ESPN execs considering unthinkable: Dropping NFL football

[FakeNews]

It’s not outlandish to entertain a previously unthinkable prospect: Might ESPN elect to go without rights to NFL games?

​In a span of less than five years, industry giant ESPN has seen its narrative transformed from that of a mighty colossus into the hard-luck tale of a ragtag warrior.

NFL scheduling guru Howard Katz can keep more plates spinning in the air than anyone else in sports, and he’s done the Lord’s work trying to please everyone, but math is math, and there just aren’t enough good games to go around. Yes, Monday Night Football ratings are up about 5 percent this year over last year, but it’s still far behind 2015’s viewership, for example. ESPN is averaging roughly 11 million viewers for its games; given myriad challenges the network is facing, will parent Disney believe that an audience of that size for only 17 weeks a year is worth billions?

Disney CEO Bob Iger was a key participant back in 2005 when ABC declined to keep its NFL package because it was losing money, and if Iger is going to fulfill the dreams of many in Hollywood and run for president in 2020, he’ll want to walk in the cornfields of Iowa with a track record as a financially responsible executive.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-espn-could-abandon-nfl-football-guest-column-1052792

 

[pointless]

their ratings are up, you say. well, isn't that weird.

 

[Hypoxia]

their ratings are up, you say. well, isn't that weird.

But how is the guacamole market trending? That's the true viewership index. If avocado prices start dropping, NFL and ESPN are both doomed.