There's a lot of nonsense, wishful thinking, and fake facts on this thread. I don't know why people have to try to spin something that really does affect Stanford athletics (shrinking athletic budgets, greater disparities in revenues by conference) and try to make it about the culture wars, especially when there is no basis for the claims. The truth is more illuminating, and understanding the facts is more helpful for planning for Stanford's (and other institutions') future.
Although the NFL is hovering in its peak revenue years, its overall viewing base has been shrinking and ageing for more than a year. It precedes any of these culture war claims. The viewership for NASCAR is shrinking, as well. It's also difficult to separate football's ratings from news about the long-term effects of concussions, which seems to get worse each year. Also, and this can be a regional shift, I think football and sports are losing their primacy in social life. I just don't hear as much watercooler talk about it as I used to. But if what is ruining sports is Caitlyn Jenner (I don't know much about her, this choice was news to me), then why are the football stadiums in California so empty?
Not only does an ageing demographic mean a weaker future, and a continually shrinking viewer base (as boomers slowly pass on and are replaced by millenials and Gen Z'ers), as we all know, younger views command more advertising dollars per hour of viewing, so it's a double whammy for sports and its old viewers.
ESPN can't command the payments from cable companies that they used to. They used to get a large $$ per cable subscriber, and now they get a smaller share, and the cable base is threatened (I don't have any recent stats, but my guess is that it's shrinking, and it's definitely threatened).
One of the threats -- and I think the profoundest threat -- to cable companies and ESPN is the switch to streaming content from companies like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO Now, and soon, Apple and Disney/Marvel. Also, companies like Showtime and CBS are bulking up their streaming options. Not only are streaming companies taking viewers, they're contributing to a behavioral switch from live viewing (like sports events) toward whenever/binge viewing.
In the short term, the shift away from live viewing might help sports a little bit -- I think the NFL is tops for live viewing and the reality TV show America's Got Talent was the top-rated show over the summer -- so in the short term, sports are providing advertisers a more and more rare avenue to live viewers. But in the long term, live viewing will become smaller and less relevant as online content becomes more and more dominant and viewing patterns and expectations evolve.
Another threat is the emergence of conference networks. While some are partnering with ESPN now and are primarily viewed on cable now, this independence allows conference networks to be purchased a la carte and/or streamed in the future.
I wasn't even aware of this Caitlyn Jenner stuff and I imagine many people were not either. For me -- and I think many millions of Gen Xers, millenials, and Gen Zers, why flip on ESPN tonight when I have a backlog of Stranger Things and the Walking Dead to watch? (Although the Gen Zers are more likely watching Teen Titans Go! than the Walking Dead).
Although the NFL is hovering in its peak revenue years, its overall viewing base has been shrinking and ageing for more than a year. It precedes any of these culture war claims. The viewership for NASCAR is shrinking, as well. It's also difficult to separate football's ratings from news about the long-term effects of concussions, which seems to get worse each year. Also, and this can be a regional shift, I think football and sports are losing their primacy in social life. I just don't hear as much watercooler talk about it as I used to. But if what is ruining sports is Caitlyn Jenner (I don't know much about her, this choice was news to me), then why are the football stadiums in California so empty?
Not only does an ageing demographic mean a weaker future, and a continually shrinking viewer base (as boomers slowly pass on and are replaced by millenials and Gen Z'ers), as we all know, younger views command more advertising dollars per hour of viewing, so it's a double whammy for sports and its old viewers.
ESPN can't command the payments from cable companies that they used to. They used to get a large $$ per cable subscriber, and now they get a smaller share, and the cable base is threatened (I don't have any recent stats, but my guess is that it's shrinking, and it's definitely threatened).
One of the threats -- and I think the profoundest threat -- to cable companies and ESPN is the switch to streaming content from companies like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO Now, and soon, Apple and Disney/Marvel. Also, companies like Showtime and CBS are bulking up their streaming options. Not only are streaming companies taking viewers, they're contributing to a behavioral switch from live viewing (like sports events) toward whenever/binge viewing.
In the short term, the shift away from live viewing might help sports a little bit -- I think the NFL is tops for live viewing and the reality TV show America's Got Talent was the top-rated show over the summer -- so in the short term, sports are providing advertisers a more and more rare avenue to live viewers. But in the long term, live viewing will become smaller and less relevant as online content becomes more and more dominant and viewing patterns and expectations evolve.
Another threat is the emergence of conference networks. While some are partnering with ESPN now and are primarily viewed on cable now, this independence allows conference networks to be purchased a la carte and/or streamed in the future.
I wasn't even aware of this Caitlyn Jenner stuff and I imagine many people were not either. For me -- and I think many millions of Gen Xers, millenials, and Gen Zers, why flip on ESPN tonight when I have a backlog of Stranger Things and the Walking Dead to watch? (Although the Gen Zers are more likely watching Teen Titans Go! than the Walking Dead).