Walt Disney CEO sounds the alarm on ESPN's future
The all-sports channel has lost one of its biggest advantages, and it's not getting it back .
For decades, ESPN had a massive advantage over pretty much every other cable channel. It was an expensive advantage to build, and many of those costs remain in place, even as that advantage slips away.
The self-described “World leader in sports” has always made sure it owns rights to an impressive array of live sports. That is included most of the major sports leagues as well as key college games. ESPN has also offered a high volume of live programs through its deals with Major League Baseball, the NBA and the NHL as well as certain college conferences.
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As a product that could only be found on cable, the ESPN channels had a lot of clout. Every cable customer paid somewhere between six and $12. To get the ESPN channels. They paid for and got those channels whether they wanted them or not.
