Webster’s Dictionary defines the word exploit as: the unethical use of something for one’s own profit. To me, no word better captures what the ESPN television network has become.
In ESPN’s 27-year history it has grown from a small, sports news network, to the self proclaimed “number one source in sports programming”. ESPN now reaches more then 90 million homes in the United States alone. Not bad considering the U.S. Census estimates there to be 124 million housing units across our great land.
This means ESPN is available in better then 85% of the average Americans home, and is watched by about 33% of all Americans. I would call that a bit more then a “source in sports programming”,
I would call that a monopoly.
Not even 15 years ago, ESPN was a totally different sports network. The largest change has been in it’s programming. These changes can easily be seen in its flagship program Sports Center. Sports Center use to be a half hour program that equally covered all four major sports, NFL, MLB, NHL, & NBA, (with some college sports coverage mixed in). Sports Center use to focus on highlights, and informing its viewers of game results.
The new ESPN theme is less content and more commentary!
Instead of good journalism, interesting stories, and investigative reporting, now we have former players, former coaches, and announcers that have become network made personalities, and stars of the show. We get Chris Berman nicknaming every athlete ever to hit a homerun, or score a touch down. Steward Scott doing highlights spoken in Ebonics. And Michael Irving, Steve Young, John Kruk, Barry Melrose throwing in their two cents like gospel.
Why bother showing coverage of a sports champion raising his trophy over his head, when viewers can see four schmucks sitting at a news desk!
ESPN is the number one abuser of sports information on cable television today. However nothing is more appalling then it’s sports coverage of Monday Night Football during the NFL regular season. When NFL coverage begins on ESPN, the rest of sports world goes on hold!
On April 18, 2006, ESPN signed a six-year, 1.1 Billion-dollar deal to televise Monday Night Football. It breaks down to roughly 600 million dollars a year, and 37.5 million dollars a game.
This past Monday night, ESPN had more then twelve reporters and commentators in Philadelphia for the Eagles / Panthers week 13 game. They also had three stages with news desks set up in three separate locations within Lincoln Financial Field. Their NFL coverage began at 6:00pm Eastern Standard Time, and it didn’t end until 3:00am Tuesday morning.
So what is so bad about that?
Well for the NHL Stanley Cup Final, this past June, ESPN sent no stages or news desks, only two reporters, and averaged less then five minutes of coverage a day on Sports Center.
That for the NHL Stanley Cup final!!!
In an age where news networks get there talking points from the White House, and major business conglomerates own television stations, information and entertainment is now twisted in ways never seen before in history.
Not only has responsible broadcast journalism becomes a thing of the past, it is hardly even missed, and worse yet, it is hardly even recognized as gone!
Why?
Ratings!
And why are ratings so important?
Money!
