What's going on with ESPN?
 

Watching College Football tonight, and saw some long ad of "Playmakers", their new series that looks pretty much exactly like "Any Given Sunday".

Is ESPN on its way to becoming the new MTV? I'd really be pissed if they start covering less sports games and go more into drama shows.

I'll have to check this show out, looks good...still, this is a risky move.

My only complaint is the amount of times they have run the ad.

Well, it seems like the "Entertainment" part of their network name is getting a little more attention. As long as they don't do a non-sports show, I don't think they'll turn into another MTV.

What's the problem with MTV? ;)

I think the show looks pretty good from the ads. Although I hope it doesn't stink like "A Season on the Brink" did.

I already have "Playmakers" set up for a season pass on my Tivo.

speaking of espn...what happened to PTI last week. i didn't see it on once. checked espn2 too and nothing.

Little league world serie games ... i think

omg i hate when espn does this!

i am SICK AND TIRED of golf coverage

and tennis

and boxing

and horse racing

and auto racing

and badminton

and curling

and lacrosse

and tiddly winks

and chess

and darts (ok darts are cool)

and starring contests

and thumb wrestling

they need to make an ESPN3 and put all that crap on there. leave espn and espn2 for the better sports. theres always a 'big' event in a crap sport thats taking up valuble espn time. why?

pti, around the horn, beg borrow and deal, outside the lines, etc are GOOD shows...besides that, sportscenter and actual real sporting events should be on espn/2 24/7.

period.

Golf, tennis, boxing, and auto racing are 'crap' sports? Just because you don't like them? I don't either but they are legitimate sports that ESPN should be covering. Are you saying live coverage of Wimbledon at 8 in the morning is worse than seeing the 13th repeat of the previous night's SportsCenter?

So it's OK for ESPN to show these non-sports shows* (with the exception of OTL), yet they shouldn't cover golf or tennis? I don't see the logic of this. And yes I am a fan of PTI and occasionally watch ATH.

*I don't care how much you try to argue they're sports shows, there's a reason they are produced by ESPN Original Entertainment.
And yes I know that the E in ESPN stands for entertainment, but the sports should come first.

That's what ESPN News is for.

clemente: word. but i dont get espnews!

yes :)

Quote:

---

So it's OK for ESPN to show these non-sports shows* (with the exception of OTL), yet they shouldn't cover golf or tennis?

---

correct :)

Quote:

---

*I don't care how much you try to argue they're sports shows, there's a reason they are produced by ESPN Original Entertainment.
And yes I know that the E in ESPN stands for entertainment, but the sports should come first.

---

REAL sports. not wussy sports. :)

But some people find wussy sports to be entertainment...

I for one am a fan of some of these so-called wussy sports :)

just messin with you guys but id still rather watch nfl/nba/nhl over golf/boxing/auto racing (sports that are boring to WATCH, imo)

can we agree that Poker can stay on ESPN because it's the best sport in the world :)

hell yeah! i love watching poker but the best poker show was WPT on travel channel.

Oh yes, poker… truly fine athletes there -confused-

I for one miss Australian Rules Football on ESPN.

Oh and I believe that the World Series of Poker is getting higher ratings on ESPN than their coverage of MLB.

ESPN decides to air ONE drama show, and you go nuts? Come on, at least watch the show before you start badmouthing it.

I find it amusing that some of you want ESPN to change their coverage around what is entertaining to YOU.

Also, I think some people don't understand the concept of broadcast contracts - ESPN is only allowed to air a specified number of 'big sports' games in a week or season.

ESPN has a great brand name and market penetration so they are taking advantage of it. They've been doing original movies, documentaries and an awards show for some time now. It seems to me that they are absolutely using MTV as the model for how to grow the business.

Poker is mentally gruelling because those folks in the WSOP are playing for 10-12 hours a day (provided they don't lose all their chips early).

X Games

yeah. exactly :)

Kornheiser was on vacation, and after the sit in host (bob Ryan) got stuck in NY in the Blackout, they canned it until both hosts return.

The funny thing was that the episode before the blackout, Ryan critiscized Kornheiser for never leaving the town to go see a game.....

Needed an ESPN thread to resurrect and I picked this one - it fits too with the MTV reference by the OP. The mods can feel free to move it to sports if they want.

SC today offered a perfect demonstration of how ridiculous ESPN has become. The question offered to the PTI guys - Who is the perfect Yankee? Deter Jeter or Joe DiMaggio?

Are you fucking kidding me?

ESPN blows anymore...it's all baseball and random other sports. They made a HUGE mistake not going after the NHL contract. But whatever...they can rebroadcast the 2003 worlds strongest man competition for the 22nd time instead of the Stanley cup. Or maybe the 2005 stars of poker reno events.

Only time I watch ESPN anymore is if Big Ten football is on...hate basketball, baseball is boring for me on TV, and I can't stand Turico on MNF (or Kornheiser).

While I would prefer them to have the NHL contract (huge hockey fan) just so we'd get more games in HD, I don't think it would make economical sense for them - I honestly think a repeat of the 2004 WSOP would get better ratings than the Cup finals. Sad but true, I think.

ESPN is only good for college football and basketball. The rest of filler.

ESPN overkills everything they cover.NFL highlights get old come Tuesday.Nobody besides Yankee fans give a damn about Roger Clemens pitching in a minor league baseball game.Whenever I am in the mood for an NBA game they will show nothing but college hoops.ESPN is too busy tooting there own horn to sign a contract to show the NHL.Don't they know that we can record Sports Center instead they broadcast it non-stop for half the morning.Televising a radio program on ESPN2 shows a lack of original programming.

I was thinking the same thing, but I also watch the men's national soccer team when they carry them, though they really give them the bare minimum coverage, and completely miss out on carrying most tournaments (Gold Cup, etc).

And enough already with the endless poker nonsense. Bring back Australian rules football. Or Irish hurling. Or rugby.

Agreed. Poker isn't a sport. Neither is bowling. Or taking a chainsaw to a tree. They don't really have enough content for one network, yet they run count 'em FIVE networks. They should have hockey games. They should probably have NASCAR races. I don't mind the in-depth sports coverage shows and I like The Sports Reporters on Sundays, but yeah, there's a lot of crap on.

Uhhhhhh...they do. They have (with ABC) the second half or so of the Nextel Cup season for several years starting with this one, and ESPN2 is the new home of the Busch Series.

The good thing was that both PTI guys said that it was a stupid question an anwsered Babe Ruth.

Espn definitely sucks.

Cowboys, Lakers, Red Sox, Yankees, NFL Draft, Clemens is about all they talk about.

And they just added Keyshawn to their list of annoying loud mouths (Steven Smith, Chris Berman, etc).

Annoying SC hosts...that's levitation homes!

Oh yeah, and Stuart fucking Scott.

Keyshawn will be a great addition to the team, didnt you see how good he was during the draft?

the NHL messed up by not giving the contract to ESPN.......NBC is pathetic, they moved a playoff game to VS b/c it was in overtime

Keyshawn might not be a Sterling Sharpe, but he's a vast improvement on Michael Irvin.

I'd give them credit but, hello, it is the obvious answer, and it really should stop there. I was hoping that they both would say "who thought of this stupid question?" But even beyond that, to put Derek Jeter and Joe DiMaggio in the same playing field. :hscratch:

And speaking of Keyshawn, how many NFL analysts does a network need?


I'm ecstatic that they lost hockey. I'm not even a big hockey fan - I only start watching when the playoffs start. Now this is the rare occasion where it pays to be a Comcast subscriber because we get Versus-HD, but the coverage that Vs. can devote to the NHL dwarfs what ESPN would do with it.

Considering the fact that Dimaggio was a TREMENDEOUS douchbag...even to me when I was 8 years old, the question is not so stupid