Comments on: ESPN Power Struggles http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/11/08/espn-power-struggles/ Life. Liberty. Property. Defending individual freedom and liberty, one post at a time. Wed, 22 May 2013 18:26:11 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: mike http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/11/08/espn-power-struggles/#comment-3399 mike Wed, 22 Nov 2006 00:09:25 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/11/08/espn-power-struggles/#comment-3399 …I’ve also seen the World Championships of Curling on ESPN2. Heh.

]]> By: Brad Warbiany http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/11/08/espn-power-struggles/#comment-3385 Brad Warbiany Tue, 21 Nov 2006 18:45:08 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/11/08/espn-power-struggles/#comment-3385 ESPN shows darts already, Mike :-D

]]> By: Mike http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/11/08/espn-power-struggles/#comment-3383 Mike Tue, 21 Nov 2006 18:25:50 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/11/08/espn-power-struggles/#comment-3383 ESPN (Eastern Seaboard Programming Network) is a monopoly. I agree with Brad and I’m upset as he is with this ESPNU garbage. I pay $100 or so for ESPN Gameplan and don’t get ESPNU with that? What a crock! Brad is right about ESPN’s evil, manipulative plan. They put crap like poker, dog shows, and sports soap operas on ESPN or ESPN2 so they can start up a new network like ESPNU???! Why not put the poker and dog shows on some network called ESPNG (ESPN Garbage)? ESPNU in a few years may end up like ESPN2… showing poker and dog shows and sports soap operas so they can start a new network, ESPNU2. Heck, why stop with poker and dog shows and put on ping pong, Eukre, darts, and curling.

]]> By: oronde warren http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/11/08/espn-power-struggles/#comment-3054 oronde warren Fri, 10 Nov 2006 16:07:07 +0000 http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/11/08/espn-power-struggles/#comment-3054 Please, ESPN is no more of a monopoly than is HBO. Just like there also exist Showtime and Starz to get movies on cable, there also exists Fox Sports, NBC, CBS, Fox, the Golf Channel, The Tennis Channel, NFL Network, NBA TV and countless regional sports networks available on cable and satellite to get sports.

It’s all a matter of rights. If the Big Ten sold its college basketball rights to ESPN (which it did), guess where Big Ten college basketball WON’T appear? You guessed it, the Big Ten Network. Just as the Warner Brothers movie studio can sell rights to the Harry Potter franchise to HBO, Blockbuster video, Netflix, United Airlines, Marriott Hotels and anyone else they want to, so can the Big Ten Conference sell its sports rights to whatever TV outlets it wants to. This is why you’ll see Big Ten sports on local broadcast stations, ESPN, ESPN2, regional Fox Sports Networks and coming soon, the Big Ten Network.

Contrary to your assertion THIS IS NOT A GOOD THING. Why do you think ESPN charges so much money to the cable operator to carrry its channels? Well I’ll tell you: it’s because rightsholders (like the Big Ten, other NCAA conferences, NFL, NASCAR, MLB, NBA, etc.) charge ESPN gobbs of dough to air their sports. The reason why competition to ESPN is not really a good thing is because as more TV networks enter the bidding for the rights to these sports the prices just go up higher!!! The leagues make out and guess what happens? The network that wins the bidding then charges the cable operators even more money to carry their channel, and the cable operators raise their rates to cable subscribers…. us!!! If NBC, CBS, Fox Sports and now, the Big Ten Channel weren’t all in the bidding arena, ESPN could get rights at more reasonable prices and keep prices down – this is one instance in which competition actually drives prices up!!!!

Also, keep in mind that ESPN has had to pass on some premier sporting packages to keeps its rates down… that’s why NASCAR hasn’t been on ESPN for the last seven years and that’s why NHL hockey doesn’t appear on ESPN now.

]]>