ESPN handed out 100 pink slips to their personalities and many are making assumptions as to why. Could it be too many talkies and not enough action? Could it be oversaturation with 6-8 channels + radio and print? Or could it be political too which, yes the fan can blame Obama – PB/TK
Bad Federal Laws Share The Blame For ESPN’s Demise – By E.J. Hill 28, 2017
With all of the schadenfreude surrounding the ESPN layoffs Wednesday, there was a lot of speculation over exactly how much its recent leftward political tilt contributed to its troubles. The truth is that the network is caught in the throes of a perfect storm of market forces, government regulations, and increasing competition.
The Cable Bill is Too High
Yes, cable bills are too high and ESPN’s subscription rate is the highest in television. But more and more of your cable bill is a direct result of the demands of your local broadcaster. In 1992 broadcasters convinced Congress to place a provision in the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act to force cable and satellite companies to seek permission to retransmit the signals from the stations carried on their systems. For almost a decade it was used exclusively by the networks to demand carriage of their non-broadcast properties. That’s how Disney’s predecessor, Cap Cities/ABC, launched ESPN2 in 1993.
Continue to thefederalist.com article: http://thefederalist.com/2017/04/28/bad-federal-laws-share-blame-espns-demise/
