- July was the first month on record FS1 beat ESPN’s total subscriber count
- FS1 is watched in over 71 million homes
- The concerning trend could force more changes at ESPN after layoffs
When it comes to sports media, ESPN is the king. With a presence on tv, radio, and online, ESPN has some of the biggest names in the industry covering the sports world. Currently, however, the network is experiencing a serious decline.
In the aftermath of a massive cluster of layoffs, it has now been revealed that ESPN has fallen behind its biggest competitor, FS1, for the first time.
(via the Sports Business Journal)
“July marked the first month that FS1 posted a higher subscriber figure than ESPN. According to Nielsen, FS1 is in 71.375 million homes, and ESPN is in 71.321 million homes. In this most recent report, FS1 claimed more subscribers than Fox News, which is in 71.224 million homes.”
Fox Sports has built up an impressive catalog of analysts and broadcasters. Regarding their coverage of the NBA, they’ve got guys like Ric Bucher, Chris Broussard, Colin Cowherd, and more.
Sadly, for ESPN, they appear to be going through a major rough patch amid massive changes to their network. While it’s not too late for them to recover, fans are concerned about their trajectory after a slew of layoffs.
Fans Rip ESPN For Declining Product
ESPN obviously isn’t going anywhere, but the success of FS1 has given them some real competition in the space. In recent years, ESPN has failed to take the edge over FS1 and it seems many more fans will cancel their subscriptions over the next year.
I need to go through and see, but i may be dropping my ESPN+ subscription. I only had it for the CFL games. https://t.co/wsth642MgO
— Ken Childs is on Bluesky (@TheKenChilds) August 1, 2023
ESPNs fall off needs to be studied they were dominating the sports industry with all due respect https://t.co/fcOu7iJJ77
— Mark Jackson’s Burner (@casualtakeking) August 1, 2023
Yeah because everyone is tired of listening to @stephenasmith . @espn has no other personality of interest. @Realrclark25 is aight https://t.co/m1pPwHcFue
— (2-0) Donnie “Ming” Azoff™️ (@donniezoff0) August 1, 2023
There are many issues with ESPN, and a lot of folks have been unhappy with the way they’ve been covering the game. For many fans, however, the biggest problem is the reporters themselves. As popular as he is, Stephen A. Smith is a somewhat controversial figure and the same can be said for pretty much every prominent voice on the ESPN airwaves.
Hopefully, these subscriber numbers are a wake-up call for the network and they can find a formula that finds the balance viewers are looking for. If not, we could see the network continue to make changes in the form of exclusive deals and huge contracts with some of the biggest names in the industry.
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