ESPN seems to be in the process of becoming to "sports" what MTV is to "music", that is, only distant relations at best; a part of their past, not a part of their present or future. You can see it in their flagship program SportsCenter which looks less and less like a sports news program and more and more like (ironically enough) a music video.
And the process continues:
ESPN formally announces pickup of 'The Contender', second season to premiere in April 2006
Confirming the recent public statements of ESPN executives, Mark Burnett Productions, DreamWorks Television, and the cable sports giant announced today that the network will become the new broadcast home of The Contender, last winter's critically-acclaimed but low-rated reality boxing series that NBC canceled after only a single season.
"The Contender has all of the elements that make it the right fit for ESPN: compelling storylines, dynamic characters and suspense over the outcome," said Mark Shapiro, ESPN executive vice president, programming and production. "This series speaks to our viewers' love for competition and their appreciation for triumph over adversity, and it goes without saying that the track record of Mark Burnett is exemplary -- a perfect match for the critical and ratings successes EOE has delivered in both scripted and unscripted drama."
What is telling is that people like Mark Burnett don't seem to think there is a qualitative difference between sports and a reality based novelty program. Once upon a time ESPN recognized that the commitment sports fans exhibit towards their teams exceeds mere voyeurism or the quest to be "entertained." Now ESPN increasingly acts like they just don't get it, as if the rationale of sports fans is completely alien to them.
The result is we get third rate dramas about Poker, ESPN manufactured "competitions" like the "X Games" and "The Great Outdoor Games" (that basically are just even less interesting versions of those "World's Strongest Man" programs ESPN used to broadcast incessantly,) celebrity bowling (!), etc...
Meanwhile their sports programming gets thinner and thinner. They no longer even have a full fledged Baseball Tonight to show the days highlights. PTI and Around The Horn are actual programs about sports (mostly) but if you have a regular job you won't be seeing much of them. Only the NFL gets real and comprehensive coverage, and even that is so heavy handed that I feel myself starting to resent the NFL's monopoly.
However, maybe there is hope for the future...
Will Comcast use NHL to battle ESPN?
The NHL's shifting of its U.S. national cable television package from ESPN to OLN, which was announced Thursday, could have a major impact on the cable television industry because OLN's parent company might be gearing up to make a run at ESPN.
Comcast, which owns what formally was called the Outdoor Life Network, is the largest cable operator in the country. It has about 21.4 million subscribers and owns several cable networks, including The Golf Channel, E! and Style. And there is talk that it might make a run eventually at purchasing a package of Thursday night NFL games and growing from there.
Admittedly, the NHL is a pretty modest beginning for any network, but it exactly the same beginning used by ESPN in the early 1980's to gain legitimacy with fans. Now all Comcast has to do is sell themselves as the "Real Sport's Fans Network" and they should succeed.
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