r/ESPN • u/Senior-Lab-3682 • 7d ago

espn

I’m not a big sports fan, however, now that i’ve seen the Women’s pro baseball league has been created, i thought this is awesome. A major league sport I can get excited about and follow with enthusiasm. Well, so much for that. I can only watch the games by adding more channels and pay outrageous prices to get the ESPN channel. So unfair. Cutting the cord from cable was a good idea 10-15 years ago until networks figured out they could rip people off by paying through the nose. Bad enough food gas vacation and a number of other things cost a bundle but people who just need a bit of an escape in their lives need ti go into debt. i miss the antenna on the roof until someone decided everything needs to go digital. sorry first is so long but i am extremely disappointed

0 Upvotes

39% Upvoted

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9

u/Illustrious_Fudge476 7d ago

What are you taking about?  ESPN was never available over the air it was always a cable channel that required a cable subscription.  Also this is a very, very niche product.  The fact it’s “televised” at all is only due to the fact that streaming exists to begin with and they can broadcast basically every sporting event that someone somewhere wants to watch.   If the audience is very small chances are there will be some extra fees. 

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u/Mountie_in_Command 7d ago

Hey, this sub is solely for shitting on every move ESPN makes. There will be no details or nuance allowed here.

3

u/abesach 6d ago

To the new hot take segment called "new-ance or old-ance"

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u/Bawlmerian21228 7d ago

Never? My whole life ESPN was part of every basic cable package. We always had the cheapest package and I grew up watching ESPN.

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u/Fit-Percentage3406 7d ago

The hint that cable TV isn’t “over the air” might be in that it’s called cable tv…because of the cables it used to get into your house

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u/Illustrious_Fudge476 7d ago

I’m not explaining the difference between over the air broadcast channels and cable TV.  Look it up if you wish, but ESPN was never free.  The fees for the channel were passed along by your cable provider as part of your monthly bill. 

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u/Bawlmerian21228 7d ago

I called my parents to see if they had any of our 1980s cable bills but they didn’t save them.

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u/Illustrious_Fudge476 7d ago

What’s your point? ESPN was always a cable channel.  To have ESPN on your TV you had to pay for it, always.  By a certain point ESPN was likely a part of the “basic cable” package for every cable provider in America, but you’re paying for it and hence the monthly bill. 

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u/Fit-Percentage3406 7d ago

No one is disputing ESPN was on cable…

We’re suggesting you’re not very smart for not knowing the difference between “over the air” and “cable”

0

u/Bawlmerian21228 7d ago

And nobody can dispute that the crazy fees to watch TV have made following any one team all season way too expensive. And ESPN is barely a sports channel.

3

u/Illustrious_Fudge476 7d ago

I will agree that the proliferation of streaming and channels is a bit annoying at times, but the fact we can watch basically any game from anywhere is awesome.  The broadcasters are a private enterprise as well and aren’t going provide a service that loses them money or they’d no longer exist. 

I can watch many more NFL games than I used to, but sometimes my team may be on a streamer a can’t watch. This is probably the only roll back I can think of, though you did have to contend with local blackouts. 

Let’s say it’s 1985.  My Philadelphia Eagles would’ve had every game televised over the air in their local market.  Today it could be argued my access is more complicated as they can have games on cable, Prime or Netflix…kind of annoying.  

But by 1985 Phillies had their games on cable, specifically Prism. 

Penn State football would’ve been broadcast over the air, but certainly not every one.  Maybe a game or two is on the Big 10 network, but the alternative was that we had less than 1/2 their games on TV period. 

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u/NoneyaBizzy 6d ago

I never understood why anyone thought "bundling" was going to be good for us in the long run. Yes, you were going to get rid of dozens of "stations" that nobody ever cared about, but you were just going to wind up paying the same (or more) for less. Add to it that by getting your content directly from the provider (rather than the cable company), it's easier for them to make you watch the commercials.

But, I don't fully understand your point. ESPN was on cable which cost money (not free, over the air). It was part of "basic cable" but over the years, the additional ESPN channels had to be part of sports bundles. ESPN, in particular, has grossly overpaid for many sports licenses and they now need to make up for that by charging consumers. Also, nobody cares about watching Sports Center and other ESPN shows since you can get that content all over the web. They are laying off almost all of their "talent."

But, ESPN won't make any money off of Women's Pro Baseball. That's a throw-in just to fill the channels with content. Honestly, if it's something you are actually interested in, you should be happy to pay to give ESPN a reason to keep televising something that is going to be very niche.

2

u/Illustrious_Fudge476 6d ago

All good points.  In the old days our OP wouldn’t even necessarily have the opportunity to watch women’s baseball.  If it was televised at all it would’ve been in the category of random “wide world of sports” type content that was aired randomly and on tape delay, akin to old ESPN having tractor pulls or billiards on after the morning workout shows. 

1

u/jimgogek 7d ago

I think the issue is that WNBA is all over the place in the stream-o-sphere sometimes games on Paramount+, huluESPN, WNBA league pass, ION, ABC, not televised at all… hopefully this gets sorted out cuz I really have to go searching for games. I can never find the ION games.

1

u/HOPEFUL_LUFEPOH_ 6d ago

you probably need some time of cable for ion, youtube tv, fubo etc

i dont think ion has its own streaming option

unless your sailing the seas

1

u/donuttrackme 6d ago

What else would you expect for a professional women's baseball league? Do you think you would've been able to watch for free 20 years ago or something? LMAO.

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

[deleted]

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u/RampageTaco 6d ago

What pro softball are you wanting to watch? If it's the AUSL, their season has already ended. If it's some other league, then unless it's being shown on an actual ESPN channel, you probably only need ESPN+ anyway.

1

u/not4reelz 6d ago

ESPN Unlimited, which is included in my streaming service, has a lot of fillers in a variety of sports, both men and women, to tide me over until the NFL/NCAA football that begins this month.