Sports
Related: About this forumWhy ESPN sucks
They claim to be the worldwide leader in sports broadcasting, but what's on the front page of their website? LeBron James. Why? Because ESPN paid a lot of money in rights fees to the NBA, so they want NBA stories to be the most important. The World Cup? Well, they don't own the rights, so screw them.
When you're coverage of sports depends upon the rights fees that you have, you're no longer in the sports broadcasting business.
exboyfil
(17,862 posts)and then four players author a well reasoned professional letter in which they explain ways the justice system could be improved. It included complementary language for the President.
Crickets
Bradshaw3
(7,516 posts)than they do the World Cup.
Many Americans don't give two shits about soccer.
I'm not a huge fan of ESPN, my go to site is SB Nation.
madinmaryland
(64,931 posts)and the Skankees. FUCK THEM.
BTW, The World Cup is in Russia. FUCK THAT TOO.
Ohiogal
(31,988 posts)True Dough
(17,303 posts)but I was eager to see highlights (and a few innings here and there) of their series this weekend. There's no question they are two of the powerhouses in MLB, largely due to their payrolls.
3catwoman3
(23,975 posts)ProfessorGAC
(65,010 posts)They have no rights to show highlights at will. Fox Sports has exclusive US rights, so ESPN can only cover the WC to a limited degree.
And as someone above said, US fans are way more interested in the NBA.
To whit: Chicago Fire plays in the 25,000 seat field. The average attendance is 81%. The Bulls, who haven't been good in 5 years or more, play in a 21,000 seat arena and average 19k.
I know it's just one city, but a team that plays 42 home games a year puts 1250 fewer people in the seats for all those games than the professional soccer team that only plays about 15 home games a year.
This is a case where the numbers don't lie.
Then, see the thread on this group about Hope Solo. "Rich kids" game is an apt description. Certainly, there are fans of soccer, and it's huge among our immigrant population, but as to the latter, so is the NBA.
Remember, basketball is now a global game as well. In fact, it's pretty much the #2 global game, behind only soccer. (Played professionally in 40 other countries, aside from US and Canada.)
JonLP24
(29,322 posts)Plus I don't watch Fox Sports much except for basketball or hockey season so it was more difficult to keep up with the schedule compared to previous world cups.
Plus LeBron James free agency was a big story so I could understand using it as their lead.
rocktivity
(44,576 posts)I've been wondering why they've been showing only PHOTOS from the World Cup on Pardon the Interruption!
rocktivity
Awsi Dooger
(14,565 posts)Daily rants against ESPN, and its supposed political slant, on sports message boards. Right wingers are scared of CNN, ESPN and the most respected newspapers