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ESPN Is Losing Money and Viewers; Their Open Left-Wing Bias Is Partly Responsible


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"ESPN has become the MSNBC of sports channels, and if I want left-wing political commentary, I can watch MSNBC. When I watch sports, I want it politics free. Sports is something that should transcend politics. Often it does. I have liberal friends. We barely talk politics, but we can talk sports all the time because politics goes out the window, as it should. Those lines were always blurred when it came to sports, and ESPN ruined it by taking sides. Now, they are suffering."

 

A piece that is worth reading in its entirely is this one by Clay Travis. Travis is no conservative, but he understands the sports audience and recognizes why ESPN is no longer the juggernaut it once was.

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. That’s not a marketplace of ideas, that’s a totalitarian government. Those with liberal opinions are rewarded and allowed to speak freely, those with conservative opinions are told to keep their mouths shut.

Conservative viewers aren’t stupid, they see exactly what’s happening.

Even crazier, SPORTS VIEWERS ARE, ON AVERAGE, CONSERVATIVE!

 

He continues:

The first time I noticed ESPN’s new liberal slant was when the network decided to give an ESPY for courage to Caitlyn Jenner for making the decision to become a woman. Look, I’m all for people pursuing their own individual happiness, but there was nothing courageous about Jenner’s decision. To me true courage requires an individual risk either life or liberty. Jenner risked neither.

 

And, remarkably, just about everyone in sports media was afraid to point out how transparently about ratings this decision was. Hell, they even moved the ESPYS to ABC SO MORE PEOPLE COULD SEE HOW INCLUSIVE ESPN WAS.

 

It was a blatant attempt to gain viewers for the network.

And that was the jumping off point, the moment ESPN ceased to be about sports and became a mouthpiece of the farthest left reaches of the Democratic party. I’m all for political discussion, but when you ally yourself with one political party and your business ostensibly is to talk about sports, you lose viewers who see what you’re doing. That’s why I call ESPN MSESPN now, the network is desperate to prop up its ratings and has decided that becoming a shill for the left wing in the country is its best option. Sadly, this is just going to lose more viewers.

The market is ripe for an ESPN competitor that focuses on sports and leaves the political crap out of it.

http://www.redstate.com/jaycaruso/2017/02/11/espn-losing-money-viewers-open-left-wing-bias-partly-responsible/

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Ok aside from the jenner thing, how are they political? I guess i dont watch espn enough cause ive never noticed it

ESPN Admits They Mistreat Conservatives, And It's Killing Their Ratings

ESPN has been hemorrhaging viewers because of its outspoken politics. From giving Caitlyn Jenner a heroism award to stumping for Black Lives Matter, from pushing gun control to praising Kaepernick’s heroism, from firing Curt Schilling for expressing anti-radical Islam sentiments to threatening Chris Broussard for taking a religious view of homosexuality while doing nothing about Kevin Blackistone for calling the national anthem a “war anthem,” ESPN has become – as I’ve long said – MSNBC with footballs.

 

Now, ESPN’s public editor is admitting that the network has a problem. As Newsbusters reports, Jim Brady admitted, “One notion that virtually everyone I spoke to at ESPN dismisses is what some have perceived as unequal treatment of conservatives who make controversial statements vs. liberals who do the same.” He added:

ESPN is far from immune from the political fever that has afflicted so much of the country over the past year. Internally, there’s a feeling among many staffers -- both liberal and conservative -- that the company’s perceived move leftward has had a stifling effect on discourse inside the company and has affected its public-facing product. Consumers have sensed that same leftward movement, alienating some…. For most of its history, ESPN was viewed relatively apolitically. Its core focus was -- and remains today, of course -- sports. Although the nature of sports meant an occasional detour into politics and culture was inevitable, there wasn’t much chatter about an overall perceived political bias. If there was any tension internally, it didn’t manifest itself publicly.

Brady talked to anchor Bob Ley, who admitted that ESPN has no “diversity of thought.” A conservative employee told Brady that “If you’re a Republican or conservative, you feel the need to talk in whispers.” Jemele Hill, naturally, said “I would challenge those people who say they feel suppressed. Do you fear backlash, or do you fear right and wrong?”

 

This is the problem. And this is why ESPN and the media more generally fail. It is suppression to label those who disagree with you politically morally evil because they disagree. Yet that’s what Hill does. That’s what ESPN does, too. The left believes its opinions and feelings are facts; those who disagree are therefore either morons or fascists. That’s why Hill thinks Schilling should have been fired for putting up a meme expressing that transgender people should go to the bathroom in the restroom that matches their biological sex. Schilling must be evil.

 

That perspective comes across in ESPN’s casual leftism. And it alienates viewers. I’m one of them. I used to watch ESPN every time I worked out. Now I’d rather have the television off. I’m not interested in hearing talking heads who know less about politics than they do about water polo take for granted that they are morally righteous, and everyone on the right is morally obtuse. Screw them. I’d rather cut the cord entirely.

 

I’m not the only one. And ESPN had better recognize that, or they’ll have MSNBC’s ratings along with their worldview.

 

http://www.dailywire.com/news/10904/espn-admits-they-mistreat-conservatives-and-its-ben-shapiro

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All there interesting Sport Talk talent has left only asking for a piece of the pie $$. Rest of them play their Favorite team Card. Have not watched a SC sense Stuart Scott Passed. Mike & Mike/NFL Live is the only thing watchable..The rest of there staffing is terrible.Even with speaking American English. Now a certain sport guy can pay a few bucks & view/listen to the sport they really enjoy. ESPN did it to themselves. Just like Jenner did.courage my a$$ ..da da da- da da da--

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And now we've gotten to the bottom of it, espn are shills not for liberals...but more for the big market franchises. You can almost hear the sympathy in their voices when they talk anout highly touted prospects going to small markets like cleveland. People are sick of it, and not just in cleveland.

 

How many articles from espn writers come out every offseason claiming lebrons going to NY or LA? Its cause they desperately want a big name in those markets cause its been too long since LA won a championship

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