Part 6/9:
The decline in ratings isn’t limited to Monday Night Football or college games. ESPN’s flagship college football preview show, College Game Day, saw a heavy loss—dropping half a million viewers, from 2.5 million to 2 million. This contraction has reportedly caused concern within ESPN’s ranks, as the network’s entire strategy hinges on attracting viewers and subscribers.
Despite ESPN’s efforts to push their standalone streaming service, ESPN+ and an all-in-one bundle that includes Hulu and Disney+, the traditional cable-like streaming platform remains dominant for many fans. The inconvenience of switching services or paying extra appears to be dissuading some consumers from subscribing to ESPN’s streaming options.