I used to constantly complain about ESPN. They are the (self proclaimed) Worldwide Leader in Sports, and they’re telling the truth. I actually took an entire year off from watching any ESPN content, back in 2011, and have watched less ever since.
The good news is that ESPN now has competition. The bad news is that they’re not close to matching and beating the Worldwide Leader yet. The good news is that they are primed for growth. Here are the existing players, and my take on them.
1. NBC Sports Network (Formerly OLN/Versus). They have the NHL, and little more. They desperately needed to get either MLB or the NFL in their last contract negotiations, and failed. They reportedly lost out on NBA in 2016, but its not the best fit for them, despite nostalgia for John Tesh’s “NBA on NBC” theme. Shockingly, they haven’t produced a Sportscenter-like daily highlights show. Instead, it’s all about English Premier League soccer (which they have gotten positive reviews for), Tour de France and smaller conference college football and basketball.
2. Fox Sports 1/Fox Sports 2. They got the MLB package (baked into Fox’s already existing national broadcast and regional cable relationships with the league), which is a huge start. Add to that a nightly sports highlight show anchored by a team they poached from Canada, and a simulcast of NY radio host Mike Francesa during the afternoons, and they’re off to a good start.
3. CBS Sports Network (Formerly CSTV/CBS College Sports). This entity is surprisingly profitable despite having no major live pro/college games. They mainly have shoulder programming about CBS’ broadcast properties: the NFL and college football/basketball. Most of their college games are overflow from ESPN, NBC and Fox’s contracts. This approach makes this network available in fewer cable households, but it gives CBS an expanded presence.
There are also the league-owned networks; NFL Network, MLB Network, NHL Network and NBA TV which do a good job focusing on their leagues for those who want to pay extra.
These networks have shown that sports media continues to expand beyond ESPN.