Where did ESPN go wrong?

Cafe Society
1

I remember a time when ESPN was about Sports Center, Baseball Tonight, the odd baseball or football game and fishing shows. Ok, maybe it hasn’t changed so much in that sense, with the exception of the inane reality show here and there, but ESPN used to be about the sports. I can’t really pinpoint what exactly happened, or when it happened, so I’m left with the conclusion that it was a gradual process.

Sports Center, an institution that used to be a staple in my day-to-day life, isn’t even something I try to catch anymore. I’ve seen some of the things, like the stupid quiz shows that don’t seem to have much point, but what seems to really have changed Sports Center is the anchors. It’s like they’re more concerned with style over substance. Everyone is trying to be cute so they come up with catch phrases that much of the time don’t make any sense. There are more gimmicks that borrow from the Faux News school that pits commentators against each other in screaming matches. That’s where the news part has gone wrong.

For some reason ESPN has also tried to venture into the realm of entertainment in the form of TV shows and movies. The things are constantly promo-ed and aren’t very good. I can’t remember what the football show was that ran for one season, but it was atrocious. I could usually figure out what would happen on the show by seeing one of the dozen promos run every half hour. I kept waiting for the crack-smoking star-running back to get thrown in jail for an attempted assassination of a world leader. That’s how ridiculous that show was.

Where did ESPN go wrong? Did they fall victim to the cultural black hole the rest of TV has sunk in to? Is there any way the network can be saved?

Please advise.

2

Are they doing well in the ratings? Are they making money? Are they building an established marketing brand?

If the answers to any of the above questions are “yes” then I question your initial assumption. Where did you get the idea that success in TV can be measured by quality of programming? :wink:

3

I, for one, blame the popularity of the Keith Olbermann/Dan Patrick duo. When those two were at the peak of their popularity, the catchphrase thing was still pretty new. Between them, and the school of anchors that followed (and YES, I’m looking at YOU, Stuart Scott and Rich Eisen) the catchphrase thing has been done to death.

Hey, I liked “Playmakers.” It also got good enough ratings to be brought back, by the way. The reason it didn’t, IIRC, is because it was about to queer a television deal between ESPN and the NFL for Sunday Night Football. ESPN basically canned the show as a bargaining chip.

But I do agree that shows like “Playmakers” should be produced by ESPN and aired on another network like HBO or F/X.

I’m sure ESPN would be quick to disagree, but I think ESPN would do well to get back to fundamentals. Here are some proposed guidelines:

  1. Show “SportsCenter” twice in one day. THAT’S IT, NO MORE. Once at night, and a repeat in the morning. None of this “repeat SportsCenter 4 times in a row” nonsense. If people want that, they can tune in ESPN2 or ESPN2, where it’s business as usual.

  2. Make the ESPN name mean something again. Hire anchors and experts that can speak.

  3. No reality programs, no television dramas, no movies. If you want to get into entertainment, then take a page from MTV and produce theatrically-released big-budget movies, or farm them out to HBO. Otherwise, you’re diluting your product and alienating your core audience of sports fans.

  4. Re-evaluate your lineup of “sporting events.” A dog show is NOT. Do not make me explain to you why it isn’t.

  5. Bring back the fun, edgy promotional commercials. I don’t know one person that didn’t like them, and I haven’t seen a good one in a long while. Air them on other networks for a change.

4

Sportscenter is ESPN’s signature show, and it was great when it had hosts who showed sports clips and made a few clever comments around them. It started downhill when the catch phrases took precedence over the highlights, and it picked up momentum rolling downhill when reduced the number of highlights in favor of overanalysis from alleged experts. It is now a talk show, not a sports highlight show.

Sportscenter isn’t the only culprit. The Sunday morning NFL pregame show takes a concept that used to be very ably fill up a half-hour before the game, and stretched it out for an hour and a half or two hours. It’s like watching kittens play with a cat-toy for 3 hours. Brevity is the soul of wit, but not to Chris Berman, who thinks stretching things out, like the top ten plays of the week that has morphed into 25 unrelated things they have tape of, and who thinks repeating tired old gags is the funniest thing ever.

PTI is the exception. Kornheiser and Wilbon rock.

5

I can’t even watch the Monday morning SportsCenter anymore. Two features just make me scream in frustration. The Gatorade Ultimate Highlight is execrable. Half second clips of plays in no particular order set to terrible music, lovely. The worst though is the signing of the Coors Light song set to football highlights. I really don’t think crucifixion goes far enough for the person that produces that segment. I can’t enjoy the show as I am always dreading those segments.

6

There are simply too many ESPN “personalities.” Back when the station was good, the on-air talent was maybe 10-15 people. Nowadays, everyone and his aunt is an analyst.

Cut the following from the staff:

  1. Ron Jaworski
  2. Pat Somerall (it appears that this blathering geezer has been put out to pasture already, but I brought up his name to buy time while I tried to call to recall the name of…)
  3. Steven A. Smith. How-EV-ah…
  4. Max Kellerman is much worse. Stick to boxing, dude.

There are several more people who need the hook, but we’ll start with 4.

7

I’m going to take exception to Ron Jaworski and note that Kellerman has, thankfully, departed ESPN for the “greener pastures” of Fox Sports and his wonderfully low-rated “I, Max” show.

8

I like Jaworski. Or, at least, I like those playbook breakdowns he does. They do a good job of showing how everybody reacts to the other team’s play within his own assignment, and why everybody is doing what he’s doing.

In addition to what has already been said, I’d like to take issue with the fact that ESPN is now a network of whores. Everything is sponsored 50 different, obnoxious ways. The Budweiser Hot Seat. The Coors Lite Six Pack (of questions, not beer). The Gatorade Ultimate Highlight for Idiot Frat Boys With ADD.

I do like The Sports Reporters on Sunday mornings, though. When it becomes the Heineken Roundtable, however, I’m jumping ship for good.

9

Ya’ll do realize that ESPN stands for:* Entertainment* and Sports Programming Network, right? Not sure why they didn’t just go with SPN and leave out the E when they started the whole thing, because the E seems to be the main problem. The E has wrought:

The excrutiating “Dream Job” reality show

Stupid movies like “Hu$tle” and the upcoming “3” which looks to be about Dale Earnhardt. They also did horrible movies about Bob Knight and Bear Bryant.

Cold Pizza

Sports Center has really lost its luster, usually I’d rather just watch ESPN News, because all they talk about is sports!

But the one thing on ESPN that really drives me nuts is the CONSTANT annoying music they play behind EVERY SINGLE HIGHLIGHT!! Then the announcer has to SHOUT above the music to give us his witty and hilarious catch phrase. :rolleyes:

10

Actually ESPN doesn’t stand for anything anymore. It’s just initials. The E used to stand for Entertainment. Now it’s just E.

11

For the record, I thought Playmakers was a great show, if possibly a bit unrealistic- I would have imagined that the guy who didn’t shoot up before wind sprints might be just a tad faster…

…but still, yeah, ESPN has lost its way. Of course, it’s still about one hundred times better than Fox Sports Net, however annoying Boo-yah may now be.

12

Actually, IIRC, ESPN was an acronym for Eastern Sports Programming Network.

13

That’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard. The morning sportscenters are not intended for a a single viewer to sit and watch them all. They don’t expect anyone to watch tv for more than an hour in the morning, because television programmers assume people who do that are women. Recently ESPN has decided that some men may do that as well, and thus you get Cold Pizza, but in general, the morning sportcenter is targeted to guy getting ready for work. Not all guys start at the same time. Some commute, and leave the house before 6:00am. Some roll out of bed for their first class in the morning at 11:30. Many head off between 7:30 and 9:30. What exact market do you think they are depriving with the 5:00 - noon sportcenter rebroadcasts?

They have em already. John Clayton / Sean Salisbury is a tiresome pairing, I grant you. PTI is top-drawer. Around the Horn is vastly improved with statboy instead of Kellerman. Jaws and Merrill are great, (and I miss Suzy Kolber), as are Golic and Stink. Trey Wingo is solid.

Agreed, Agreed, Agreed.

Blasphemer! The dog show is a staple of ESPN. I don’t like it, but it’s been on forever. Also, what the hell are they supposed to air on Sunday afternoons? A test pattern? The poker is a bit much. Perhaps more outdoorsman and billiards would be good.

Oh hell yeah. Absolutely.

14

According to Wikipedia, HelloKitty is right.

To me, it’s all about the personalities. Some of the arguing and shouting is annoying, but it depends who is doing it. I like Kellerman, I like Around the Horn (most of the people on it, anyway) and PTI. I don’t like Steven A. Smith. Actually I don’t like most of the anchors these days because of the catchphrase insanity. Stuart Scott and his crazy-ass eyebrow need to go. The worst of the bunch in my opinion is Kenny Mayne, who has been on the air for years even though he seems to be in a coma. And comb your hair, dammit.

15

Bad idea. SportsCenter is there so that in any 30 minute window you can catch the highlights. Plus, it fills time. I love how much it’s on.

They have them.

You seem to be missing is that there isn’t enough to put on in a day at ESPN. What’s your 24 hour schedule for them if you want them to run 2 sportscenters a day and cut out their reality programming, dramas and movies? 5 ripoffs of PTI?

You’re cutting something else out. Do you remember ESPN in the early/mid 80s? It was 23 hours per day of sailboat racing and Australian Rules Football. There are some sports even I won’t watch.

Finally, you’re adding something. Let’s have 1 hour of sportscenter per day and 23 hours of funny commercials for it. :rolleyes:

What exactly is your 24 schedule of programming?

I don’t see anything wrong with ESPN. It was NEVER EVER EVER a network that you just tuned into during the night unless there was a game on. Now, at least they’re doing something with their original entertainment, however shitty it may be.

And, while it was a sports news station, you rarely ever tuned in to watch a game.

They have more college football and college basketball on now than ever. And, BIG TIME games. College foots every thursday, Friday and Saturday (and sometimes Wednesday).

Around the Horn and PTI have been great additions.

They have NFL and NBA games, which they NEVER USED TO.

And, they have some hidden gems, like “NFL Matchup”.

Face it, there just isn’t enough sports to fill a whole day of programming.

Folks, sorry to tell ya, but you’re currently living in the golden age of ESPN. It was never better than it is now, the glut of catch-phrases notwithstanding.

And even that, whatever. Sports is entertainment. It’s not supposed to be delivered by Tom Brokaw and Walter Kronkite. It’s supposed to be delivered by 18-40 year old goofball males with dumb nicknames and sayings. That’s who is watching it.

16

Does anyone else besides me find it supremely jarring, the way that Steven A. Smith attempts to shoehorn a twenty-five-cent word that barely, BARELY has any relationship WHATSOEVER to the idea he’s trying to get across?
“And here’s Nowitzki on the outside. He’s looking for a way to eradicate his man and hit the open shot.”

(eradicate?)
[inigo montoya]

Joo keep using da’ word. I do no tink it means wha’ joo tink it means.

[/inigo montoya]

But I loves me some PTI.

17

I’ll also disagree with this. The point of multiple SportsCenters is to cater to multiple time zones and schedules. It’s to make sports highlights accessible to the filthy masses, regardless of what shift you work, or where you live. It’s the one true uniting force left in this crazy world.

I love you, SportsCenter.

18

I’m old school. Bring back Australian Rules Football.

19

Agree completely. I loved coming from my job as a newspaperman at 3 a.m. and knowing something would be live on the tube.

I’m not sure I ever understood the game, but I really enjoyed it. Somehow, nuked hot wings and Australian Rules Football in the early, early morning really go together well.

I really got to love those end-zone refs or whatever they were called in their glossy white lab coats and their white snap-brim hats. Clearly they enjoyed their jobs.

TV

20

Prone to understatement, are we?

Don’t get me wrong, I thought Playmakers was at least a moderately entertaining show, but it was about professional football in the same way that Blazing Saddles was about 19th century American history.

As if aware that they’d only get one season, the writers crammed in a decade’s worth of Very Special Episodes and plotlines. Off the top of my head:

– The veteran running back has a fight with his wife and shoves her, leading to spousal abuse charges.

– The star tight end is a closeted homosexual, and eventually clashes horns with the homophobic (and evil, evil, evil) general manager.

– The coach battles a potentially fatal disease (prostate cancer? I want to say prostate cancer).

– DH’s drug problem. Holy shit, did they ever milk this one. DH arrives at a crack-house 20 minutes before kickoff on Sunday, goes into the bathroom to get high, then somehow gets to the stadium and suits up in time to play (and play well, naturally, while high on crack). DH visits a sick kid in the hospital and steals his pain meds. DH is going into crack withdrawal at halftime, forcing the gay tight end to go buy more crack for him in the parking lot – of course, cocaine/crack withdrawal doesn’t produce the intense physical symptoms that the show depicts (vomitting, tremors), but that hardly seems important.
I’m sure I’m forgetting some. Little help?