Brad Hubbard Media

The End of ESPN?

By Brad Hubbard | @bradhubbard

Mike Tirico, Bill Simmons, Brad Nessler, Skip Bayless, Colin Cowheard, Chris Spielman, Robert Smith, Justin Whitlock, and Matt Millen have all left ESPN in the last year. That’s a lot of talent walking out of the door of the ‘sports leader.’ Combine that with a decline in subscribers and ESPN’s chief John Skipper has got to be having a few sleepless nights.

Mike TiricoSome would say that Simmons is the biggest loss but I would argue that Tirico is a bigger blow. He has been a workhorse at the network. He did play-by-play for Monday Night Football, the NBA, golf, college football national championship games on the radio and studio work for ESPN’s soccer coverage. He was one of the hardest working guys in Bristol. It will take three or four people to replace him at a minimum.

Tirico leaving hurts. As Richard Deitsch and John Ourand from Sport Business Journal point out on Deitsch’s podcast, Tirico leaving was a surprise as many people thought that he was an ESPN lifer.

Is ESPN in trouble? Yeah a little bit. While they have locked up the rights for college football, college basketball, the NBA, MLB and MLS for a while, they have to find new top quality play-play commentators and adapt to the changing media landscape. From cord cutting to the so called ‘death of the highlight show‘, there is a lot of uncertainty out there.

What they do have is the biggest brand in sports and possibly in America. They are the 800-pound gorilla that defines sports culture in this country. They have the money, the resources and know how to cover any sport effectively.

While they are in a rough patch, the fact of the matter is that Fox Sports, CBS Sports and NBC Sports are still a couple of lengths behind. ESPN has more platforms, journalists, and top quality sports to keep them ahead in the various metrics until they stop hemorrhaging talent and subscribers.

Is ESPN dying? Not yet but it is a bull that has been stuck a few times. They have to figure out how to expand their reach to the younger audience while maintaining their lead over Fox, NBC and CBS. It’s not an easy road but one they can certainly maneuver down successfully.

Word to the wise though, don’t let any more announcers leave.

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Brad Hubbard College Football, Football

The Sunday: Jump, Flip & Drop The Football Into Playoff Contention

By Brad Hubbard | @bradhubbard

The race for the  four slots in the College Football Playoff is more cutthroat than the mid term elections. While we won’t know who the final four teams are for several more weeks we do know that players on the field are doing all they can to get in.

The Flip

TCU played Kansas State in the only top 10 match-up of the day. TCU QB Trevone Boykin didn’t only lead the Horned Frogs to a beat down of the Wildcats but he may have stolen the night by flipping into the end zone.

Like Steamin Willie Beaman

The Jumps

While Boykin may have stolen the show with his flip for a touchdown. Oklahoma QB, and future Katy Perry boyfriend, Trevor Knight leaped over a Baylor defender.

 

 

Meanwhile in West Lafayette, Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon upped the ante by hurdling a Purdue defender on this way to a touchdown.

 

Dropping The Football Is Not Like Dropping The Mic

Then we have Utah WR Kaelin Clay. He was able to turn a 78 yard TD into a 99 yard TD for Oregon. It even left ESPN announcers Brad Nessler and Todd Blackledge in shock.

 

 

With a few more weeks left before the four teams for the Playoff are announced. We should see more flips, jumps, and dropped footballs.