Monday, April 27, 2015

Catching The Worldwide Leader: The New Age Of Niche Market Sports Television

Chris Berman, one of ESPN's original and more polarizing personalities.  
Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia and
Martin Lobberich under CC BY 2.0 License

Back in 1979 a trend was set in sports television viewing that would forever change the landscape of sports television.  I'm talking about the arrival of ESPN and SportsCenter.  For the past 36 years and counting ESPN has had a place in virtually every sports fan's life in one way or another.

In its early heyday, ESPN was the one stop marketplace for fans with pay TV to get their fix of the latest sporting events and news of the day and 36 years later it continues to have an influence on the still growing new sports network landscape whether we like it or not.

As we get further into the 21st century, another thing about ESPN is still quite clear-the network will always have its critics.  I'm one of them.  I have another confession to make.  I don't watch ESPN to get my daily fix of sports news anymore.  The only real use I have for ESPN nowadays is to watch the live sporting events I want to watch where ESPN is the only network carrying said sporting event. I also watch some of ESPN's original programming options such as Around the Horn, Pardon the Interruption and the 30 For 30 documentary series.  That's it.  

So where do I get my daily sports?  With the arrival of sports networks that are specific to each league they cover, it is now easier than ever to follow the ebbs and flows of sports without having to rely on the rely on the Worldwide Leader.  For baseball there's MLB Network.  The NFL has NFL Network.  NBA TV has the Association covered and the NHL Network covers the league invented by the USA's neighbor to the North.  Each of these networks does a far superior job in cover each league's daily news and happenings in comparison to the "Big Boys" in Bristol Connecticut.  So the next time you feel yourself getting tired of the latest discussion on the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry or New England Patriots scandal, consider flipping the channel if you want a more balanced view on sports.


Tim Musick
Copyright 2015
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