With the impact of the flailing sports network, Disney’s revenue fell 3 percent, and its profits sank 14 percent, the financial site reported.
As to ESPN itself, the network lost subscribers, found its average viewership crater, and experienced falling advertising rates even as its programming costs climbed. And this fall from grace continued even after Disney insisted that ESPN had reached its bottom after the previous quarter came to an end.
Disney CEO Bob Iger, though, is still putting a sunny face on this quarter after quarter failure saying he still “believes” in the network.
“We believe that the best approach to doing well in a world that is disruptive, in a world that has far more digital distribution, is to have great content and tell great stories. And that includes ESPN, by the way,” Iger said during a recent conference call. “But I can tell you that it is our full intent to go out there aggressively with digital offerings direct to the consumer for ESPN and other Disney-branded properties.”
In an essay posted at Outkick the Coverage, Travis argues that ESPN is tanking in the ratings generally because of an emphasis on political correctness and progressive political activism, thereby alienating 75 percent of the viewership who just want to watch sports, sports highlights, or discussions directly sports related.
“ESPN decided to become a social justice warrior network, treating all liberal opinion makers as those worthy of promotion and casting aside all those who had the gall to challenge the new Disney world order…I’m not saying that ESPN should just stick to sports, but I am saying that if you decide to allow political opinions to flourish from your network’s stars that you shouldn’t neuter all conservative opinion and allow liberal political opinion to advance unchecked….Those with liberal opinions are rewarded and allowed to speak freely, those with conservative opinions are told to keep their mouths shut…”
@Outkick Sports fans are conservative. pic.twitter.com/QvsCTz47Z2
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) August 24, 2016
The experience of former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, though, belies Brady’s claim that ESPN is balanced and allows on-air talent to come to the support of conservative political ideals. Schilling was repeatedly punished by ESPN and eventually fired or his conservative statements.
Others have spoken out about the leftward tilt, too. Ryan Russillo, co-host of ESPN’s “Russillo and Kanell,” recently noted how weary he is of the network’s liberalism, the Inquisitor reported.
“I don’t know what the job is anymore…If I were doing the anti-Trump show three days a week, would I have 90% support from co-workers? Because that’s what it feels like right now,” Russillo said.
So all that nonsense about lionizing Colin Kaepernick and firing Curt Schilling and honoring the Mizzou football team for their social justice temper tantrums and giving Caitlyn Jenner the “Courage Award”… that’s hurt the network’s reputation with sports fans. They’ve stuck their fingers in the eyes of their audience and for what? To try to lure the purple-haired harridans of the Cult of Social Justice into watching sports?-Chicks On The Right
Perhaps we could just get back to watching football?!