers.

bootman's picture
Submitted by bootman on May 25, 2016 - 5:50pm

the yes network wanted a similar cable deal from Comcast and they dropped it because of the costs.
Folks really don't realize that programming is the single biggest cost in operating a MSO.

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