Espn

[JoVision]

I know how Braves fans feel about this, but I wanna get a good sample of other fans to see what everyone else thinks.

ESPN comes across to me as being very biased. The only two teams that I ever hear about are the Yankees, and the Bo Sox (Now the Dodgers because they have Torre). Whenever they have a game on TV no matter who is playing they seem to favor one team and make it VERY obvious. They almost seem to hate the Braves. I have watched several games when the Braves where pitching well and rather than give credit to the pitchers they make the assertion that the hitters are having a bad day. This is not just limited to the Braves of course, but I watch more Braves games than any other. They are constantly kissing Joe Torre's rear. In the first televised ST game for the Braves on ESPN they faced the Dodgers. All I heard about was Torre and how he was 7th all time in wins, and how great he was. They seemed to have missed the fact that sitting in the other dugout was a man who is 4th all time. Granted Torre has way more rings, but they weren't even talking about that. The other day the Braves missed a no hitter by one out. They had one little 5 sec clip about the game and barely mentioned it. Then they went into this long story about Hank Steinbrenner flapping his gums about the Red Sox nation. Not trying to discount either team, but I wanna see baseball not drama. Just to clarify, I love sportscenter, but I hate ESPN's coverage of baseball.

I may be way off here, and if so please correct me.

[insanefishpossay]

I've been frustrated at times about things like this too, but you have to keep in mind that the Yankees and the Red Sox do have the two largest nationwide fanbases. Sure it sucks, but I'm not going to hate a business for trying to appeal to the largest part of it's market.

[KCGHOST]

I can't believe you are accusing the Eastcoast Sports Programming Network located in Connecticut of bias.

[JoVision]

Location is irrelevant, they are a NATIONAL network, and there are other teams on the east coast.

[VIBaseball]

I can't believe you are accusing the Eastcoast Sports Programming Network located in Connecticut of bias.

My main beef with ESPN is the Disney mentality: relentless cross-promotion and the idea that everything has to be part of an "entertainment package."

[JoVision]

I know they have the right to broadcast anything they want. They could be the Yankees Network if they wanted to, but it would behoove them to keep the bias to a minimum in order to maximize veiwing. The reason it makes me mad is because they are the only sports network on tv worth watching and there are several teams that they harp on that I don't care for. I also understand them trying to get the widest base of fans and the Yanks have that, but they also are the most hated team in all of baseball by a long shot. How many veiwers do they gain with that extra 5 minutes of yankees vs. how many do they loose with it. Keep in mind the extra 5 is probably only gonna attract die hard fans and they would have been watching anyway. The yankee haters might be turned completely away from ESPN though this means they probably aren't die hard fans.
When TBS was the Braves network the commentators were subjective, but they did give credit where credit was due and they were a national network.

Anyway I wanted to say that my assertion about Braves fans feelings on this subject was a little bold let me change that to say all the Braves fans I have talked to. I just wanted to express my frustration before the beginning of the season so I can watch having gotten this off my chest.

[Old Sweater]

Talk show host was just talking about this. He said that ESPN, was a profit making network that do what is best to improve their audience. That is the main reason that ESPN quit televising golf. ESPN promoted golf to the max and still lost money on it.

[NewEnglandAmazins]

ESPN promoted golf to the max and still lost money on it.

Now they just promote Tiger :)

[dabigyankeeman]

Some of us would be perfectly happy just to see ESPN cover the Yankees and Dread Sox. :dance

[bigtime39]

The day of the Santana trade, ESPN made their jumping of the shark official, when they lead Sportscenter with "Santana to the Met$...how will this affect the Yankee$?"
Their last flicker of credibility died there and then.


BTW, have you also noticed that they threw the NHL down a black hole after they stopped televising games?

[bigtime39]

Some of us would be perfectly happy just to see ESPN cover the Yankees and Dread Sox. :dance

Others among us would be perfectly happy to see the Yankee$ and Red $ox either forced to work within an NFL-style revenue sharing system, or disbanded.

[bob]

They'd have alot more complaints if they focused half the program on a kansas city v tampa bay match or 2 other small town teams. It just mkes good business sense to focus more on the teams with the largest support base.

[philkid3]

I feel ESPN is a lot less biased than most fans seem to accuse them of being, but there is a definite, if slight, Red Sox slant. They are also more suseptible (how come I can't spell that?) to the east coast bias than a national media source should be. And by that I don't mean they show preference towards the east but rather a lack of knowledge of the west. I don't think they actually like the ACC more than the Pac-10, they just focus on it a lot more since it's more local and fits their time zone better. Their perception is skewed.

As far as the Sox and Yanks, the Yankees are the most popular team. I guarantee you ESPN isn't full of Cowboys fans, but as a Cowboys fan I am never hurting for news on my team. Why? Because the Cowboys are the most popular team in the country and ESPN is catering to viewers. The Yankees are the biggest team in baseball and thus they get the most air time. They also have a big rivalry with the Red Sox, who are also very popular, and thus Boston gets a lot of attention as well.

It would be nice if ESPN was perfect, but they're a business and as such need to get viewers. They get viewers by appealling to casual sports fans (the rest of us are going to watch anyway), reporting the most sensational stories and spending time on the biggest teams and players.


This isn't to defend ESPN, I hate ESPN, but as much as I'm annoyed by a one hour special on the state of the Yankees, I don't think it's because of bias. It's because it sells.

[redlegsfan21]

BTW, have you also noticed that they threw the NHL down a black hole after they stopped televising games?

I think the NHL put themselves in a black hole with their strike but thats another story.

[Captain Cold Nose]

Some of us would be perfectly happy just to see ESPN cover the Yankees and Dread Sox. :dance

The air is thin on Mt. Myopia, though. If ESPN is going to do that, they need to stop making themselves available to cable companies throughout the country.

[philkid3]

I think the NHL put themselves in a black hole with their strike but thats another story.

Agreed. ESPN doesn't cover the NHL because the NHL just isn't that popular and they have no vested interest in it.

And it's not like they ignore it. It still gets more attention than just about anything outside of the major six sports and maybe golf.

[JerseySoxFan19]

now i don't have a problem with espn. the reason the sox and spankees have got so much coverage is because of their fanbases and the things that have happened in the offseason. they televise many different games i'm seeing a lot more indians and mets games on espn. i'm not trying to shoot down someone's opinion that's just my view. i don't see the problem

[YankeeDJW]

The air is thin on Mt. Myopia, though. If ESPN is going to do that, they need to stop making themselves available to cable companies throughout the country.

Why? People watch it. They're just showing what they think will maximize their viewership and, consequently, their profits. The Yankees and Red Sox are the two most populat teams in baseball and have one of the greatest rivalries in sports history, so they get the most coverage. Sure, it's probably annoying for most other fans, but they're a business. They don't care how much you complain as long as you still watch.

[philkid3]

Why? People watch it. They're just showing what they think will maximize their viewership and, consequently, their profits. The Yankees and Red Sox are the two most populat teams in baseball and have one of the greatest rivalries in sports history, so they get the most coverage. Sure, it's probably annoying for most other fans, but they're a business. They don't care how much you complain as long as you still watch.

I'm not so sure the Red Sox are the second most popular team in baseball. They've never ranked that high in the Harris poll. Though they did move up to No. 3 in 2007, and a championship will no doubt only increase their popularity.

But that point asside, ESPN gave them tons of coverage before they were as popular as they are now.

[sturg1dj]

if they are looking for national teams then you'd expect them to cover the Cubs more


and what about the Tigers? everyone here in Michigan is moving these days...haha





I will say this, the idea of coverage only being based on ratings and dollars cannot be true. How many times has there been a good baseball or basketbal game going on while ESPN showed poker?


its crazy, but its not as bad as Tiger games used to be on FSN Detroit....there were many days where there would be a Tiger game going on but FSN would be televising girls high school basketball or vollyball!

[bigtime39]

Whether or Not ESPN's obsession with the Yankee$ and Red $ox is good for ESPN, it's undoubtedly bad for baseball. There are 30 teams in MLB, not two.

[dabigyankeeman]

Whether or Not ESPN's obsession with the Yankee$ and Red $ox is good for ESPN, it's undoubtedly bad for baseball. There are 30 teams in MLB, not two.

Are there 30 teams? Outside of the Yankees and Dread Sox, I know there are the Mets, Dodgers, and a couple of others, but 30, wow.

ha ha - just yanking your chain. In actuality, tv stations do what they feel they have to do to get ratings and make money. Hey, i hate the fact that the Learning Channel (TLC) which used to have so many interesting shows has now become almost nothing but stupid shows about making over houses, i hate it, but it gets them ratings and they make money. So its the same with ESPN. Although i will admit, its great to be a New York fan! :)

[sturg1dj]

I have no problems with them showing Yankees games as long as the Yanks are one of the top teams.....but I have to agree with an earlier statement it bothers me when ESPN tries to link everything that happens into a Yankee story. Santana gets traded, how it will affect the Yankees, Tigers get Cabrera and Willis, how will this affect the Yankees, the Tigers knock the Yankees out of the playoffs....the next month is all Yankee off-season coverage.

[NickU]

spend 100 bucks and get mlb.tv, buy an S-Video Cord, and watch whatever you on your living room TV... watch any game you want, anytime you want, then what ESPN does doesn't matter until they are airing a game that you want to watch.. that's the only time you'll have black on on your compter.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

ESPN is not only a sports network, we all know it's a business and whats the goal of any business, to bring in cash.
Hate the Yanks all you want, the Yanks/Red Sox has been a great rivalry for years. It is a rivalry that even some who are not even big fans of the game are aware of. The Yankee's storied past, the sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees and all those championships. They are with no doubt the most loved team and at the same time the most hated and despised team. No other team brings out emotion like the Yanks even some non baseball fans are thrilled when the Yanks get their rear end whipped. This doesn't happen with other teams, theres joy when they win but it's not a cause for celebration when they get beat. Some will pay the price of admission hoping to see the other team will give the Yanks a beating.

Like it or not, it's the Yanks and thats the way it is. I take a few trips to Toronto to see the Yanks and Bosox, stay for the weekend sometimes. Yankee hats and jerseys every where. Hotels, gift shops, the mall and restaurants, when the Yanks come to town everyone makes money. And I can tell you the folks in Toronto, those at the game get a way bigger kick out of their team whipping the Yanks then they do the Bosox and remember it's the Bosox that have won two World Series since 2004.

[digglahhh]

I could write an epic about the problems with the Extreme Sports and Poker Network, but I will limit myself to one of the subtle problems I have, as most of the other big problems will be covered by others.

Now, this is something the leagues should also attempt to exert some influence over, but if you spend all year hyping up Lebron and Kobe (not that they don't deserve it), you can't be pissed of when the Finals is Spurs vs. Pistons!

Every year, when doling out hype, ESPN makes a calculated decision, whether they know it or not, about the championship of the league and the interest therein. The hype is finite, they have 24 hours a day, and however many networks (97% of that is filled with reruns of old poker, billiard, and bowling tourneys, btw). But at the end of the day, if they choose to give two teams half of the attention pie, and give only a sliver to another contender, the league will suffer if that other team succeeds - there was plenty of opportunity to attempt to build interest, but it wasn't taken advantage.

Unfortunately, the league have to snuggle up to ESPN to lie in the bed ESPN made.

[digglahhh]

You're with me, leather

Sorry, I just wanted to say that.

[dabigyankeeman]

Although I love the attention given to New York and Boston, I would rather see ANY 2 teams, even San Diego and Milwaukee (the two teams that interest me the least) on ESPN instead of poker and X-Games.

How about some more coverage of womens beach vollyeball? Those bikini bottoms are getting smaller each year, now thats a sport worth showing! Certainly something i would like to get to the BOTTOM of.

[digglahhh]

Although I love the attention given to New York and Boston, I would rather see ANY 2 teams, even San Diego and Milwaukee (the two teams that interest me the least) on ESPN instead of poker and X-Games.

I wouldn't mind seeing ESPN not cover ANY BASEBALL AT ALL, considering they do more harm than good!

How about some more coverage of womens beach vollyeball? Those bikini bottoms are getting smaller each year, now thats a sport worth showing! Certainly something i would like to get to the BOTTOM of.

There's this wonderful thing called the internet; word is it can satisfy a horndog's needs better than 1996 Gabrielle Reese matches on ESPN Classic. :)

[NightHawks2007]

Agreed. ESPN doesn't cover the NHL because the NHL just isn't that popular and they have no vested interest in it.

And it's not like they ignore it. It still gets more attention than just about anything outside of the major six sports and maybe golf.

Watch an NHL game on NBC or Versus and tell me there is no interest in hockey. Most of the arenas, even in the south, are pretty full. The reason the NHL isn't popular is because the media doesn't make it popular. If the mainstream media showed more hockey and built it up as something big it would be.

Anyways, even as a Red Sox fan they do cover too much Red Sox-Yankees. During game coverage I often mute the television because the broadcasters often stop talking about the game that is going on and focus on something completely different. I have had enough of celebrities in the booth. The arguing that goes on during SportsCenter never tells me anything, and more often then not the people arguing don't know squat about what they are arguing about.

The bigger problem is that they can do just about whatever they want. There is no other national television source for sports.

[NickU]

The bigger problem is that they can do just about whatever they want. There is no other national television source for sports.
That's the funny thing. If another network tried to emerge in the huge shadow cast by ESPN, most of you wouldn't tune it. Fox tried, and I'm not saying they are any better, but no one even gave them a shot to succeed.